By Joel Barrios, Rock at Night Miami’s correspondent
For any fans of prog rock legends Pink Floyd, David Gilmour needs no introduction. Since the departure of the group’s original creative force Syd Barrett, Gilmour’s voice and distinctive guitar licks were a huge part of the band’s sound, right up until their unexpected swansong, The Endless River, Pink Floyd’s final album after a 20 years gap from their last studio release The Division Bell.
45 years after Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour filmed ‘Live At Pompeii’ in the legendary Roman Amphitheatre there, Gilmour returned for two spectacular shows in July 2016, part of the year-long tour in support of his No.1 album ‘Rattle That Lock’. The performances were the first-ever rock concerts for an audience in the stone Roman amphitheatre, and, for two nights only, the 2,600-strong crowd stood exactly where gladiators would have fought in the first century AD.
‘David Gilmour Live At Pompeii’ is an audio-visual spectacle, featuring lasers, pyrotechnics and a huge circular screen on which specially-created films complement selected songs, but paramount above all is the astonishing music and stellar performances. The show includes songs from throughout David’s career, solo and with Pink Floyd, including ‘One Of These Days’, the only song that was also performed at the band’s 1971 show, and six songs from ‘Rattle that Lock’, as well as two from 2006’s ‘On An Island’.
Both concerts also saw very special performances of ‘The Great Gig In The Sky’ from ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’, which David rarely plays as a solo artist. ‘Live at Pompeii’, available on 2-CD, Blu-ray, 2-DVD or deluxe Blu-ray box on 29 Sept 2017, includes highlights from the concert performances of both shows, filmed in 4k by director Gavin Elder. ‘David Gilmour Live At Pompeii’ shows an artist at the top of his artistic game, performing incredible material with his world-class band, in a unique setting, on one very special occasion.
‘Live At Pompeii’’s striking cover was art directed by Gavin Elder under the creative directorship of Polly Samson, with a photograph by Anna Wloch and design by Steve Knee of Blade Design. All the versions of the release include photo booklets, including live and venue shots taken by Polly Samson, Sarah Lee and Anna Wloch. Fans can pre-order any of the several formats by visiting here.
Making the coming of this release even sweeter the fans will also get a one-night-only opportunity to attend theatrical screenings of the guitarist’s historic performances. Gilmour’s concert movie has been booked to appear at more than 2,000 theaters worldwide on Sept. 13. Theaters are still being added to the Live at Pompeii event, but filmgoers hoping to increase the odds of a local screening are encouraged to “demand it” at the screening’s official site — where it’s also already possible to pre-order tickets for theaters that have already announced their participation.
David Gilmour ‘Live at Pompeii’ Set List:
- “5 A.M.”
- “Rattle That Lock”
- “Faces of Stone”
- “What Do You Want from Me”
- “The Blue”
- “The Great Gig in the Sky”
- “A Boat Lies Waiting”
- “Wish You Were Here”
- “Money”
- “In Any Tongue”
- “High Hopes”
- “One of These Days”
- “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”
- “Fat Old Sun”
- “Coming Back to Life”
- “On an Island”
- “The Girl in the Yellow Dress”
- “Today”
- “Sorrow”
- “Run Like Hell”
- “Breathe” (reprise)
- “Comfortably Numb”
I have a big family, my happy team: my wife, four daughters and two cats.
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