Our friends at Loudersound.com, where this review was first published, were on the ground at Rome's Circus Maximus to take in the opening night of David Gilmour's world tour. It's fair to say it went well...
David Gilmour dazzled Rome on the opening night of his current world tour at the Circus Maximus, with a Pink Floyd-heavy set and stunning light show that sent the locals wild with delight.
Cries of “We love you David” rang out all night
The 78-year-old Pink Floyd singer and guitarist was in imperious form as he kicked off his current world tour in support of his recent No. 1 album Luck And Strange. It was Gilmour’s first official live show for eight years (he’d played two low-key ‘rehearsal’ shows in Brighton last weekend) and he will perform a further five shows here in Rome, before six further shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall in early October and then seven more dates in the USA.
Cries of “We love you David” rang out all night around the venue that once hosted chariot racing for Ancient Romans, as Gilmour’s unmistakably fluid guitar tone introduced the instrumental 5AM (from 2015’s Rattle That Lock) followed by new instrumental Black Cat and the title track of the new album, before the instantly recognisable tones of Dark Side Of The Moon’s Breathe kicked off a run of Floyd numbers delighting the 18,000 fans.
Time followed, complete with the classic clocks backing film on the large circular screen adorning the back of the stage, before a rousing Fat Old Sun from Atom Heart Mother, Marooned and Wish You Were Here had the whole crowd singing as one.
Early on Gilmour acknowledged his new live band, featuring established bassist guy Pratt and keyboardist extraordinaire Greg Phillanganes, alongside relative newcomers, guitarist Ben Worsley, besuited drummer Adam Betts (formerly of Prog faves Three Trapped Tigers) and second keyboard player Rob Gentry.
It’s the latter group of musicians, along with Charlie Andrews, producer of Luck And Strange (who is also here tonight), who seem to have invested Gilmour with a new creative zest and he’s certainly a happy fellow on stage tonight, proudly introducing daughter Romany for their delightful cover of The Montgolifer Brothers’ Between Two Points, before Floyd’s latter-day High Hopes ended the first half of the set.
An epic rendition of Sorrow got the second set going on a high, Gilmour peeling off fiery licks and incendiary solos, while A Great Day For Freedom reinforces the point that this is Gilmour relaying what he feels are his finest moments, having clarified why certain past old favourites no longer feature.
Ben Worsley duelled with Gilmour, both vocally and guitar, on a fearsome In Any Tongue, perhaps a surprise inclusion from Rattle That Lock, but the song has certainly never sounded better than it does righ now.
The momentum dropped as Gilmour’s backing singers, the wonderful Webb Sisters, Charley and Hattie, Louise Marshall and Romany reworked The Great Gig In The Sky quite beautifully, with Gilmour on lap steel and Pratt on upright bass.
It’s different enough to make you think, but respectful enough to have the whole crowd swaying to the haunting melody, while a moving A Boat Lies Waiting honoured Gilmour’s great friend, the late Pink Floyd keyboard player Rick Wright.
Gilmour might have fluffed the intro to Coming Back To Life, but it certainly didn’t stem the band’s flow as the tempo rose once more. The gritty Dark And Velvet Nights with its stunning accompanying visuals fired things up further and the epic sweep of Luck And Strange’s most obvious Floydian moment, Scattered, closed the second half of the set on a real high.
As the band appeared for the encore the locals rushed the front of the stage, ignoring the hapless stewards' rather pitiful attempts to hold back the tide as the opening chords of Comfortably Numb rang out.
Multiple lasers lit up the night sky as the locals sang their hearts out and the band beamed with sheer delight as Gilmour, completely in his element, unleashing both of those well-known guitar solos with a passion and fire of a man half his age. It’s a welcome and timely reminder of just what a great musician David Gilmour is.
The Rome crowd went expectedly nuts. In two week’s time the Royal Albert Hall won’t know what’s hit it!
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