pompeii 7/8 july

[Follix]

My point is that I don't watch Echoes for Roger's bass playing.

I don't agree that he was the dominant presence, off stage yes but when it comes to actually playing the music (including singing) Gilmour and Wright are far more important.

[snifferdog]

Does anyone know if this was filmed for a future DVD?

[kjek1]

He didn't play anything from Live at Pompeii apart from One of These Days so Roger had absolutely no business being there. Even if he did play Echoes he still wouldn't have had any business being there, it's a Dave/Rick-centric track and Rogers part is easily covered by anyone else with minimal ability on a bass guitar.

"If Dave was a cooler guy". That's the worst dig at Gilmour I've heard yet in a long line of them. Are people who do this really Pink Floyd fans or are they Roger Water's fans, or are they Rogers personal friends or colleagues under cover? I'm not sure but it's strange either way.

Roger has often closed his shows with Comfortably Numb, musically that's Dave's baby, the song is iconic because of Dave, if Roger was a cooler guy would he be omitting from the setlist or begging Dave to come and play it with him more often? Of course not. He wrote the lyrics so he's perfectly entitled to stick it in his solo set lists.

Live at Pompeii wasn't even Roger's idea. Finally, 2006 was proof you can play Echoes without him, the crowds went nuts for it on the On An Island tour and as long as Dave and Rick are singing and jamming together it works.

[Bigmanpigman]

Review from 'Brain Damage'. You will see that the presence of cameras is noted. I am seriously hoping that a DVD will come from this!

WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD!

Do not read on if you don't want surprises to be spoilt, regarding what the band played!

In the lists of "legendary" Pink Floyd (and related) concerts a few clearly spring to mind. Live 8, Games For May, Montreal 1977 are three such examples, all for strikingly different reasons. When David's pair of concerts at the ancient Anfiteatro in Pompeii was announced, it seemed clear that they could become seen equally as special.

With the two consecutive nights taking place in a venue which had NEVER seen a rock band perform for an audience (with Pink Floyd's 1971 performance shot in an empty arena) the potential and possibilities of these shows seemed as endless as the rumours of the set that David would be playing!

Last night, the first of the concerts confirmed everything that was suspected about the very special nature of the event, and its "must see" status. It was clear that this wasn't just another night on the list of Rattle That Lock concerts, with the production just plonked into the arena. No, clearly much work had been undertaken over weeks and months to finesse the whole set up, to give those lucky enough to be at the show a truly unique experience.

With the day boasting high temperatures, making even some of the locals remark about the heat and humidity, the location being an open air arena seemed a good idea. The ancient stonework was, however, still very warm to the touch at the end of the concert. Earlier in the day, the remarkably efficient ticket validation and wristband distribution took place mainly under cover, a welcome respite from the sun (if not the heat).

The sense of anticipation was palpable as the crowd entered the site of the Pompeii excavations, with Vesuvius lurking in the background, heading to the amphitheatre itself. Inside, every effort (quite rightly) had been made to protect the site with non-destructive construction - flooring for the main audience area, protective barriers and special stairways for the seated area surrounding the arena floor.

Whilst I was not personally expecting a dramatically different set to normal (some seemed convinced that there would be a recreation of the 1971 repertoire), it was interesting to hear the subtle changes to the set, including the little movements of songs, and the inclusion of The Great Gig in the Sky (instead of Us And Them), performed in part as a tribute to Richard Wright.

Sonically, the show was stunning. I had NEVER heard the sound so clear, crisp, dynamic, balanced, detailed and perfect. Initial thoughts that it would have been nice to see surround stacks were unfounded as the shape of the venue meant that at many times, you felt truly enveloped by the sound. Musically, the band were on superb form, with each musician fully deserving praise for their respective performances.

Throughout there were so many special moments, moments where you really took in the important and history of your location. A particularly nice touch was as the light faded away, moving into night-time, a series of small metal plates ringing the top of the venue suddenly had fires lit on them - a nod to the original uses of the amphitheatre. During Wish You Were Here I looked up at the stars, and saw the Big Dipper constellation, one of many small but magical moments in an evening full of them.

