Pink Floyd’s Animals has never been the comfortable choice for a tribute act. Dark Side of the Moon gets the casual listeners; Wish You Were Here gets the nostalgics. Animals — built around Roger Waters’ sharpest political writing and long-form arrangements that don’t resolve tidily — tends to find the audience that stayed with the band through its most demanding records. Run Rabbit Run’s decision to perform that album in full, 50 years after its 1977 release, is a more considered programming choice than most tribute shows offer.
About the Show
The band performs the complete Animals at Cohoes Music Hall on Saturday, Jan. 23, with the full setlist supplemented by selections from across the Pink Floyd catalog. They arrive with a track record that makes the sold-out warning on the ticket page credible: Run Rabbit Run has previously filled and sold out this same room, sold out WAMC’s The Linda in Albany, and headlined Rock the Lake at Lake George. This is an ensemble with an established following in this market.
The eight-member lineup is drawn from the Capital Region’s working musician pool. Carl Blackwood and Eric Halder handle guitars; Sean Fortune the bass; Cody Bingham drums; Chris Andreski keys and synths; Scott Vorwald saxophone, clarinet, and synths; Lady T and Willo vocals and percussion. That lineup is close to what Animals actually requires, not approximated down to something a four-piece could cover. Press coverage from past performances described Fortune’s bass work as channeling “Waters’ signature tension” and the group’s vocal approach as producing “gospel-rich harmonies.” Synchronized visuals accompany the performance throughout.
Several members also play in other Capital Region acts: Blackwood and Bingham in Bendt, Fortune in Zan + the Winter Folk, Andreski in Flying Rob and Friends, which gives some sense of what the region’s scene can produce when it’s motivated.
Venue & Logistics
Cohoes Music Hall, a 350-capacity historic theater at 58 Remsen St. in Cohoes, is a room the band has already sold out before, which is the most useful context for this show. It sits at the heart of the capital region concert calendar, and the Jan. 23 performance runs 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Tickets
Tickets range from $25 to $49, available online or by phone at 518-434-0776 for reduced fees. Box office hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Given the band’s history at this venue, buying early is advisable. Buy tickets