I didn\u2019t know much about The Gilmour Project heading into its show at the legendary Great American Music Hall.<\/p>\n
Well, I knew a couple of basic things \u2014 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<\/a> (the Gilmour in the name references Floyd vocal-great great David Gilmour<\/a>).<\/p>\n And now I know one more highly relevant thing after attending Wednesday\u2019s terrific show in San Francisco:<\/p>\n The Gilmour Project is one of the greatest Pink Floyd<\/a> tribute bands out there \u2014 and, taking it one step further, one of the finest classic rock tribute acts period.<\/p>\n The quartet is filled with monster players \u2014 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).<\/p>\n And these accomplished sidemen \u2014 with all except Lavezzoli sharing vocal duties \u2014 step up to deliver versions of Pink Floyd<\/a> classics that would please even the most critical of Floyd<\/a> fanatics.<\/p>\n Yet, really, you\u2019ll get that with most reputable Floyd tribute acts \u2014 and certainly with the biggies like Brit Floyd and the Australian Pink Floyd Show. The Gilmour Project can\u2019t 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\u2019t feel like a static tribute show, but rather one that is living, breathing, vibing and reacting with each new occasion.<\/p>\n Now that\u2019s exciting, especially for a tribute act.<\/p>\n The quintet opened its show with a complete retelling of 1973\u2019s \u201cThe Dark Side of the Moon\u201d \u2014 Floyd\u2019s eighth album, which millions consider to be the single greatest rock platter ever released \u2014 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 \u2014 who also runs a Led Zeppelin\/Jimi Hendrix tribute called (I kid you not) \u201cZepdrix\u201d \u2014 had the most opportunities to flex.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s exactly what he did on Side 1\u2019s epic \u201cThe Great Gig in the Sky,\u201d using a slide on one of his guitars to emotionally and close-to-precisely mimic Clare Torry\u2019s legendary wordless vocals on this highly moving meditation on death.<\/p>\n Flipping to Side 2, the group delivered a towering take on \u201cUs and Them\u201d and then closed the performance of the album with the thundering double shot of \u201cBrain Damage\u201d and \u201cEclipse.\u201d The quintet then zoomed back to the psychedelic early days, taking us right into space with \u201cSet the Controls for the Heart of the Sun\u201d off Floyd\u2019s sophomore set, 1968\u2019s \u201cA Saucerful of Secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n The musicians then delivered one of those moments that I referenced above \u2014 the kind that distinguishes one show from the next \u2014 as they ended the Set 1 with the classic R&B instrumental \u201cGreen Onions.\u201d It seemed out of place at first, especially coming on the heels of \u201cSet the Controls,\u201d until the realization hit that they were doing the piece in honor of its co-writer, Steve \u201cThe Colonel\u201d Cropper, who had died earlier that day.<\/p>\n Following a short break, The Gilmour Project kicked off Set 2 not with Pink Floyd, but with another classic-rock titan \u2014 The Grateful Dead<\/a>. Most of these musicians are very familiar with the Dead<\/a>, having collaborated with a number of its members and close associates over the years, so it wasn\u2019t surprising that their take on the fabled \u201cDark Star\u201d was highly satisfying.<\/p>\n \u201cDark Star\u201d made the setlist in honor of the 60th anniversary of author Ken Kesey\u2019s famed Acid Tests, where people gathered in communal spaces to trip out together on LSD. Video footage of Kesey\u2019s famed Merry Pranksters brigade on their \u201cFurthur\u201d bus back in the \u201960s was shown behind the band as they played \u201cDark Star.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u2014 an event that is newly being commemorated by a plaque at San Jose City Hall<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Gilmour Project then turned the celebration back to Floyd, marking the 50th anniversary of the band\u2019s second best album \u2014 1975\u2019s \u201cWish You Were Here\u201d \u2014 by performing most of that record. The only thing missing \u2014 and it was definitely felt \u2014 was a return to conclude the work with the second half of \u201cShine On You Crazy Diamond.\u201d In its place, however, came a really nice mash-up of Floyd\u2019s \u201cAnother Brick in the Wall, Part 2\u201d with the Dead\u2019s<\/a> \u201cShakedown Street.\u201d<\/p>\n The show concluded exactly where it should for a troupe named in honor of David Gilmour \u2014 with a triumphant take on the master guitarist\u2019s most highly acclaimed piece, \u201cComfortably Numb.\u201d<\/p>\n Setlist:<\/p>\n 1. \u201cSpeak to Me\u201d<\/p>\n 2. \u201cBreathe (In the Air)\u201d<\/p>\n 3. \u201cOn the Run\u201d<\/p>\n 4. \u201cTime\u201d<\/p>\n 5. \u201cThe Great Gig in the Sky\u201d<\/p>\n 6. \u201cMoney\u201d<\/p>\n 7. \u201cUs and Them\u201d<\/p>\n 8. \u201cAny Colour You Like\u201d<\/p>\n 9. \u201cBrain Damage\u201d<\/p>\n 10. \u201cEclipse\u201d<\/p>\n 11. \u201cSet the Controls for the Heart of the Sun\u201d<\/p>\n 12. \u201cGreen Onions\u201d<\/p>\n Set 2:<\/p>\n 13. \u201cDark Star\u201d<\/p>\n 14. \u201cShine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)\u201d<\/p>\n 15. \u201cWelcome to the Machine\u201d<\/p>\n 16. \u201cHave a Cigar\u201d<\/p>\n 17. \u201cWish You Were Here\u201d<\/p>\n 18. \u201cAnother Brick in the Wall, Part 2\u201d<\/p>\n 19. \u201cShakedown Street\u201d (Ended with \u201cShakedown\u201d\/\u201dAnother Brick\u201d mash-up)<\/p>\n Encore:<\/p>\n 20. \u201cComfortably Numb\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I didn\u2019t know much about The Gilmour Project heading into its show at the legendary Great American Music…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81779,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[184,7,2644,967,1533,181,330,395,8257,8258,101,396,103,102,104,106,105,420],"class_list":{"0":"post-81778","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco","8":"tag-bay-area","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-concerts","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-keywee","13":"tag-latest-headlines","14":"tag-music","15":"tag-peninsula","16":"tag-pop-music","17":"tag-rock-music","18":"tag-san-francisco","19":"tag-san-francisco-county","20":"tag-san-francisco-headlines","21":"tag-san-francisco-news","22":"tag-sf","23":"tag-sf-headlines","24":"tag-sf-news","25":"tag-things-to-do"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}