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Pink Floyd - Cyclone Stadium, Ames, Iowa, June 16th 1994 Print E-mail
Written by Eric Jokinen   
Thursday, 09 July 2009

Pink Floyd North American tour 1994Another Brain Damage regular has cast their mind back, this time to a different show on the US leg of Pink Floyd's 1994 Division Bell tour. Reviews of older concerts are always very well received by the BD readership. If you went to any shows in the band's long history on the road, and want to share your recollections with the Floyd community, do please get in touch. And now, over to Eric and his memories of the show, some fifteen years ago:

I'll never forget that afternoon in February or early March. Steve O'Rourke had a press conference and the local rock radio station in my hometown played it live; I bet if I look hard I can find the cassette tape that has the recording.

"Pink Floyd will be doing a world tour starting in the spring of 1994". The bummer out of this was that they were not coming to my home state of Minnesota (at least not at the time of the press conference). Ames Iowa would be my venue, time would be my enemy as the months felt like years...

I reserved a hotel room in Ames 4 months before the show; I'm sure the lady I talked to thought I was nuts for booking a room on a week night that far in advance, but sometime in the near future I'm sure she understood that Pink Floyd would be coming to Ames!

I started listening to Pink Floyd in 1989, my friends at school knew some of their music, and until that day in 1994 all I kept being told was "too bad they will never tour again". Some of these same people sat with me June 22, 1994 at the HHH Metrodome.

Cyclone Stadium AmesGot to the stadium about 2 hours before showtime. My truck at that time had a bug deflector that said "Comfortably Numb". It paled compared to some of the other vehicles and tributes in the parking lot but we were all having a blast. Groups of people gathered around, grooving with our picts dare I say? Playing Floyd tunes from Piper to the Division Bell.

  Got into the stadium, stage right about half way down the stadium, good seats to see the band and take in the effects. About 30 minutes before showtime, the PA announcer came over head and paged for a guy to take a phone call. This was '94, what was a cell phone? About 5 minutes later the PA announcer pages again this time adding "you have an emergency telephone call." A guy about 2 rows up from me stood up and yelled "Leave him alone he's at the Floyd show!"

What seemed like an eternity still, the stadium lights dimmed some and sound effects began to play, similar to the opening of Division Bell and the buzz began. From our seats, we could see two roads that led into the stadium, shortly a huge bus was seen approaching closer and closer, the roar began as this bus pulled in with police escort and drove right under the stage!! Huge roar of the crowd as we knew the show was about to start.

160694 ticketLights dimmed and the opening to Astronomy Domine began and what a great way to open the show. Our set list was the same as the Foxboro report, David welcomed us after Learning to Fly saying the band would play some of their recent songs then later do some oldies but goodies.

We got the same set list as the Foxboro report except for Great Day for Freedom substitued for poles apart. One of these days was a blast and though we were a fair ways from the stage you could feel the heat from the pyros!

Time flew by and before I knew it we were standing and calling them back for an encore, at the conclusion of Run Like Hell David introduced the band and said he'd "hope to see us again". We did not get to see the Airship, later learning about the accident or storm damage that occurred earlier on the tour.

I have to smile at the Foxboro report as I too have my trophy concert T-shirt that cannot be worn except for special occasions, most recently the 15th anniversary of the concert and my program sealed away as well. Glad I am not the only one like that!

 
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