Wish you were here

It started out harmless enough.

And now it’s taken on a life of its own.

The Salt Lake City band Sons of Nothing grew up listening to Pink Floyd.

“We started out as an original band,” said bassist Thom Bowers. “We were all Floyd fans and we’d occasionally throw in a Floyd cover just for fun and people really seemed to dig it.”

That led to a call from a promoter asking if Sons of Nothing would like to do a whole set of Floyd as a tribute.

“We did that and from there, it just sort of grew into this very popular side project,” Bowers said. “In a way, it’s sort of taken over the other stuff.”

Voila: Floydshow was born.

The band will play a two-hour set of Pink Floyd music. Those who know Floyd, know it’s not just the music, but the lights and videos that go with it. Expect it all Saturday night.

But the “other stuff” Bowers spoke of hasn’t been kicked to the curb. That stuff includes the band’s three CDs, the most recent, “Clarity,” being released this summer.

“The original stuff and the Floyd sort of coexist,” Bowers said. “It’s two separate bands but it’s nice when we can do both at a show because we really enjoy both sides of what we do.”

So, the band will open for itself.

Sons of Nothing will open, playing originals, then give way to Floydshow.

“Grand Junction knows us very well — it’s our third show at the Mesa Theater,” Bowers said. “They know the Floydshow is going to be worth it, they just may not know the opening band as well.”

Bowers said playing Pink Floyd isn’t too challenging. The musical notes, at least. It’s everything else that makes up a Floydshow.

“It isn’t hard in that Floyd’s music isn’t technically challenging to play,” he said. “The thing about Floyd is getting the vibe right, getting the atmosphere right.”

Unlike a lot of tribute bands, don’t expect to see these guys trying to impersonate the members of The Floyd.

“We don’t go out of our way to impersonate the band,” Bowers said. “With Floyd, you don’t really have to. They were always sort of faceless. It’s about the music, the light show, what happens on the screen. The personalities are secondary.”

Bowers only saw The Floyd once, driving to Denver to catch the 1994 “Division Bell” tour.

“That’s another reason and motivation for this,” Bowers said. “A lot of the younger generation has never had a chance to see The Floyd live. They haven’t been to Salt Lake since 1969, so we’re definitely filling a void for some folks.”

On this run of shows, Sons of Nothing is doing a special tribute to Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett, who died on July 7. Bowers said he’s excited about the medley they’ve comprised from early Syd tunes, and can’t wait to share it with fans of The Floyd.

Go & Do Who: Sons of Floyd, Pink Floyd tribute band Where: Mesa Theater & Club When: Saturday night at 9, doors at 8 Cost: $10