New York GigS

All discussion related specifically to David Gilmour.
homeby5
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New York GigS

Post by homeby5 »

Anybody here going? I'll be going to the MSG show on the 12th. I bet the RCMH show will be great!
kjek1
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Re: New York GigS

Post by kjek1 »

Catching a lot of these gigs on periscope and while he sounds utterly fantastic for the most part he's really hitting a lot of bum notes these days, well maybe not a lot but much more than I'm used to
mojoman
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Re: New York GigS

Post by mojoman »

kjek1 wrote:Catching a lot of these gigs on periscope and while he sounds utterly fantastic for the most part he's really hitting a lot of bum notes these days, well maybe not a lot but much more than I'm used to


all in all it was an absolutely stupendous show at madison square last night. i couldnt get out of my seat for the whole of the first act. the second act was just as good although i prefered it for the inclusion of one of my favorites the sublime fat olde sun. crushing bottom end, massive guitar squalls and beautifully choreographed visuals made this a event that was not only one of best concerts i have ever seen it would also leave me satiated if i never have a chance to see mr gilmour perform again.
raisemyrent
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Re: New York GigS

Post by raisemyrent »

Not to diminish anyone's experience but agreed with kjek1 watching on periscope he did seem... Tired for that last gig. A few hiccups. This is comparing to 6 shows on this tour so far that I've had the fortune of seeing him on (by paying a fortune to make up for never seeing PF live)
kjek1
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Re: New York GigS

Post by kjek1 »

I think it's just an age thing and his minds probably a fraction slower which is leading to more hiccups whilst he's improvising

I followed almost all of the gigs in 2006 and he'd hardly ever miss a note. But it's been very frequent on this tour. For example in the last gig I only caught 5am, Run like hell, Time and Comfortably Numb and there were very conspicuous mistakes in all of those apart from C Numb! The run like hell gaff was particularly embarrassing, he basically went to the wrong position on the next during the big chorus which lead to some very uncomfortable sounds.

Like I said though apart from the occasional hiccup he's still been sounding great, playing for nearly 3 hours at his age is fantastic, especially given he hasn't changed the key of any of his songs like a lot of old rockers do, and his guitar tone is still unmatched, so I have enormous respect for him.
mojoman
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Re: New York GigS

Post by mojoman »

kjek1 wrote:I think it's just an age thing and his minds probably a fraction slower which is leading to more hiccups whilst he's improvising

I followed almost all of the gigs in 2006 and he'd hardly ever miss a note. But it's been very frequent on this tour. For example in the last gig I only caught 5am, Run like hell, Time and Comfortably Numb and there were very conspicuous mistakes in all of those apart from C Numb! The run like hell gaff was particularly embarrassing, he basically went to the wrong position on the next during the big chorus which lead to some very uncomfortable sounds.

Like I said though apart from the occasional hiccup he's still been sounding great, playing for nearly 3 hours at his age is fantastic, especially given he hasn't changed the key of any of his songs like a lot of old rockers do, and his guitar tone is still unmatched, so I have enormous respect for him.

i am not a musician or an expert but age certainly can soften yer ability in probably almost any discipline. not to many of his contemporaries are playing at the level they were playing at ten, twenty or forty years ago maybe jeff beck or john mclaughlin are up there. others still do great shows like springsteen, neil young(3 hrs) and the stones but most are shadows of their former greatness either from loss of interest or skill.

i was at restaurant before the show the other night and i heard a fan talking about going to the show and we chatted for a bit about concert going over the years he asked waters or gilmour? dave of course! i am a guitar fanatic! he also asked when the last time i was at the garden and i said it was for last years EC 70th birthday gigs, this question was from a man in his fifties or maybe older and said that he had never seen slowhand in concert! he asked who do you think is a better player i said EC of course but i liked DGs tone and was a bigger fan of his oeuvre
Follix
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Re: New York GigS

Post by Follix »

Yes he make more mistake than before... He did do some better gigs than others tho (I remember in the first leg Pula was a great one, some in South America and LA, Chicago as well)

But he still have the magic touch, he can still hit those notes others can't... I mean his shows got a PF feel to it, I can't really say the same about Roger's. Even his guitarists will make much less mistake there is no magic notes as well, it's more flat. Jon Carin once said that Gilmour was more an improvised rock and roll gig while Roger Waters was more like classical music show, playing songs note for note without any mistake.
mojoman
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Re: New York GigS

Post by mojoman »

Follix wrote:Yes he make more mistake than before... He did do some better gigs than others tho (I remember in the first leg Pula was a great one, some in South America and LA, Chicago as well)

But he still have the magic touch, he can still hit those notes others can't... I mean his shows got a PF feel to it, I can't really say the same about Roger's. Even his guitarists will make much less mistake there is no magic notes as well, it's more flat. Jon Carin once said that Gilmour was more an improvised rock and roll gig while Roger Waters was more like classical music show, playing songs note for note without any mistake.

