WhoIsWho

The US leg of the On An Island tour opened in a spectacular fashion, with special guests David Crosby and Graham Nash bringing the house down at Radio City Music Hall.
The other new addition to a show packed full of highlights was the introduction of lasers, added by lighting maestro Marc Brickman, and used in a sparing but completely entrancing way, sparking the inevitable forest of mobile phone cameras. Expect to see a blurry rendition of this inspiring visual extravaganza on a PC monitor close to you soon...
From www.davidgilmour.com.

Here's the setlist for tonight's show. Special guests were indeed David Crosby and Graham Nash, who sang on three songs - marked with an asterix (*) - as well as performing one Crosby, Stills and Nash song.

First half:
Castellorizon, This Heaven, Smile, Red Sky At Night, Take A Breath, Then I Close My Eyes, On An Island*, The Blue*, Pocketful Of Stones, Where We Start.

Second half:
Shine On You Crazy Diamond*, Wearing The Inside Out, Dominos, Fat Old Sun, Breathe/Time/Breathe (Reprise), High Hopes, Echoes.

Encores:
Wish You Were Here, Find The Cost Of Freedom (an old CSN song taken from their double live album 'Four Way Street'), Comfortably Numb.

By the features Editor at http://davidgilmour.musicblog.co.uk/.

FIRST HALF:
Castellorizon, This Heaven, Smile, Red Sky At Night, Take A Breath, Then I Close My Eyes, On An Island (w/Crosby & Nash), The Blue (w/Crosby & Nash), A Pocketful Of Stones, Where We Start.

SECOND HALF:
Shine On You Crazy Diamond (w/Crosby & Nash), Wearing The Inside Out, Dominoes, Fat Old Sun, Breathe/Time/Breathe reprise, High Hopes, Echoes.

ENCORE:
Wish You Were Here, Find The Cost Of Freedom (w/Crosby & Nash - one of their songs), Comfortably Numb.

Outrageously long post featuring an annotated setlist, for those of you looking for a comprehensive account:

Set 1:

As I sit quietly in my seat clad in my very own black t-shirt, a screen of smoke and a familiar foghorn open the show…

Castellorizon
This Heaven
Smile: These first three are much like the album.
Red Sky at Night: David’s sax playing is even better than on the album
Take a Breath: Guy Pratt is a great dancer, and so are Marc Brickman’s lights

Then I Close My Eyes: I was wondering how this would turn out live. There were a lot of extra water and foghorn sounds to stall for time as David kept changing guitars: first the cumbus, then the lap steel, then the gretch, I might even be missing one. Guy played the up and down scale part on a yellow strat. Dick Parry played the sax where Robert Wyatt’s cornet part goes. At certain points I actually closed my eyes and the sound was so wonderful; after the intense light show during Take a Breath, Brickman could have shut off all the lights for this baby and I’d have been just as happy.

Then David introduces the band (as if we didn’t know who they were). After Richard Wright’s ovation, David tells us that David Crosby and Graham Nash would help him sing “On an Island.” They come out and shake hands with David and Richard.

On An Island: terrific. I was all the way in the back of the first mezzanine, but I could see David’s huge smile as he finished the second solo and looked at Crosby and Nash. Those two are quite a duo: Nash prances around the stage, bopping his head up and down and flailing his arms about, while Crosby stands still, taking his hands out of his pockets only to adjust his baseball cap.

The Blue: Very close to the album version, plus more harmonies by Crosby and Nash.

A Pocketful of Stones: David’s guitar took the place of the orchestra melody in the beginning, but the rest of the orchestra parts were synthesized strings courtesy of Richard and Jon. I was hoping they’d rework the song to fit the available instruments a little better, as those synthesized strings get on my nerves sometimes—but I’m certainly not complaining. As far as the lights, this song marked the first appearance of Brickman’s new-fangled lasers, in the form of something I have dubbed “the amazing giant green thing.” Hope that catches on. The middle “guilty or afraid section” was a bit different than the album, in a powerful way. David’s guitar beat the album here.

