Hearing good local musicians play at a town center or at the gazebo in the park is one of life’s many treats, especially when you live in an artsy rivertown like Nyack, NY. I love it all, including Jazz in the Garden at Edward Hopper House Art Center two blocks from my plot of land.


The band I saw last weekend at the Nyack Center recreate Pink Floyd was “melt your face off good.” No kidding.


They are called Dark Side of the Hudson and it is the second time (as far as I know) they played this type of gig.  The first show in March 2014 focused on “Dark Side of the Moon” (click here for story). This 2015 show featured the songs of “Animals” and “Wish You Were Here”.

Fact: 4 out of 5 people in the audience were drooling in amazement as the band brought the whole Floyd show thing to life in a fierce and spirited way. I had a group of 20 people myself.  They all thanked me profusely for getting them involved in this happening.


Hearing the group of eight or ten Nyack-based musicians, led by Dylan Kelehan and Brian Duggan (a fellow Green Knights grad from the Brother Peter daze), and featuring Maryn Azoff on vocals… I felt comfortably numb in that way that music can grab hold of your senses and force you to be in the moment.

Although talented to the gills, especially that spunky guitar/keyboard player with the fake mustache and glasses, I’m not sure that even they could have expected such a tremendous performance.


How can a place that is best known for hosting the Nyack Farmer’s Market during the winter months and the local Bossy Frog kids act, provide such a dynamic venue for such intricate and visual music?


I’m flabergasted. The lights, the sound, the mix, were all perfect. (And if you’re saying he musta been feeling good tonight… ask anyone there… they were chirpin like birds on a May day in Central Park.)


Just as I told my neighbor that felt like I died and went to heaven, a long lost buddy (Scotty Yak, another fellow SJR breverns) taps my shoulder and tells me to follow him up the rickety staircase… yes it felt like the real stairway to heaven.


We end up in the balcony with a bird’s eye view and bunch of other friendly faces from days yore (O’Grady never ages!). I looked down at the twenty-two (yes we picked up two more to our crew after the show started) buddies of mine and the entire Nyack audience in awe.


Pink Floyd was being laid out on silver platter, original video overheads included. Not since seeing The Machine for the first time in Nyack’s Cheers did such an event take place.  This was better. Much better.


Can I ramble on any more about how great the band was?   Yes, I can.


Within a few minutes of getting my bearings and offering proper greetings to the balcony VIPs… THE song I was waiting for was about to start.

“Great Gig in the Sky” is the most incredible women scream song in rock history, and tonight Maryn Azoff outdid Clare Torry (the original voice on Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” release).


Here is link to Maryn singing this song with another band on another night, but you will catch my drift. (See video below).

If you can believe it, she was better at the Nyack Center. There are quite a few videos going around Facebook of the performance, but none yet up on YouTube and easy to share here.


All the songs from “Animals” were spot on… hearing “Dogs” so crisply and so close gave me chills.


When the band brakes into the vocals…


“And its too late to lose the weight you used to throw around. So have a good drown, as you go down, all alone…”


The funky organ bass lines kick in and all hell breaks lose as soon as “Fido” starts barking in the background.


The question of the day is not “Which one’s pink?”, but rather “Who was dragged down by the stone?”


Can’t wait for next time…stay tuned.


In the meantime, F.Y.W. (flap your wings)