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Last night at a sold-out Madison Square Garden, Cambridge, England’s guitar wizard David Gilmour, famed for joining pioneering psychedelic blues group Pink Floyd in 1967 when co-founder and childhood friend Syd Barrett was breaking down (Gilmour later produced & played on both of Barrett’s influential solo LPs), celebrated his legacy and the recent release of his sophisticated and beautifully-crafted UK-chart-topping Luck and Strange LP on Night Three of a five-show-stand with a 23-song set drawing from ’70s Floyd blockbuster Dark Side of The Moon (“Breathe (In the Air),” Time,” “The Great Gig in the Sky;” no “Us and Them” on this tour, even though it fits the moment) and his leadership of the now dormant band since the late ’80s (only “Sorrow” from underrated Momentary Lapse of Reason LP, but excellent cuts from The Division Bell LP) which all fit in a thematic whole with the new material.
78-year-old Gilmour was a wise, gracious, and generous host, sharing the spotlight with his ace band, including longtime bass collaborator Guy Pratt (who also tours with Floyd drummer Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets and co-hosts the entertaining Rockonteurs podcast), Greg Phillinganes (Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson), Rob Gentry on keyboard/vocals, Ben Worsley on acoustic/electric/pedal steel guitars/vocals Adam Betts (Pulp) on drums, with spectacular backing vocals from Louise Marshall (Jools Holland), Hattie Webb & Charley Webb AKA The Webb Sisters (Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty), and his 22-year-old daughter Romany Gilmour, who also played harp and sang perfect fairy goth lead on a hypnotic cover of obscure ’90s indie pop duo The Montgolfier Brothers “Between Two Points.”
The mid-tempo arrangements on songs old and new gave space for the stellar musicianship to simmer in the seated (until “Comfortably Numb”) crowd and for zen lyrics (mostly written since 1994 by Gilmour’s wife, author Polly Samson) to settle into the collective consciousness as we confront uncertain days ahead while giving ample space for Gilmour to solo soothe our souls with his considerable acoustic/electric/pedal steel guitar prowess, his instantly recognizable liquid crystalline syrup guitar sound that has inspired millions of musicians.
If you are fortunate enough to score a ticket for one of the final two shows this weekend, you are in for a magical night!
Setlist
Set 1:
5 A.M.
Black Cat
Luck and Strange
Speak to Me (Pink Floyd song)
Breathe (In the Air) (Pink Floyd song)
Time (Pink Floyd song)
Breathe (Reprise) (Pink Floyd song)
Fat Old Sun (Pink Floyd song)
Marooned (Pink Floyd song)
A Single Spark
Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd song)
Vita Brevis
Between Two Points (The Montgolfier Brothers cover)
High Hopes (Pink Floyd song)
Set 2:
Sorrow (Pink Floyd song)
The Piper’s Call
In Any Tongue
The Great Gig in the Sky (Pink Floyd song)
A Boat Lies Waiting
Coming Back to Life (Pink Floyd song)
Dark and Velvet Nights
Sings
Scattered
Encore:
Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd song)
