A 70s night in St. Louis, with Pink Floyd tribute band El Monstero & Blue Öyster Cult

I found myself at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre for yet another night of excellent jams and a seat of summer swamp ass. What made this night different from others as of late was not only the longest concert line I had ever seen going into the venue, but also the songs and the musicians who directly impacted a major turning point in music history were about to take the stage in front of us. 

This evening was packed, like way packed.

The line — which was more like one giant, unmoving mass of people — spanned all the way back into the parking lot of the venue. There were so many people in line waiting that the show started while hundreds were still waiting to get past the entrance. I was one of the many still standing outside of the venue, surprised and shocked at how massive this audience was. Just to give you an idea, the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre has a 7,000 seat capacity, plus additional room for 13,000 more people across the back lawn. That’s a grand total of 20,000 people. Now, I’ve been to some big shows here before, but I hadn’t seen anything to this degree. And what was the occasion? To see the impressive Pink Floyd tribute band El Monstero alongside Blue Öyster Cult.

Although I missed the opening song by Blue Öyster Cult due to the lengthy line, I still had plenty of time to see the rest of their set. It was a very neat experience having the chance to see a band that is still performing nearly 60 years after they were a staple of the 60s/70s rock era (aka, the ‘Golden Age’). The venue was full from the start, with many in the audience singing along to nostalgic favorites. As expected, Blue Öyster Cult did not disappoint with “(Don’t) Fear The Reaper”, performing the classic with perfectly psychedelic eeriness. 

It was an effortless transition from Blue Öyster Cult to El Monstero.

Now, I am a fan of Pink Floyd and, when it comes to tribute bands, I often remain skeptical, primarily because you can never fully recreate a band’s sound and splendor. That said, I have seen Pink Floyd cover bands before that I was impressed by. I heard that El Monstero is theatrical, but needed to see them with my own eyes to understand the level of their talent. Well, I was impressed from the get-go, that’s for damn sure. 

When El Monstero took to the stage, it was as if they had teleported us directly into Pink Floyd’s The Wall; we weren’t audience members anymore, we were living and breathing this album like oxygen. Men dressed as police officers walked amongst the crowd, beaming their large flashlights directly into our eyes as “Another Brick in the Wall” began to emanate from the stage. People stood from their seats and lifted their arms to form large X’s in protest, an appropriate reaction and most likely what Roger Waters would condone, considering he wrote the track about the unjust abuse taking place in educational systems back in ’79. 

I was immediately in awe by the level of production and detail El Monstero put into this performance.

Based in St. Louis, El Monstero has been recreating Pink Floyd performances since 1999, currently comprised of 11 members. After seeing this performance, I believe that for anyone to be a successful tribute band, they should take notes from El Monstero. While it is true that there will only ever be one Pink Floyd, El Monstero took the beauty and talent of Pink Floyd’s music, and recreated it with appreciation and grace. 

Most of us have never had the opportunity to see Pink Floyd live in concert and fully recognize that we never will (sigh, born at the wrong time), yet El Monstero was able to provide the closest parallel musical experience honoring such legacy. Stepping away at one point during the performance, I began to hear the undeniable opening notes to “Wish You Were Here” and immediately beelined it back to the stage, watching as others grabbed their drinks and bolted, doing the same. Mark Thomas Quinn, one of the lead vocalists for El Monstero, sang a wonderful rendition of the song; I say this as someone who tears up every time I hear the original. 

The crowd stood, each of us singing and swaying together as one.

Many present might’ve witnessed Pink Floyd firsthand; others, like myself, were too young to have that opportunity, but lucky enough to be introduced to their brilliance by our parents. And all of us, while separated by decades of knowledge and experience, collectively came to the same concert this night in St. Louis to experience a small piece of what Pink Floyd gave us. Wish you were there.

Photography by Sean Rider; article by Michelle Zigler

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