POP AND JAZZ REVIEWS : Pink Floyd’s Appeal Spans Ages

“I’m surprised to see so many old people here,” said Dana Gerth, 19, looking around the Rose Bowl before Pink Floyd took the stage on Saturday for the first of two nights there. It was Gerth’s first time seeing his favorite group in concert.

In front of him, 44-year-old Roubye Hart, who first saw Pink Floyd in 1972 at Winterland in San Francisco, turned around and replied, “I’m surprised to see so many young people.”

So much for the generation gap.

Somehow Pink Floyd--without the rock power or flashy rebellion of Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones or the counterculture pull of the Grateful Dead--has managed to span several age groups. The appeal to Hart and her peers was clear--with its emphasis on ‘70s material and ‘70s-style laser-light spectacle, this was a show about memories. (The concert was reviewed in full from San Diego in Saturday’s Calendar.)

Gerth and his friend Kevin Reash, who each paid a broker $200 for a $75 ticket, have no such memories. Wearing flannel shirts and backward caps, they looked as if they’d be more at home at a Pearl Jam concert, but they insisted that it was Pink Floyd that speaks to them with its lyrics about searching for meaning in a confusing world.

The mix of ages made for a respectful crowd Saturday, dutifully cheering each favorite song and special effect. Inevitably, though, it left Hart longing for her more unruly youth.

“People used to make a band work more--demand four or five encores,” she said. “Now they’re more worried about beating the traffic home.”