For 10 years, the Pageant in the Delmar Loop has jumpstarted the holiday season in a big way. And they’ve done it from the Dark Side of the Moon.
El Monstero Y Los Masked Avengers is a Pink Floyd tribute band made up of musicians from the St. Louis music scene. For the past 10 years, they have put on a holiday concert covering songs by psychedelic English rock group, Pink Floyd.
This year, they will perform on Dec. 19, 20, 23, 26 and 27 at 8 p.m.
Initially, El Monstero Y Los Masked Avengers wasn’t conceived for such large-scale performances.
“We were on a break between tours,” said Kevin Gagnepain, bass player and vocalist for the band, “and we started a cover band.”
After a few performances, the band members realized they had a common interest in Pink Floyd.
“We’d always end the night with the second half of Dark Side of the Moon,” said Gagnepain.
Since the band’s first fully Pink Floyd concert, performed at local music club Mississippi Nights, the show has developed a growing fan base.
“It just got bigger,” said Gagnepain. “We went to three nights, four nights, five nights.”
Gagnepain credits the participation of local musicians involved with the continued success of the annual shows.
“You surround yourself with people, and it really grows,” he said.
The band eventually changed venues and moved to the Pageant. The number of attendees has steadily increased ever since.
“The first year we sold maybe 800 tickets,” Gagnepain said. “Last year we sold maybe 9,000.”
Though the music of Pink Floyd was the initial draw of the performance for people in the St. Louis community, Gagnepain noticed the effect word-of-mouth has had on the audiences flocking to the Pageant each year.
“It started as real die hard Pink Floyd fans . . . [But its] grown to people who maybe weren’t huge Pink Floyd fans but maybe they heard about it from their friends,” he said.
In the show’s 10-year run, the concert has developed a mixture of pyrotechnics, dancers and aerial stunts that augment the music being performed.”Pink Floyd really lends itself to the theatrics,” Gagnepain said.
Despite the success of the show every year, the band tries to introduce new aspects each time.
“I think we’ve got our groove now,” Gagnepain said. “[But] it always represents new challenges that keep it interesting for the audience and for us.”
As for any possible new elements, Gagnepain remains tight-lipped.
For more information about the band visit www.myspace.com/elmonstero.
Tickets to the show are $25 for general admission and $27.50 for reserved balcony seating. Tickets can be purchased at the Pageant or on www.ticketmaster.com.
