Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour and Roger Waters are, in the immortal words of Taylor Swift, never ever getting back together.
Gilmour recently made it clear that he would “absolutely not” perform with his rival former bandmate ever again, citing Waters’ controversial political views that have included inflammatory comments about Israel, Ukraine and the US.
“I tend to steer clear of people who actively support genocidal and autocratic dictators like [president of Russia Vladimir] Putin and [president of Venezuela Nicolás] Maduro,” Gilmour, 78, told the Guardian in October. “Nothing would make me share a stage with someone who thinks such treatment of women and the LGBT community is OK.”
But the legend and legacy of the British prof-rock band — which sold its catalog to Sony Music for $400 million last month — is such that even a solo Gilmour can draw faithful Floydians for five nights at Madison Square Garden on his “Luck and Strange” tour.
In 2024, that’s more than Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj, you name it.
Gilmour released his fifth solo studio album, “Luck and Strange,” in September. And at Monday’s opening night of his MSG run, he relied on the patience of a reverent, respectful audience to give the new material a chance.
In fact, he played all but one song from the new album. And there was no checking out on the fresh, less familiar stuff from the crowd. (Bathroom and drink breaks were, for the most part, saved for the intermission between sets.)
As on “Luck and Strange,” the singer-guitarist was joined by his daughter Romany Gilmour on “Between Two Points” and “The Piper’s Call.”
But Romany’s best moment came along with background singers Louise Marshall and the Webb Sisters (Hattie and Charley) on a haunting, harmony-rich reimagining of “The Great Gig in the Sky,” from Pink Floyd’s 1973 classic “The Dark Side of the Moon.”
Two other “Moon” moments — “Breathe” and “Time” — were early crowd faves, while “Fat Old Sun” (from 1970’s “Atom Heart Mother”) also took it back to classic Pink Floyd, before Waters left the band in 1985.
But “High Hopes” (from 1994’s “The Division Bell”) showed that there was also love for the group’s later material, closing the first set with the launch of giant white beach balls into the arena.
The two biggest numbers, though, were unsurprisingly “Wish You Were Here” and “Comfortably Numb.” Both got the night’s only real sing-alongs, which was kinda refreshing. This was an old-school audience that paid to hear every note and nuance — not the screeching of their seatmates.
Listening and watching attentively, they remained seated for almost the whole show. And there was no recording videos nonstop on their phones. It was a welcome throwback.
As the encore, “Comfortably Numb” was a killer closer. Gilmour’s guitar billowed out from the smoke-filled stage and throughout the arena amid an array of lasers.
As he got lost in the space trippiness with an extended solo that electrified the arena, he and the audience were transported back to 1980 — and an alternate universe where Waters wasn’t missed at all.