he runs such a huge production that it cannot survive human error. more memorex than live
kjek1
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Re: New York GigS

Post by kjek1 »

Follix wrote:Yes he make more mistake than before... He did do some better gigs than others tho (I remember in the first leg Pula was a great one, some in South America and LA, Chicago as well)

But he still have the magic touch, he can still hit those notes others can't... I mean his shows got a PF feel to it, I can't really say the same about Roger's. Even his guitarists will make much less mistake there is no magic notes as well, it's more flat. Jon Carin once said that Gilmour was more an improvised rock and roll gig while Roger Waters was more like classical music show, playing songs note for note without any mistake.
This is spot on. There's no improvisation in Rogers gigs at all, it's note for note identical each night

Dave's gigs always sound quite fresh thanks to his improv, and it's not easy let me tell you, I've been playing a long time and consider myself a very competent guitar player and it's easy to get lost. How he constantly reinvents songs like C Numb is incredible, every tour he's ever done new phrasing pops up in the solos.

His tone is simply unmatched for me though, his shows definitely have more "life". He might look his age, he might be a dull dresser who doesn't sport the rock n roll image or personality. But when he's up on stage with a guitar and singing and playing he's an absolute superstar.

Look at Keith Richards, he's not the same player he once was and he certainly couldn't play anywhere close to the level Dave still can.
UsNotThem
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Re: New York GigS

Post by UsNotThem »

One thing I am noticing this tour, probably since the Brighton show, is that his tone on Time's solo is pretty weak. It hasn't got the power that he usually uses which means there's hardly any sustain.

I'm not sure about the American tour, but in the European tour last year (and particulary the show I attended at the RAH), it's the solo he's been struggling with the most. There were a lot of bum notes with that solo.
kjek1
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Re: New York GigS

Post by kjek1 »

UsNotThem wrote:One thing I am noticing this tour, probably since the Brighton show, is that his tone on Time's solo is pretty weak. It hasn't got the power that he usually uses which means there's hardly any sustain.

I'm not sure about the American tour, but in the European tour last year (and particulary the show I attended at the RAH), it's the solo he's been struggling with the most. There were a lot of bum notes with that solo.

He's changed it and he's using the Big Muff again.

I noticed this too, at Brighton it sounded fantastic, at the Albert Hall he was using a bit of overdrive with the Uni-vibe and it sounded very weak, as it did in all his European shows, not sure what he was thinking, it's sounded great on his American tour though.

I feel like I've come to appreciate his guitar work on "The Blue" a lot more on this tour.
raisemyrent
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Re: New York GigS

Post by raisemyrent »

What kjek just said. For some reason, I've never heard a live version capture the energy and simplicity of the studio version for the time solo. I remember reading a while ago that he simply had forgotten what he used on that solo, and that without Phil Taylor he'd be lost with what he uses on everything, and that he was always chasing himself trying to recreate that solo sound. Might be a reason why that solo has sounded so different through the years (pulse is different too). He never does the slide pick intro either.
I was listening to the endless river randomly on my phone yesterday and I got excited again and went to see some covers on YouTube. Surprised to see a few. Go and have a look and you will appreciate Gilmour's impeccable tone again compared to all the young kids out there. Granted people that post on YouTube do not correlate with overall talent out there but It's a sample (some guys are really good).
The blue is incredible on this tour. Never cared for it and considered it a weak follow up to marooned but live it's a highlight for sure.

Any crazy setlists pipe dreams for Europe?? I have one of these days, marooned, and anything from the endless river (allons-y, anisina, or louder than words -boring-).
raisemyrent
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Re: New York GigS

Post by raisemyrent »

Same goes for the solo on echoes studio versus live. Maybe not the sound but that young almost naivety yet greatness that he put in it seemed hard to recreate live later on
kjek1
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Re: New York GigS

Post by kjek1 »

Yeah on the original Time recording he's just using a Fuzz Face and his Hiwatt amps but he's been playing it with a Big Muff for years, I also wondered why he never used the Fuzz Face again. Same with Echoes, those screaming sustains all come from the Fuzz Face, it was famously Hendrix's main distortion pedal.

Yes The Blue is brilliant live, he's a master with that Digitech Whammy Pedal. I agree with what you said about covers too, when you listen to them you understand how hard his tone is to recreate, there's a lot of great subtleties in his playing. Like Phil Taylor said, "you can replicate all his gear and get a nice familiar sound, but you'll never replicate his exact tone, that's all in his fingers"
homeby5
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Re: New York GigS

Post by homeby5 »

As a life long DG fan and a average amateur guitarist, I think he plays and sings better than ever. If you listen to his playing and singing in the early 70's.....they were full of mistakes and flat singing. His shows now showcase how much he has matured as a musician and continues to grow. I don't hear all of these "bum" notes that others hear. At least not on the Tuesday show at MSG. I'm sure there were a few but no way were they noticable. I did hear his guitar cut out on part of "high hopes". No biggie though. My opinion of course.