Where We Start: Just a bit more rock n’ roll than the album version. I love this song! David messed up the lyrics a bit: “We walk ourselves weary, arm in arm/So much—” You know what? I couldn’t remember it either. No harm done. (“back through the twilight/we’re home again”)

Set 2:

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 1-5, or arguably Parts 2-5): Just like the mermaid version. When I saw that streamed on the internet, I wasn’t thrilled with the low-key verse section, but I take it back now. Crosby and Nash were great on this one. As David starts playing Pink Floyd songs, the left side of the first mezzanine starts to get rowdy. There is one fellow behind me who incessantly shouts “WOOOOOOOO” for the rest of the show. Several times, I feel the urge to stab him in the chest, but unfortunately, I didn’t spend the money on the officially licensed David Gilmour switchblade at the merchandise desk.

Wot’s…Uh the Deal: very nice! I’m still missing a few Floyd albums, and OBC happens to be one of them. I looked around my neighborhood when I heard David was playing this, but to no avail. That’s fine, though, it was great—especially David’s slide solo at the end.

Wearing the Inside Out: The stage turns purple, a spotlight shines on Guy, and we hear some notes bouncing around the theater. Absolutely brilliant. I loved David and Dick Parry soloing at the same time (David on guitar, not sax).

Coming Back to Life: I admit I was hoping they’d leave this one out in favor of Fat Old Sun, but David changed my mind rather quickly. What a party! Some people around me on the left of the first mezzanine start dancing. This was the only time, for me, that the rowdy audience added to the fun. For others, it may have impeded their view. Great song.

Speak To Me: There has been some question as to whether Speak to Me is played. Well, the recording is. Does that count?

Breathe: Yay!

Time: Before the band gets the chance to hit that final E minor that would otherwise begin “On the Run,” an alarm sounds and white lights spin out of control. I’ve heard complaints that in previous shows, the timing was off in the intro. Well, tonight it was spot on. I had been looking forward to “Breathe” much more than “Time,” which I have gradually gotten tired of. The band absolutely killed that attitude. This song was outstanding. David kept the guitar solo fresh—it sounded more like his playing on “On an Island” and “The Division Bell” than “Dark Side.” Someone sitting in front of me remarked, “This is better than Pink Floyd!”

Breathe (Reprise): Would you believe it was better than “Breathe” itself? It was.

High Hopes: The slightly dissonant division bell sounds and High Hopes abound. Yes, that last slide solo is mesmerizing (he gets in a lot of those harmonics, which I feel are groovy). Just when we think it’s over, David does another solo on his acoustic. It kept seeming to end and then coming back to life. Uh oh, it seems I’m slipping into Floydian punnery. I’ll stop.

Echoes: ”Ping Ping” “Sit down!” “No!” “Sit down” “ping” “No!” Stupid audience. This song was ridiculously amazing. The light show was mind-blowing. A certain someone really does love that funky section—I saw the silhouette of something shaped like Guy Pratt dancing uncontrollably. David’s soloing was not the same as on the album—but it sure was terrific. During the sound effects bit, I realized David’s bird-like guitar sounded exactly like the nutcase sitting behind me. At the end, another guy shouted, “Ladies and gentlemen, David Gilmour and Richard Wright! Echoes!” (WHAT?! I thought it was Ozzy Osbourne and Itzchak Perlman!) There was actually a group of people who left as soon as the funky bit was over. What kind of a person is watching an amazing rendition of Echoes and thinking “I sure want to beat the crowd.” Ach. There was one guy who made me stand up at least 10 times during the course of the show to go get beer. And he always went during the best parts! “Ah, David’s doing yet another guitar solo, think I’ll get me a beer.” Sorry to ramble about the crowd…Echoes rocked.

Encore:

Wish You Were Here: There are no words.

Find the Cost of Freedom: A capella Crosby, Gils, and Nash. Wonderful.

Then David asks, “Time for one more?”

Comfortably Numb: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Richard is great on these vocals. David is the best guitarist. The amazing giant green thing pays us another visit. Just breathtaking watching these people perform this song.

That show was definitely better than the last show I saw at Radio City (Rugrats Live!) and probably better than most other things in existence. And to top it all off, someone came up to me in the street and showed me his tattoo of Nick Mason’s autograph. I love when people do that.
I hope not too many of you are mumbling, “I can’t believe I read the whole thing.”

[That was great, Alex. Thanks for that. - Features Editor]

Posted at davids weblog by: Guy Pratt at April 10, 2006 09:00 AM