Pink Floyd fans should definitely circle these dates on their calendars

Brit Floyd has something special in store for Bay Area Floyd fans this time through town.

The acclaimed Pink Floyd tribute act — which guitarist-vocalist Damian Darlington formed in Liverpool in 2011 after breaking off from The Australian Pink Floyd Show – is playing a two-night stand at the lovely Mountain Winery in Saratoga and plans to spotlight a different classic platter on each evening.

Brit Floyd will celebrate the 1979 blockbuster album "The Wall" on June 12 and then return the very next night to take on the 1973 first-tier musical masterpiece "The Dark Side of the Moon" on June 13. They'll also be performing Pink Floyd's "greatest hits" during each show, so expect to hear all the biggest numbers — be them off "The Wall,” “Dark Side" or another album — during each gig.

Showtime is 7:30 p.m. and ticket start at $54, mountainwinery.com. (Also of note, Mountain Winery has a new restaurant — La Cucina Italiana — so consider making reservations to check that out before one of the shows.)

I recently had the chance to chat with Darlington about Brit Floyd's upcoming The Moon, The Wall and Beyond tour, which also includes a stop on June 14 for a Blue Note Napa Summer Sessions concert at The Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa (bluenotejazz.com).

Q: When did you first fall under the spell of Pink Floyd?

A: My first awareness of Pink Floyd was when "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" was a single. In the U.K., it was an unlikely Christmas No. 1 at the end of 1979. But I was only 10 years old then, so it was just a cool song with like kids singing on it about not needing education. That’s as far as it went at that age.

Roll on a few more years, when I’d already started playing guitar and sort of searching for music out there, a friend of mine brought out "The Wall" album and put that on. And that was the moment that I was captivated by Pink Floyd and became a fan.

Q: Sounds like we're about the same age and discovered Pink Floyd at right around the same time – "The Wall" era. I was coming from a listening background of like AC/DC, KISS and Cheap Trick and then first hearing Pink Floyd was like, "Whoa, this is something entirely different!"

A: I mean, it was a great time. I was discovering Pink Floyd. I was discovering Rush. I was discovering Yes. All those kinds of bands – so, yeah, it was amazing.

Q: What was it about Floyd in particular that grabbed you?

A: With "The Wall," it was the fact that there was a narrative, there were all these cool sound effects, the way the tracks all segued into each other. I was really open to the whole concept album thing at that point. And, of course, hearing David Gilmour’s guitar work on "Comfortably Numb" and "Another Brick in the Wall" — things like that on the album — was very influential at that time.

Q: And you just went on to explore the rest of the catalog from there?

A: Yeah, once I discovered "The Wall" then I was very keen to find out more about Pink Floyd, listen to whatever other albums they had. And not long afterwards, "The Final Cut" (1983) came out as a brand new album so that was quite exciting at the time.

But I certainly got hold of copies of "Dark Side of the Moon," "Wish You Were Here" (1975) and "Animals" (1977) fairly soon after that. And I clearly remember listening to "Atom Heart Mother" (1970) pretty early on and "Ummagumma" (1969).

I didn’t really go all the way back to (1967's) "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" until a bit later. The Syd Barrett era was a thing that I would later explore.

Q: It seems like a lot of people are very hesitant to go back beyond "Dark Side" in the catalog – which is a shame because those first seven albums have so much to offer. When you listen to those early records, do you feel like you're hearing a completely different band than the one that would show up later on the ‘70s classics?

A: I do sort of feel it’s almost like it’s a completely different band if you go right back to the very beginning — the first album ("The Piper at the Gates of Dawn") or even the second album (1968's "A Saucerful of Secrets"). Obviously, there are more glimpses of what was to come on something like the second album. But, yeah, if what subsequently happened to Syd Barrett hadn’t happened, Pink Floyd would have been a very different group ultimately — and maybe wouldn’t have even survived to do what they ultimately did.

Q: Is the transition album "Meddle" in 1971? Do you feel like that is where the old band transforms into the new Pink Floyd?

A: It’s what a lot of people certainly see is the moment — particularly with the track "Echoes" – of them sort of finally finding their sound. But you can obviously see it earlier than that in "Atom Heart Mother" — glimpses of what’s to come.

Q: You also brought up "The Final Cut" and, obviously, that's one of the more controversial ones in the catalog – with people often calling it out as a de facto Roger Waters solo album rather than being a true Pink Floyd record. What are your feelings on it?

A: I really connect with that album, as I say, because it was the first brand new Pink Floyd album that came out after I’d become a fan. Also, I grew up in the ‘80s, so all the political references about Margaret Thatcher, about the Falklands War, etc. — you know, I was living through all of that at the time. So it was relevant because I’ve always been somebody who, even from that age, was well aware of what was going on in the world and current affairs. So, it certainly resonated with me in that sense.