Some serious efforts had been made into the visual aspect of the show - using the entire venue as a lighting rig was wonderful and made it feel truly special. Everything was done sensitively, with the obvious exception of things such as Run Like Hell, with lasers and lighting going mad as ever! Encircling the arena with lighting units gave the possibilities of a variety of effects, from subtle lighting of the grassy banks, to washing the audience with colour, to simulating Roman columns, and to creating a roof over us all. With misting machines going, an atmospheric, smoky drift heightened the lighting, despite the slight (and welcomed) breeze trying to move this away.

The show (and tonight's encore performance) was being filmed but thankfully the positioning of cameras was very subtle and non-intrusive, and they will have surely captured the incredible event well. As a side note, almost two hours after the final notes had rung out, the lighting units that ringed the arena could be seen going through their paces again - could that have been to do a few "pick up" shots from different angles?

Will there be any changes or additions to tonight's show? We shall have to wait and see... in the meantime, we'd love to hear from others who were there. What did YOU think of the show?

YOUR HELP NEEDED! We want to cover David's concerts the best we can, to share the experience with everyone, especially those who won't be able to attend the shows. We'd love to see ANY pictures, tickets scans, reviews, newspaper reports, and anything else you come across for this show - we look forward to hearing from you!

[azza200]

yes the shows were filmed for a future DVD-Blu Ray Release that was confirmed when the shows were originally announced

[kjek1]

yes the shows were filmed for a future DVD-Blu Ray Release that was confirmed when the shows were originally announced

No it wasn't

[Flathead]

He didn't play anything from Live at Pompeii apart from One of These Days so Roger had absolutely no business being there. Even if he did play Echoes he still wouldn't have had any business being there, it's a Dave/Rick-centric track and Rogers part is easily covered by anyone else with minimal ability on a bass guitar.

Yeah, Roger only came up with running Rick's piano through an elaborate system to get the "ping" sound. And he only wrote the lyrics and the entire space/storm wind/storm effects were from his bass, lol.

And why did Dave only play one song from the original Pompeii set while stuffing his terrible solo songs down everyone's throats?

The whole thing feels off to me. The stage looks bloated for the arena, and Dave's bad solo work really just doesn't sit well. Pompeii should have been a Dave/Nick/Roger reunion, or don't do it at all.

[kjek1]

He didn't play anything from Live at Pompeii apart from One of These Days so Roger had absolutely no business being there. Even if he did play Echoes he still wouldn't have had any business being there, it's a Dave/Rick-centric track and Rogers part is easily covered by anyone else with minimal ability on a bass guitar.

Yeah, Roger only came up with running Rick's piano through an elaborate system to get the "ping" sound. And he only wrote the lyrics and the entire space/storm wind/storm effects were from his bass, lol.

And why did Dave only play one song from the original Pompeii set while stuffing his terrible solo songs down everyone's throats?

The whole thing feels off to me. The stage looks bloated for the arena, and Dave's bad solo work really just doesn't sit well. Pompeii should have been a Dave/Nick/Roger reunion, or don't do it at all.

It's a David Gilmour tour, not a Pink Floyd tour, so nobody gives a shit if you don't fancy the solo stuff, he's hardly going to leave it out when he's touring his newest album. Are you suggesting he had no right going back to Pompeii without Roger and Nick?

As for criticisms of the stage, just petty nitpicking because it's Gilmour and you've got a massive chip in your shoulder with regards to him. You were sussed a long time ago

Roger made a few sounds on his bass? Woooo, enthralling stuff, it's some kind of miracle they managed to pull that off without him. And I don't think the Leslie was Rogers idea either. Your unfounded and snidey digs at Gilmour are becoming tiresome, are you part of Rogers PR team or something?

