The Australian Pink Floyd @ Hammersmith Apollo, 20th March 2011

Rating: *****

I had higher than normal expectations for this gig, more so than any other tribute act I've seen. Because they were playing somewhere as large as the Hammersmith Apollo, prices were higher than the average tribute act ticket and I had heard nothing but positive things about them. In fact, I had read that they were probably the closest thing to the actual Pink Floyd. I've not been lucky enough in my lifetime to see the real thing, but my husband Miguel has, and for them to be described like that, is rating them very highly.

When we arrived at our seats, there were 3D glasses waiting for us, and a sign on stage saying that we would be needing them in the second part of the show. There was no support act, as like the real band, the show was set to be a long one.

They started off with the stunning 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' complete with images of the band on the screen on stage, and of course a large focus on original band member and creative genius Syd Barrett (RIP)

The Aussie Pink Floyd continued to amaze with their accurate portrayal of Pink Floyd's music, even as far as to having many of the original videos from the concerts used in their own tv screen.

The first part of the set was very much focused on the older songs of Pink Floyd, and some not so well known tracks like 'Sorrow' from the album Momentary Lapse of Reason I would say the first half of the show was more dedicated to hard core fans.

After a short interval, we came back and put on our 3D glasses. 3D images started to appear on the screen and we were treated to several Dark Side of The Moon tracks- 'Speak to Me', 'On the Run', 'Time', 'Breathe' and 'The Great Gig in the Sky' all back to back.

The second half was much more well known Pink Floyd tracks, as well as the songs from Dark Side, there was also songs from The Wall and of course 'Wish You Were Here' Every song was musically spot on. The 3D imagery was an interesting feature, although possibly something they need to work on a bit more, as sometimes I didn't really feel it looked that 3D, also at times there was 3D and laser lights going at the same time, which was a bit unpleasant on the eyes. I loved the inflatable teacher during 'Another Brick in The Wall'

There was an encore as well, there was a brief soundtrack of Australian related sound bytes including Skippy and Neighbours, before a giant inflatable pink kangaroo (the band's logo) appeared on stage, jumping up and down to final song 'Run Like Hell'

Overall, a fantastic gig and certainly lived up to the expectations I had about them. My only complaint would be the choice of songs in the first half, but the second half was a lot better.

The Australian Pink Floyd are currently still touring all over the world. Their next gig is tomorrow at the Salle Erasme in France.