Capacity: 5,000

Concert starts: 8:30pm

Address of venue: Flavijevska Ulica, Pula 52100, Croatia. MAP

Website: www.ami-pula.hr

COMMENTS

David's 2015 tour of Europe starts in this most unexpected, and very historic venue. The Arena Pula is one of the best preserved Roman amphitheatres in existence, the only one with all four of its side towers and all three levels of the classical orders still standing. It's one of the six largest surviving Roman arenas, and was constructed in 27BC - 68AD.

No doubt about it, it will be a great place for the tour to start, and easily the oldest venue!

Tickets went on sale Friday, March 6th at 10am UK time, and the DavidGilmourblog.co.uk presale started Wednesday, March 4th for those quick off the mark. For the main sale of tickets, you can use this link: Eventim.hr although please be aware that demand is incredibly high so you might need to be patient and keep retrying, as they seem to be adding tickets for sale progressively.

Our thanks to Branimir Kućar for sending over the picture of the ticket, which you can see in more detail by clicking the thumbnail to the right.

Branimir also very kindly sent in this picture of a large billboard advertising the concert:

WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD!

Do not read on if you don't want surprises to be spoilt, regarding what the band played!

Exactly one week on from the Preview Show held in the south coast city of Brighton, David Gilmour kicked off his 2015 tour to support the release of Rattle That Lock, the new album due in just a week's time, bringing his production to the beautiful Roman Amphitheatre in Pula, Croatia. The sell-out crowd were treated to a set which was unchanged from Brighton, and as we noted before, we suspect the set will change once the album itself is released and in fans' hands.

We'd love to know how the concert went. Did you go? Let us know what YOU thought!

PRE-CONCERT COMMENTS by BD CONTRIBUTOR, STEVE CARR
Last night ( Friday 11th September) we went up to the arena about 8.30ish to check it out before tonight's gig, and we were pleased to see them doing technical rehearsals showing the Money video on the big circular screen.

We walked round the outside a bit more and had a beer at a bar overlooking the arena, just as David turned up to sound check. The full band did Rattle That Lock, Wish You Were Here, and four or five songs off the new album.

By the time we left, there had gathered about 50 people all treated to a little private gig! It felt like a special moment, and we met a couple of lovely Polish Floyd fans and a few obsessive nut job fans. All helping to build up to tonight!

CONCERT PICURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, GIANNIS KANTZIOS

CONCERT REVIEW by BD CONTRIBUTOR, BORIS PLESA
I just got back home from Pula!

And I want to tell you just how truly amazing weekend for a devoted Pink Floyd fan this was!

I came to Pula on Friday, a day before the concert. As soon as we got there in the late afternoon I told my wife I'm just gonna take a walk and stretch my legs after few hours of driving and check if something is already going on inside the Arena, a Roman amphitheater that is going to see the first concert of David's Rattle That Lock tour.

As I got there I was surprised to see that stage was already in full service with Mr. Screen projecting familiar images. I stood there for a while, looking through the iron fence until I realized the Arena is still open for tourists! So I went to the main gate, bought myself a ticket and enter what is going to become a most incredible PF experience I ever had.

I've been into Floyd for years. I've been fortunate enough to see three Division Bell tour shows in 1994, a couple of Roger's (2002, 2006, 2007, 2011) and David's show in Venice in 2006.

And now I was standing in front of Phil Taylor who was tuning guitars and watching roadies pushing the black boxes with PF signage on it. Beside the crew and a group of elderly tourists I was there all alone!

And then the real magic begun: Jon Carin appeared in front of me. Then Guy, smiling as always. Mr. Magnifico. Steve.

I couldn't believe it. They were just soaking up the atmosphere, taking pictures of the ancient place, laughing and enjoying the summer evening. Except Jon, none of them took the stage so I started thinking there is not going to be a sound check at all. They just came to see the place. I was wrong.

The guys took the stage and then - The Man himself showed up. Hand in hand with Polly he walked in, stopped for a while in front of stage to talk to the guys onstage and then headed to the mixing desk.

And that was the moment when he said "Hi!" and smiled at me and couple of other fans who managed to get inside in the meantime.

Sound check started few minutes later and what I witnessed was unbelievable. This band is truly amazing. Shear positive wibe is all present. They were having the last sound check before the start of the tour and there was not a single sign of stress or nervousness whatsoever. They were all laid back, smiling at each other and telling jokes.

And the day after? You already know. They smashed the place with smiles on their faces. Incredible.

What a weekend.

