I didn’t know much about The Gilmour Project heading into its show at the legendary Great American Music Hall.
Well, I knew a couple of basic things — 1) This all-star act includes a bunch of stellar players, who have strong Bay Area ties and have worked with some of the top names in rock. 2) The group plays tribute to Pink Floyd (the Gilmour in the name references Floyd vocal-great great David Gilmour).
And now I know one more highly relevant thing after attending Wednesday’s terrific show in San Francisco:
The Gilmour Project is one of the greatest Pink Floyd tribute bands out there — and, taking it one step further, one of the finest classic rock tribute acts period.
The quartet is filled with monster players — band leader/guitarist Jeff Pevar (who has played with CSN, Joe Cocker, Phil Lesh and others), bassist Berry Oakley (North Mississippi All-Stars, Allman Betts Band), guitarist Mark Karan (Bob Weir, The Other Ones, RatDog), keyboardist Scott Guberman (Phil Lesh & Friends) and drummer Pete Lavezzoli (Oteil Burbridge, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Jazz is Dead).
And these accomplished sidemen — with all except Lavezzoli sharing vocal duties — step up to deliver versions of Pink Floyd classics that would please even the most critical of Floyd fanatics.
Yet, really, you’ll get that with most reputable Floyd tribute acts — and certainly with the biggies like Brit Floyd and the Australian Pink Floyd Show. The Gilmour Project can’t compete with Brit and Australian in terms of sheer laser-light-fueled spectacle. But where it comes out on top is that a Gilmour Project concert doesn’t feel like a static tribute show, but rather one that is living, breathing, vibing and reacting with each new occasion.
Now that’s exciting, especially for a tribute act.
The quintet opened its show with a complete retelling of 1973’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” — Floyd’s eighth album, which millions consider to be the single greatest rock platter ever released — with Karan and Pevar divvying up the Gilmour guitar parts on Side 1. Both of these axemen were in strong form throughout the night, but Pevar — who also runs a Led Zeppelin/Jimi Hendrix tribute called (I kid you not) “Zepdrix” — had the most opportunities to flex.
And that’s exactly what he did on Side 1’s epic “The Great Gig in the Sky,” using a slide on one of his guitars to emotionally and close-to-precisely mimic Clare Torry’s legendary wordless vocals on this highly moving meditation on death.
Flipping to Side 2, the group delivered a towering take on “Us and Them” and then closed the performance of the album with the thundering double shot of “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse.” The quintet then zoomed back to the psychedelic early days, taking us right into space with “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” off Floyd’s sophomore set, 1968’s “A Saucerful of Secrets.”
The musicians then delivered one of those moments that I referenced above — the kind that distinguishes one show from the next — as they ended the Set 1 with the classic R&B instrumental “Green Onions.” It seemed out of place at first, especially coming on the heels of “Set the Controls,” until the realization hit that they were doing the piece in honor of its co-writer, Steve “The Colonel” Cropper, who had died earlier that day.
Following a short break, The Gilmour Project kicked off Set 2 not with Pink Floyd, but with another classic-rock titan — The Grateful Dead. Most of these musicians are very familiar with the Dead, having collaborated with a number of its members and close associates over the years, so it wasn’t surprising that their take on the fabled “Dark Star” was highly satisfying.
“Dark Star” made the setlist in honor of the 60th anniversary of author Ken Kesey’s famed Acid Tests, where people gathered in communal spaces to trip out together on LSD. Video footage of Kesey’s famed Merry Pranksters brigade on their “Furthur” bus back in the ’60s was shown behind the band as they played “Dark Star.”
The timing for this celebration was highly appropriate, given that the concert was held on the eve of the actual 60th anniversary of the first public (and second overall) Acid Test on Dec. 4, 1965 in San Jose. That Acid Test marked the first time the Grateful Dead ever performed under that name — an event that is newly being commemorated by a plaque at San Jose City Hall.
The Gilmour Project then turned the celebration back to Floyd, marking the 50th anniversary of the band’s second best album — 1975’s “Wish You Were Here” — by performing most of that record. The only thing missing — and it was definitely felt — was a return to conclude the work with the second half of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” In its place, however, came a really nice mash-up of Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2” with the Dead’s “Shakedown Street.”
The show concluded exactly where it should for a troupe named in honor of David Gilmour — with a triumphant take on the master guitarist’s most highly acclaimed piece, “Comfortably Numb.”
Setlist:
1. “Speak to Me”
2. “Breathe (In the Air)”
3. “On the Run”
4. “Time”
5. “The Great Gig in the Sky”
6. “Money”
7. “Us and Them”
8. “Any Colour You Like”
9. “Brain Damage”
10. “Eclipse”
11. “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun”
12. “Green Onions”
Set 2:
13. “Dark Star”
14. “Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)”
15. “Welcome to the Machine”
16. “Have a Cigar”
17. “Wish You Were Here”
18. “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2”
19. “Shakedown Street” (Ended with “Shakedown”/”Another Brick” mash-up)
Encore:
20. “Comfortably Numb”