For many, the music of Pink Floyd is not something to be rationally judged, but rather something to be experienced. Over the course of its turbulent history, the band exhibited a rare power to envelop the listener in a manner that few artists achieve, and it is not without reason that Pink Floyd has maintained a loyal following years after it ceased to be a functioning unit.
In 2024, Floyd fans are faced with three versions of the band (excluding the legions of tribute acts), allowing them to experience different facets of its existence. Keeping the memory of Syd Barrett and the band’s rather more psychedelic period alive, there’s the excellent Saucerful of Secrets – which features founding Floyd member Nick Mason, as well as long-time bassist Guy Pratt (also in Gilmour’s band). For those who prefer the bombast of DSOTM through to Final Cut, Roger Waters continues to tour, updating the ferocious messaging of that period with contemporary grievances. And then there’s David Gilmour, whose rather more gentle nature sees his shows cut across the band’s early period, dip into the mid period with care, and act as caretaker for MLOR and The Division Bell. With songs carefully chosen to sit alongside his excellent solo material, he offers arguably the closest experience to where Floyd might have gone, had the band collectively chosen to follow The Division Bell with a more conventional album than The Endless River.
Tonight, we join David at the Royal Albert Hall for the third night of his six-night residency. Much has been made of his stated intention to banish songs from the setlist that do not reflect his current reality but, while this may disappoint some, it is clearly important to David’s artistic integrity, and the result (which still allows for plenty of Floyd classics) is a wonderfully intimate performance that captivates across two lengthy sets, taking the listener on a journey that reflects David’s own sense of inner calm.
We take our seats to find the stage wreathed in smoke and barely visible. Even before the lights dim, there’s an air of expectation such as you rarely experience in these somewhat jaded times and, as the auditorium darkens, the opening notes of 5.A.M ring out across the expectant hall. It makes for an elegant start although the aura of majesty is briefly disturbed when, during Black Cat, a painfully mistuned guitar causes David to throw his hands up on despair. Far from ruining the performance, however, t’s a wonderfully human moment that is treated with amusement rather than anger and, with the band smothering grins, they restart the song to a huge cheer from the audience. It is followed by the exceptional title track from new album Luck And Strange. A beautifully bluesy number that benefits from Polly’s evocative lyrics, its liquid leads and soaring chorus find David channelling the spirit of Floyd’s glory years and creating something truly special in the process. Highlighting the connection to Floyd’s earlier material, it sits perfectly next to DSTOM classics Breathe and Time, not to mention a surprisingly energetic Fat Old Sun, which has a gloriously rocked up outro – the interaction between the musicians a joy to behold throughout. Two more classics follow in quick succession, Marooned and Wish You Were Here – the latter carrying greater poignancy in the wake of Richard Wright’s passing.
Having journeyed across his storied past, David returns to the present as he brings his talented daughter Romany to the stage for Vita Brevis and a stunning take on the Montgolfier Brothers’ Between Two Points. Sung with simple emotion by Romany, this heartbreaking piece of music is something of a showstopper, and the connection between father and daughter is wonderful to see. It draws a huge spontaneous cheer from the crowd and it only serves to underscore how vital the new record is. With an hour having blazed past, it leaves only the elegiac High Hopes to round out this varied first half. One of Pink Floyd’s loveliest songs, it remains an emotional piece of music to treasure, and it gains a new urgency in the live arena, the gorgeous backing vocals, steady build, and lengthy slide solo all raising hairs on the back of the neck.
Opening the second half, the hulking great riff of Sorrow finds David flanked by lasers as he unleashes a MLOR highlight with a fiery precision that provides a wonderful contrast to the more languid pieces found elsewhere. With its stadium sized drums and arcing feedback, it triggers an adrenaline flood as the stage lights blaze across the venue. It’s followed by the rather lovely new track The Pipers Call, which not only sees Romany providing backing vocals, but also finds David exploring a different range of sounds, with subtle electronic influences creeping in. Slow burning it may be, but when it finally lands on the climactic solo, it is a far rockier piece than the opening bars suggest, and it is greeted like an old friend by the crowd.
Five pieces provide an emotional core to the second act. The first of these, A Great Day For Freedom and In Any Tongue, turn the attention to the turmoil in the world today. The former is a stunning Division Bell cut, offering one of David’s most impassioned vocals, while the latter is an anguished plea for peace that is all the more effective thanks to Polly’s deftly written lyrics. Subtle and affecting, it is a compassionate masterpiece that eschews fiery political grandstanding for a more human view of the cost of conflict, and it’s all the better for it. Of the two, while A Great Day For Freedom is the more familiar, I challenge anyone to experience the simple, painful video for In Any Tongue and not feel the force behind it.
Next, David turns to more personal subjects, as a grand piano is bought out for a stunningly rearranged Great Gig In The Sky and a heartfelt A Boat Lies Waiting. Inevitably, these two pieces conjure up the spirit of Rick Wright, and they stand as a moving tribute to David’s friend and musical partner. It has more than a few people mopping surreptitiously at their eyes, and it paves the way for a different sort of tribute in the form of a gorgeous Coming Back To Life, written for Polly and played with simple sincerity. Always a live treat, it opens with David alone, silhouetted against piercing white light, before the band return for the song’s lively second half.
Wrapping up the second set, we get three more pieces from Luck And Strange. First up, David reminds us of his rock roots with the gritty Dark And Velvet Nights. One of the heaviest songs David has produced in years, certainly since Take A Breath (sadly not on tonight’s setlist), it finds David tearing feedback out of a growling, semi-hollow-bodied guitar before the band kick in with percussive blasts and an energy that is nothing short of explosive. It’s followed by the gentle melancholy of Sings, before the exquisite Scattered, with its subtle callbacks to High Hopes, brings the set to a close – the auditorium rising to its feet as one in recognition.
Of course, there is one final song waiting in the wings, as evidenced by the giant mirror ball suspended above the stage, and David knows full well that the audience have been waiting for this moment. As the band return to the stage, the opening bars of Comfortably Numb ring out and the audience collectively lose their minds. It’s hard to fully express the emotion of hearing this piece of music in the flesh (sorry), and David’s solo is enough to cut you to the very core, whether you’re hearing it for the first time or the 1000th. No words can do justice to this incredible piece of music and, as lasers pierce the smoke, David’s guitar carries more emotion than can be conveyed on the page. It provides a wonderful evening of music with a heart stopping climax, and it leaves the audience to wander out into the London night to reflect upon what they’ve just experienced.
The joy of a David Gilmour performance lies in that fact that it not only reflects the past, but it also allows for a wonderful view of the present. David may not be prolific, but each of his measured solo albums has a magical quality that inspires on record and truly comes to life on stage. It says much of his artistry that tracks like Luck And Strange, Sings, and In Any Tongue can stand tall next to Floyd classics, and the night is nothing short of a delight from start to finish.