Q: What are the challenges that come with trying to add your own voice and style to these signature Gilmour guitar parts while still trying to keep them appropriately familiar for listeners? Or is that even a concern?

A: Even after all these years of playing Pink Floyd music – and I’ve been doing this professionally for 32 years now — I still know I’m me as a guitar player. I’m not a clone of David Gilmour. I can and do make the effort to get it to sound as closely as I can when it comes to recreating the guitar sounds and playing the correct solos and what have you. But it’s still me playing it and there are my guitar mannerisms that come through.

Q: I have definitely felt that each time I've seen Brit Floyd in concert. Your playing style comes through while still doing justice to the Gilmour originals.

A: I think there’s a balance to be struck between the two things. I’m firmly of the opinion that there is room to put a bit of your own musical personality into your performance when working in a tribute band like this. I think it’s necessary and it makes it more of a band, in a sense, if the musicians up there are able to express themselves just a little bit — just enough, not too much. You don’t want to go off script too much. You don’t want to do something that’s completely inappropriate — like suddenly do something that’s a bit more like Yngwie Malmsteen than David Gilmour.

Q: Go it. So, I shouldn't expect to hear any 2-tone-style ska versions of "Hey You" and "Have a Cigar" at your concerts.

A: No, not really. I like to think I know what's the right thing to do, what’s the tasteful thing to do, what’s the appropriate thing to do when it comes to playing this music – on those moments when you do sort of go off script a little bit.

Q: Do you think there’s something about Pink Floyd that doesn't get enough attention? Obviously, so much of the focus has traditionally gone to Roger Waters with the words or David Gilmour with the guitar – for very good reasons. But do you think there's an aspect to this band that is underrated? If indeed that's even possible for a group who has sold a bazillion records.

A: I don't. I mean, maybe the contributions of (keyboardist) Rick Wright and (drummer) Nick Mason may well get overshadowed by Gilmour's and Waters' — and that's a pity because I think they were both just as important to the overall Pink Floyd sound in their own ways.

But I don’t think, sort of collectively, that the music is underrated. I don’t think people come to these concerts simply because they like Waters' lyrics and Gilmour's guitar solos. There’s a lot more to it than that. I think (fans) like all of it — the whole soundscape that they’ve enjoyed for all these years or discovered recently, in the case of the younger people who come to the gigs.

Q: Talk to me about the two different experiences that fans will witness at the two Mountain Winery shows – with the first night focusing on "The Wall" and the second spotlighting "Dark Side of the Moon."

A: Well, it’s not a completely different setlist (each night), but it’s a significantly different setlist. And one will certainly favor "Dark Side of the Moon" more, and the other will favor "The Wall" more. During "The Wall"-based set, you’ll get more of the theatricality of the later stages of "The Wall" album. That’s one thing that will particularly set the two setlists apart from each other.

Q: But people shouldn't worry about not hearing a big "Wall" favorite like "Comfortably Numb" if they are just coming to the "Dark Side" show, right?

A: Well, of course, they’re still going to hear a significant chunk of "The Wall" album on both nights. But you will get a complete performance of "Dark Side of the Moon" on the ("Dark Side") night.

Q: Do you ever have any problems getting fired up to perform that legendary "Comfortably Numb" guitar solo?

A: It never gets old doing that solo, even though I estimate I’ve done at least 3,000 gigs now between both Pink Floyd bands I’ve been in. And I’ve played that solo more times than that, you know, because there’ve been all the rehearsals, sound checks, what have you. So, I’ve probably played that solo probably 3,500 times – who knows? (laughs) — over the last 32 years.

Q: I'm asking you to look in your crystal ball right here for a moment. If you had to guess, do you think we’ll see any of the Floyd guys tour again?

A: I think you may well see one more album and one more tour from David Gilmour. Of course, when you say tour, it’s more sort of select few dates that he expects people to come to him rather than him traveling around the country. But, nonetheless, I think we’ll see a similar thing to what he did a couple of years ago (with 2024's Luck and Strange) again from him before he’s done.

I’m not so sure about Roger Waters, you know, he’s become quite a controversial figure. So I think that’s possibly gotten in the way of him doing one more tour. But I’m not privy to any particular information.

I have my suspicions that there may be some of that (controversy) that’s impacting on his decision whether he wants to do one more tour or not.

Q: All right, one last question and I’m going to put you on the spot here: Which one’s pink?

A: I don’t know. "Which one’s Brit?" is the question we get asked quite a lot. And I suppose it's a more pertinent question.

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