We lured resident BV Pink Floyd superfan Jeff Bergstrom out of retirement to take in the first night of David Gilmour’s six-night run at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall. His totally unbiased review follows…
If you follow David Gilmour’s wife Polly Samson’s Instagram account you get a very intimate glimpse into the idyllic world he resides in; a world of family, friends, pets, and gorgeous British countryside. Having sold 120 of his instruments and various bits of equipment back in 2019 to the tune of about $22,226,735 one could be forgiven for assuming that he had largely retired from touring to focus on the more cozier life of domesticity. But then Polly’s Insta started showing a lot of images of David playing a bit more guitar, which evolved into images of David in the studio with other musicians, which then crescendoed in a press release in April of 2024 that announced that his first album in eight years, Luck and Strange, would be dropping on September 6. A month later, tour dates started being announced which ballooned to six in Italy and London, four in Los Angeles, and five in New York City. Apparently retirement was the last thing on his mind.
I was beyond lucky to catch the opening night gig at The Royal Albert Hall (10/9) where David & co delivered a staggering, nearly three-hour career survey that deftly set some of his newer solo work amongst many of his legendary Pink Floyd classics. I cannot emphasize enough how wonderfully his solo work sat alongside the Pink Floyd songs. Beginning the show with the gorgeous “5 A.M.” from 2015’s Rattle That Lock, a song that features about as much signature “David Gilmour” sound as you can possibly cram into a single song, was a master stroke. By flowing from there directly into “Luck and Strange” and “Black Cat,” two of his new cuts, the audience was already mesmerized, and we hadn’t even gotten to the good stuff.
From there he jumped into classics territory, and this is where the show really came alive with the signature smoke, videos, animations, lights, and lasers one can expect from a Pink Floyd experience. A four song Dark Side of the Moon survey featuring “Speak To Me,” “Breathe (In the Air),” “Time,” and “Breathe (Reprise)” had the room roaring in a sing-along-unison. His guitar solo in “Time” was breathtaking and I don’t think I’ve seen more simultaneous air-guitaring happening in my life.
I really liked the construction of the setlist after this Dark Side survey. After “Breathe” they went into the mellow Atom Heart Mother classic “Fat Old Sun” which was another great showcase for David’s vocal and guitar agilities which really haven’t diminished too badly over the years. He was able to nail the falsettos no problem and the guitar solo was just absolutely searing. No doubt to give his pipes a break, this segued into the instrumental “Marooned” from 1994’s The Division Bell, one of three Bell classics they’d get to during the evening. As far as Gilmour’s guitar-forward songs go, this one is definitely one of the more… baroque. It’s one of the few songs where he relies on a guitar pedal to bring the high pitched notes even higher. Like, way higher. And I am so glad they played it. It’s such a beautiful and haunting tune, and one of the few where the soloing gets a little weird; still signature Gilmour but weirder.
Crowd favorite “Wish You Were Here” came up next and of course the place went berserk. It’s very surreal to hear thousands of people singing signature guitar riffs, but at this point I think it’s almost an ingrained biological reaction to do so. Even I caught myself doing it. After “Wish” we got two new Gilmour solo works, “Vita Brevis” and “Between Two Points,” the latter featuring David’s daughter Romany on vocals and harp. I am about as cynical as a person can get, and when I catch a whiff of a potential nepo baby entering the room I am an arms-crossed, tongue-clicking, dismissive SOB. But fair dues; Romany’s voice is tremendous, and her stage presence was confident and natural. Her being up there with her father, singing and playing together, was as beautiful a sight and sound as you can get. At that moment, they are not father and daughter, they are musical peers. Following this, Romany joined the back-up singers for the rest of the show. Set one ended with “High Hopes” from The Division Bell, a song renowned for its unbelievably haunting minutes-long slide guitar wailing that closes out the tune.
