David Gilmour
The Center at
Chicago, Illinois
April 8, 2016

Source: Church Audio CA-11 cards => UGLY pre-amp => Tascam DR-2D
Transfer: DR-2d => Magix Audio Cleaning Lab => FLAC (level 8)
Location: Side stage, 17th row

Track listing:

Disc one (70:40):
(1) 5 AM (3:02)
(2) Rattle That Lock (5:43)
(3) Faces of Stone (6;13)
(4) Wish You Were Here (5:14)
(5) What Do You Want From Me? (4:59)
(6) A Boat Lies Waiting (4:28)
(7) The Blue (6:37)
(8) Money (8:23)
(9) Us and Them (8:15)
(10) In Any Tongue (7:43)
(11) High Hopes (9:58)

Disc two (53:50):
(1) Astronomy Domine (5:46)
(2) Shine On You Crazy Diamond Pt. I-V (10:50)
(3) Fat Old Sun (6:41)
(4) Coming Back To Life (7:10)
(5) On An Island (7:38)
(6) Band introductions (2:39)
(7) The Girl In The Yellow Dress (6:20)
(8) Today (6:42)

Disc three (38:17):
(1) Sorrow (11:00)
(2) Run Like Hell (8:03)
(3) Encore break (3:04)
(4) Time => Breathe (reprise) (6:42)
(5) Comfortably Numb (9:27)

Md5 signature file is included. Sorry, no artwork (feel free to make some)

Comments:

Note: This is a 24/44.1 file set, which in most cases can't be burned directly to CD without downsampling to 16-bit. A 16-bit, CD-friendly version will be posted separately. The recording is seamless; the disc breaks above are merely a suggestion.

David Gilmour's 3rd night in Chicago, previously featuring a night at the United Center and an interlude at the (relatively) intimate Auditorium Theater, where Pink Floyd had performed legendary sets in the early '70s. Having caught the Auditorium show two days earlier, I will admit that the set grew on me; the first half (which was heavy on the newer material) was much lower-energy but I found myself appreciating the intracacies of the arrangements. The second half, which basically amounted to a greatest-hits set, was much more engaging to the crowd and a fun performance. I think the set was identical to the earlier nights in Chicago.

In terms of performance, I thought it was solid but lacking in some of the "deep tracks" that were featured on the 2006 tour (for example, I would have killed to hear "Echoes"). If you're a fan of David Gilmour (and I will say that I got a new appreciation of what a guitar virtuoso he is during the two shows I saw), you will be satisfied with the performance. The recording quality surprised me; I was aghast at how inattentive my neighbors were during the show, and the couple from Brazil next to me spent literally the whole show Face Time-ing their friends back home (a first for me) -- the husband was very focused on sharing his real-time reactions with his Facebook friends list but very little time focusing on the show. Somehow most of the loud chatter is absent from this recording except for the quietest parts of the performance.

I'm sure the pros will be posting their recordings in the days that follow, but I was pleasantly surprised with how good this one sounds. I was in a near-ideal taping spot under the right stack, which fortunately drowned out most of my neighbors' chatter.

Go buy David's new album. There's some good (though mellow) stuff on there. It was an honor to see him for (probably) one last time in North America.

Mp3 samples are included in the comments.