David Gilmour raises Rome to heaven

There are moments in life when you know that you have reached the summit. Moments when you feel that a long journey had to lead you right here. Moments that you want to absorb and store, to benefit from their magic forever.

What I experienced on 1, 2 and 3 October at the historic Circo Massimo in Rome was overwhelming – and I realise that it will take me a long time to process all the impressions. Nevertheless, I will now try to write down some of my thoughts.

When David Gilmour entered my orbit over 30 years ago with Pink Floyd's The Division Bell, everything changed. It's no exaggeration to say that his singing and guitar playing have long since become an integral part of my own personality. There is nothing in this world that makes me feel more at home. No matter how awful the day has been, he can save it.

Until a few months ago, I would never have thought that I would see David live on stage again. Considering his age of 78, I would have been more than happy for him to have retired and spent time with his wonderful family. However, things turned out differently, and four cities on this planet enjoyed the prospect of concerts with the living legend. They say that all roads lead to Rome. From now on, I can say that the same applies to me. What began in 1994 reached its peak in the former Caput Mundi.

What blew me away on all three evenings in Rome was the performance that David still delivers at an advanced age. Sure, his singing has changed a bit, but I also like the rasp in his voice. I don't want to leave unmentioned that every note was definitely sung live. What has remained unchanged over the last decades is David's magnificent guitar playing, with solos that seem to come from another world. At the Circo Massimo, he played flawlessly and, above all, with his usual amount of soul, passion and joy of improvisation. On Wednesday, the man sitting next to me exclaimed: “Non è umano!“ (“He's not human!“).

Since the sound was excellent, you could enjoy every nuance. When I closed my eyes, I felt as if I were in my living room with headphones on. That's something you don't always get at an open-air event. In fact, I have never experienced such excellent sound in a hall.

Looking at the very coherent setlist, I am not even able to name highlights, as there were only highlights to marvel at. Nevertheless, I could single out “Marooned“ - the instrumental track from the aforementioned The Division Bell is unquestionably one of David's strokes of genius. In the Eternal City, he played his way into a frenzy - and the audience literally floated. A circumstance that was further enhanced by the excellent light show. But “In Any Tongue“ from David's solo album Rattle That Lock (2015) also gave me goosebumps – a contemplative anti-war song accompanied by impressive images on the screen. As has been the case since the earliest Pink Floyd days, concerts by their (former) members are complete works of art.

What particularly pleased me was the decision to end the first set with “High Hopes“ and to start the second set, after a longer break, with the powerful “Sorrow“. For most fans, these two tracks are presumably the favourites from the post-Waters era – so it was particularly delightful that the band presented two of the best versions I've ever heard. During “High Hopes“, the big balls from the iconic video were thrown into the audience, which gratefully accepted this little playful interlude. In the case of “Sorrow“, the laser show was a real eye-catcher that further amplified the intensity of the song.

And that brings us to another point that has to play an important role in this report: David has surrounded himself with excellent musicians who displayed a perfect blend of playing artistry and joy. The fact that Romany Gilmour was on stage also visibly filled her father with pride. And rightly so, I might add: Romany impressed as a singer, but also on the harp. It was great fun to see her dancing and laughing on stage – she also showed off her headbanging skills during “Comfortably Numb“.

“A Great Gig in the Sky“ and “A Boat Lies Waiting“ were real band moments. The intensity and almost religious solemnity with which these songs were performed proved once again how huge music can be. For a better understanding: the first song mentioned, from The Dark Side of the Moon, was written by Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright, who died in 2008. The second song was written by David and his wife Polly for their close friend. The fact that Rick's son-in-law Guy Pratt, who has been the bassist for Pink Floyd respectively David Gilmour since 1987, was also involved gave the whole thing an even more personal touch. I am sure that Rick followed these two tributes from somewhere with a smile on his face.

On the first evening, there was a pleasant surprise: unexpectedly, the first notes of “Sings“ were suddenly heard – a song from the new Gilmour record Luck and Strange that had not been played at the first three gigs at Circo Massimo the previous week. Apparently, in view of the recordings for a DVD/Blu-ray, the decision had been made to add this number to the setlist. This also meant that the regular set was concluded with three tracks from the current album. This shows how convinced David is of his latest work. I have never seen a concert where brand new compositions were presented at the end. It was both confident and appropriate, as Luck and Strange is simply an excellent release.

As an encore, after well over 2 hours, only one song followed. However, it was the song that still outshines everything else, because it is David's signature track and, in my humble opinion, the best song of all time, refined with the best solo in rock history. Immediately after the last notes of the stunningly played “Scattered“, the fans stormed to the front to celebrate “Comfortably Numb“. Well, for many, the celebration consisted of filming the track with their mobile phones. For me, it was different: on the second evening, I managed to stand right in the middle, directly in front of David, without anyone or anything in my field of vision. Since “Comfortably Numb“ has been my favourite song for 30 years, the one I want to be played at my funeral, this was a very special, priceless moment. I could have shot the greatest video of my life in this position, but I decided to leave the phone in my pocket and absorb every second. This was exactly where I was supposed to be – this was my moment of glory in my Pink Floyd anniversary year. I probably never sang louder along to a song than I did here – it was absolutely amazing and I am infinitely grateful to have been able to experience it.

What touched me most was David's farewell, on all three evenings. You could see him in close-up on “Mr Screen“. And you could see the tears in his eyes. For him, these concerts were something very special – and perhaps he knows that at 78 years of age, he is now definitely on his farewell tour. He was presumably fully aware of the love and adoration that was showered on him. On the third evening, you could also see that his daughter Romany was shedding tears, and then, at the latest, you realised that these were no ordinary concerts. David introduced his daughter, who looks extremely like her father, to an audience of millions who followed the reports of the gigs at the Circo Massimo on all conceivable channels, for the first time on stage. And as I said, the probability of seeing the heart of Pink Floyd on stage again after the upcoming dates in London, New York and Los Angeles is relatively low.

In this context, I can also say that the three evenings in Rome brought me closer to David as a person. The way he thanked his crew, some of whom have been working with him for 50 (!) years, was special, as were the words he spoke about his band. It was also remarkable that David repeatedly responded to calls from the audience and was so surprisingly talkative. He enjoyed every moment on stage - and since I was sitting very close to the front, I could actually witness that with my own eyes. Seeing David in this form and with such great fellow musicians, it's just a shame that under normal circumstances it won't continue like this for many more years. Yes, the Saucerful of Secrets, the band of Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, which I saw live four times this summer, was perfect - thanks to them, I experienced the best week of my life so far. However, David was able to top that, which in itself is an incredible achievement. As different as Nick and David are, each of them is an extremely pleasant person who, by his very nature, elevates a concert evening.

To sum up, my very expensive trip to the Eternal City was worth every penny. It felt like a football World Cup, with fans coming from every continent. The organisation was very good on the first two evenings, but miserable on the third night, when the Circo Massimo was partially flooded due to torrential rain and the concert had to be postponed for 45 minutes. Since Finns, Turks and South Americans were also complaining, this is not a typically German lament. But this minus point should not end my report. I had a wonderful hotel, with a German-Italian owner, with whom I chatted a lot about Rome and its insider tips and history. Here, too, I immediately felt at home.

It will be difficult for me to return to everyday life now. Likewise, it will be difficult for me to get into concerts in the near future, because I have just experienced the highlight of my life in this regard. As I wrote in the introduction, this was the summit. It doesn't get any better than this. It is a privilege to be able to say that, and I am aware of that. David, thank you from the bottom of my heart!