After a much needed (for me at least) intermission, the band kicked off the second set with 1987’s “Sorrow,” which, with it clocking in at around 10-minutes, began things in more of a bombast than set 1. Full band, heavy guitar riffs and soloing, back-up singers in the spotlight, the works. Romany then joined the spotlight with the band for “The Piper’s Call” before heading back to join the back-up singers as the band moved into 1994’s “A Great Day For Freedom” which, sadly, has never been one of my favorites. However, as always, a triumphant extended guitar solo by Gilmour reliably elevates this song.
There were so many highlights in set 2. The next song, “In Any Tongue” featured touring guitarist Ben Worsley stepping into the spotlight. While David focuses on guitar duties, Worsley took and basically owned center stage and honestly surprised me with the power of his voice. Speaking of vocals, the next song, Dark Side of the Moon‘s “The Great Gig in the Sky,” deviated from its famous female vocal solo approach and was turned into more of a group affair. The four backing vocalists sang Clare Torry’s legendary vocal part as one of them played the piano, while David unleashed the classic slide guitar sounds and the rest of the band did their thing. To retool what is basically a perfect song could be regarded as sacrilegious, but I found the rendition both interesting and refreshing.
A call of nature had me miss “A Boat Lies Waiting” but I got back in time for 1994’s “Coming Back to Life” which was followed by closers “Dark and Velvet Nights”, “Sings,” and “Scattered” all from Luck and Strange. I thought “Dark and Velvet Nights” in particular was phenomenal. The accompanying animation was stunning, and it was one of the many times throughout the evening where I was so impressed with the musicians Gilmour has surrounded himself with, particularly drummer Adam Betts. He’s a rock solid, no frills kind of drummer who brings just the right groove and power not only to David’s solo work but also to the Pink Floyd songs as well. [Editor’s note: Adam Betts also plays in Pulp these days.] I also loved what keyboardist Greg Phillinganes brought to the table, bringing so much great flavor of his own to all of the songs.
They closed out the night with a single encore featuring “Comfortably Numb.” This is no doubt one of the most famous Gilmour-related Pink Floyd songs, both for his iconic guitar solos and for his singing. And what a closer it was. Not only was the performance staggering, but knowing it was the last song of the show, and possibly the last time I will ever see David Gilmour in the flesh, added a bit of fanboy gravity to the situation.
Given Gilmour’s extensive catalog, creating the setlist must have been a bear. You can’t please everyone. Like most fanatics, there were a few songs I wish made the cut and a few I wish didn’t. But I reckon that’s neither here nor there. That the fates somehow conspired to get me into one of London’s most famous venues to see my hero and one of the UKs most iconic guitarists is sort of unreal. He could have played one note on a two-stringed guitar and I still would have been happy. These shows ain’t cheap, but there aren’t many of them. If you have even a pedestrian interest in Pink Floyd and can spring for a ticket, I strongly recommend you do so.
David Gilmour’s North American dates start October 25 in Los Angeles and he’ll be in NYC to play Madison Square Garden on November 4, 5, 6, 9 & 10.
Gilmour’s Royal Albert Hall setlist, plus fan-shot videos and pictures from his September 27 show at Rome’s Circo Massimo, below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV2ozHCuI8g&pp=ygUkZGF2aWQgZ2lsbW91ciByb3lhbCBhbGJlcnQgaGFsbCAyMDI0
SETLIST: David Gilmour @ Royal Albert Hall 10/9/2024
Set 1:
5 A.M.
Black Cat
Luck and Strange
Speak to Me
Breathe (In the Air)
Time
Breathe (Reprise)
Fat Old Sun
Marooned
Wish You Were Here
Vita Brevis
Between Two Points (The Montgolfier Brothers cover) (with Romany Gilmour)
High Hopes
Set 2:
Sorrow
The Piper’s Call (with Romany Gilmour)
A Great Day for Freedom
In Any Tongue
The Great Gig in the Sky
A Boat Lies Waiting
Coming Back to Life
Dark and Velvet Nights
Sings
Scattered
Encore:
Comfortably Numb