Last Saturday night, I went to see The Black Jacket Symphony perform Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon with my parents and cousin. The BJS has made a name for itself by recreating entire albums as exact as possible. Their past performances include Prince’s Purple Rain and Led Zeppelin’s IV.

The musicians in The Black Jacket Symphony rotate; that is to say, the band is not always made up of the same group of artists. For this performance, the band included Huntsville’s own Dave Anderson (guitar/vocals), as well as Aaron Branson on bass, Allen Barlow on guitar, Blair Breitreiter handling both keyboards and saxophone, Brad Wolfe on guitar, Mark Lanter on drums, Jackie Roche on vocals, and Peyton Grant on keys and backing vocals.

The Black Jacket Symphony did not disappoint. Pink Floyd is one of my all-time favorite bands, so believe me when I say I held them to a high standard. The musicians were superb, but it was the vocal talent on that stage that blew me away. Jackie Roche absolutely nailed “The Great Gig in the Sky” (see below). She received a much deserved standing ovation.

After the conclusion of Dark Side of the Moon, there was an intermission then the band returned to play a few of Pink Floyd’s greatest hits. They started with “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” and ended with “Comfortably Numb.” There were the obvious ones, such as “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. II” and “Wish You Were Here.” I was surprised and very pleased when they included both “Empty Spaces” and “Young Lust.”

It was a spectacular night, filled with so much talent and an enthusiastic audience who clearly appreciated that talent. I would highly recommend attending a Black Jacket Symphony show if the chance ever presents itself.

“The Great Gig in the Sky”

Me with Dave Anderson and Jackie Roche