Last night, David and his band kicked off the first of three sold-out performances at the iconic Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Despite the late October chill in the air, the band delivered an excellent performance, David jokingly remarked, “hope you all brought blankets” while introducing the band. Tonight’s show featured some slight changes, including the omission of “A Great Day For Freedom” in the second half and variations in the lighting cues for “Sorrow” and a section near the end of “Comfortably Numb.” There were a few flubbed notes from David, particularly one that made him shake his head at the beginning of “Coming Back To Life,” and another near the end of “Dark and Velvet Nights,” which brought a big smile to Guy’s face. It is a live show after all.
The mirror ball sat near the top of the stage, but since the Hollywood Bowl is an outdoor venue, it wasn’t suspended from the ceiling, as it would be in an indoor environment. It looked to be used little to none during “Scattered” from what I could make out.
Some notable highlights tonight were “Fat Old Sun,” it was great being up close and feeling David’s ‘Workmate’ guitar shake the house, with Guy, Ben, and David giving off their massive on-stage energy, the audience was feeling it! “A Single Spark” is a favorite of mine on the new album, and it works live. It’s just so majestic! “Between Two Points” has become THE fan favorite, Romany played and sang beautifully. The beach balls during “High Hopes” started from the middle of the venue and made their way to the front! One nearly got to David but Ben saved him (nice one Ben!) While we’re on Ben Worsley, really great vocals on “In Any Tongue,” really powerful.
Over all, it was a spectacular show, and I think the best show of the tour thus far. Songs like “The Great Gig In The Sky” and “A Boat Lies Waiting” are a touching tribute to Pink Floyd’s Richard Wright, and the fitting scaled down candlelight vigil vibe really slow things down a bit, in a good way. I might add that Louise Marshall, The Webb Sisters and Romany do a marvelous rendition of “Great Gig,” I was watching the crowd around me and nearly everyone got teary eyed, including myself! Marvelous work to all, tomorrow the band carry on for show number 2 at the Bowl.
We have been getting a lot of questions in regards to showtimes, The performance begins promptly at 7:30 PM, though it may start 10 to 15 minutes later due to traffic in heavily congested areas, such as Los Angeles. Guy Pratt comes out to welcome the audience and delivers a brief speech regarding phone usage during the show, which appeared to improve tonight compared to last Friday’s concert at the Intuit Dome. David and band play for nearly an hour, then a short 20 minute interval, and then another hour. While times may vary slightly, the shows generally start and end around the same time each night.
Set 1: 5 A.M., Black Cat, Luck and Strange, Speak To Me/Breathe, Time/Breathe (Reprise), Fat Old Sun, Marooned, A Single Spark, Wish You Were Here, Vita Brevis, Between Two Points, High Hopes
Set 2: Sorrow, The Piper’s Call, In Any Tongue, The Great Gig In The Sky, A Boat Lies Waiting, Coming Back To Life, Dark and Velvet Nights, Sings, Scattered
Encore: Comfortably Numb
Capacity: 17,500
The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by Rolling Stone magazine in 2018. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2023.
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