[Follix]

And why did Dave only play one song from the original Pompeii set while stuffing his terrible solo songs down everyone's throats?

That's your opinion, tho it happens that I enjoy most of his ''terrible solo songs'', I actually prefer Rattle That Lock to about half PF discography. In Any Tongue could especially have been a PF classic and there is more musical experimentation in Beauty than whole Roger solo career.

[Flathead]

It's a David Gilmour tour, not a Pink Floyd tour, so nobody gives a shit if you don't fancy the solo stuff, he's hardly going to leave it out when he's touring his newest album. Are you suggesting he had no right going back to Pompeii without Roger and Nick?

Pompeii was a PINK FLOYD thing. To ditch the Pompeii songs for his terrible, lifeless solo music is an insult. There's real power and memories there, and the Pomepii setlist should have been at last half-way honored.

Thom Yorke would have busted out A Saucerful of Secrets and Seamus, LOL. Gilmour just doesn't get it. And at least Waters has come to the conclusion no one wants to hear his solo songs. It's that self-awareness that makes a superior artist.

Gilmour seems terrified of being uncomfortable for even a second. but it was that discomfort with Roger and new input/sounds/direction that made Pink Floyd great.

Rattle that Lock and On an Island are embarrassing, retirement cruise ship music, just as bad as Radio Kaoss.

The solo work of all Pink Floyd members (except for a few songs off ATD ) are an embarrassment to the Pink Floyd name. They lack innovation, evolution, and progression artistically, as well as being overseen by Yes-Men afraid to call out the B.S. These songs will be forgotten, thankfully.

[Isntthiswherewe]

Flathead, you are not a well man

It will be an absolute miracle if I ever see my other favourite band, Genesis play again and they are much younger than the Floyd. I think we have done pretty well over the last few years to be honest.
Roger toured "The Wall" Twice in the last few years. The best Floyd album IMO.
Now David does more than half his set with PF Classics plus 5am. Which sounds like a Floyd song even if he can never play it properly! You are right, I dont want to hear the Gilmour average tosh either but come on.
Condsidering they are in their seventies, Rick is dead and Gilmour and Waters dont get on that well this has been something special. Had I not already got tickets for Poland and RAH I would have loved to go to Pompeii. You cant expect the guy to rehearse up a special set just for that concert. That just dosen't happen with big artists. Especially not Dave, as in his head he thinks he is done with Pink Floyd even though half the set is just that

[Follix]

Gilmour said that he would never tour just to tour and only play hits we already heard zillions of times. I am pretty sure the average die-hard PF fan prefer to see a Gilmour solo songs than The Wall all over again. I got more goosebumps during the live solo of Faces of Stones than the whole Wall show.

In fact what I loves the most about Water's The Wall was the quality of the sound, that surround system was so good, it really did feel like a real helicopter was flying over my head, that's what blew my mind the most and not the music itself.

The downside to Gilmour show was his weaker voice on certain songs and the inconsistent guitar playing, but since he is 70 yo that was expected.

[learningtofly]

Exactly, at this stage of the game these shows are bonuses, other musicians have passed away. Many this year.....
So in that context who would have guessed say 2 years ago, there would have been such an extensive an successful 2015/16 run of dates.

I’ve just seen another legend live in Germany last month, Ritchie Blackmore, who despite performing to a pretty high standard for a 71 year old, got a lot of flak for not playing ‘like he used to’, amongst other criticism on these dates, as if that would be remotely possible at this stage in the game.

This is the final throw of the dice for these guys, and they’re doing their best to make it memorable given constraints of age/energy etc.

[raisemyrent]

I have to agree. Seen Roger a few times. The sound check I overheard in France trumped it all. That said, 5AM sounds like elevator music to me, and I'm glad that it never made it onto a Floyd album. I know it's a pleasurable tune, but that's about it. Whatever David Gilmour releases on his own album though, is up to him, and I'm not having a go about that.

[mastaflatch]

How dare an artist not do exactly what I expect him to do?