P.S. Did I get some autographs? Of course I did! Since I know that David doesn't feel comfortable with all this I didn't want to be disrespectful and didn't asked him. But I jumped in front of Guy and asked for one the minute I spotted him! He was absolutely wonderful and signed it for me. Yes, I play bass :)

I also introduced myself to Mr. Aubrey Powell and asked for an autograph but he thought I've mistaken him for someone else! After I told him that he was one of my heroes and that Hipgnosis' work was one of the reasons I've become a graphic designer he smiled and wrote me a touching note!

Greetings from Zagreb!

CONCERT REIVEW by BD CONTRIBUTOR, SIMON DENTON
We combined a few days in Italy with a couple of nights in Pula to see the David Gilmour concert. Quite simply it was wonderful! The venue was the circa 2000 year old Roman arena and it looked fantastic, especially when the stage lighting picked out the amphitheatre walls. About 20 minutes before the advertised start time (20:30) that arena filled with the sound of spontaneous whistling and cheering as the capacity crowd could not contain its excitement any longer.

Whilst not the full Floyd show experience that we have come to know and love from Roger Waters' last few tours, David's show had a classy light show and the projections on the familiar circular screen were put to good effect.

The atmosphere was great throughout the concert with a very appreciative standing ovation before the obligatory 20 minute break.

I hadn't see the set list before the show and won't detail it here in case others want the excitement of not knowing until the night. Suffice to say there was a good mix of new and old material. David apologised for having to start the tour before the new album was released but promised there would be "some songs that you know a little better". I am afraid that I don't like On An Island and was concerned that I may not rate the new material. However, the tracks played live sounded great and I look forward to hearing the new album in its entirety. The crowd gave each new song huge applause but, of course, the loudest appreciation was reserved for the Pink Floyd songs, particularly in latter part of the show where everyone was on their feet singing and many people air guitar-ing along with the band.

A comment I have made here before is that outside of the UK, the concert audience seems much more respectful than the UK (especially London) audience. In Pula there was no constant to and fro to the bar - people were there to appreciate every note of the music (that may have had something to do with the lack of toilet facilities in the Roman arena but I doubt it!).

At the end of the 2nd half, the applause rang on long and loud. Eventually the crowd started chanting in English "we want more! We want more!" and that southern European chant of "ole, ole, ole ole ole" filled the arena (if you haven't heard this before, it is a truly spine tingling experience). On returning to the stage for a barn stormer of an encore, David said "Oh don't stop! We were enjoying listening to that."

And so ended a fantastic night. I enjoyed it even more than I knew I would. If you have tickets, I hope you find the same.

CONCERT REVIEW by BD CONTRIBUTOR, TOMAS MIKULIK
We have waited for this moment maybe five or six years. Both are big Floyd fans but my girlfriend (since this year my wife) particularly loves Gilmour. Four years ago I wrote and printed a Gilmour biography for her, with pictures and so on. Though Roger has played The Wall near us in Prague three times (2011 and 2013), I was there without her because of her job. When David announced his tour in March, it was very different. It came in a very surprising way, literally out of nothing. Just like lightning from a clear sky. I hoped that she would not know about the big news and planned it as a big surprise. The tour was sold out in few hours, but I managed to get tickets to Pula. We were both very happy and looked forward to the gig. We were in Pula one year ago, so it was no new place for us. It has a special feeling – a family atmosphere like elsewhere in Croatia mixed with Roman atmosphere (architecture in old town). We stood under this amphitheatre one year ago and if anybody would told us, than next summer we will see Gilmour "In the Flesh" right here, we probably would call him crazy. But the impossible became reality. The first tour after nine years and BEFORE releasing the new album. Awesome.

David picked venues for this tour very carefully. It was a very special moment when we entered in and saw fans sitting around with walls and gates from an ancient age behind them. Modern stadiums are bigger indeed, but lacks this kind of atmosphere. Next thing I noticed was the return of Mr. Screen. The lights and screens were more like DB’ 94 tour than OAI’ 06 tour. But that was not the only difference between this and the last tour. I expected that DG will play the whole of the new album for us and then we will get a journey through the back-catalogue of more old and known stuff.

For a start, I was right. An instrumental intro and the first single from the new album Rattle That Lock with nice animation on screen. That is what you would expect. The third song (Faces of Stone) was even better than Rattle That Lock and I started to be very eager and looking forward to hear more from the new album. After this song Dave greets us and says a few words about the new album. He was sorry that he did not manage to release the album for these concerts (I don’t blame him, I would certainly listened to the album just after the show, even If I had it on the table at home). Then he says than now we will get some stuff that we know better and later there will be more from Rattle That Lock. And without warning he starts Wish You Were Here! A big surprise, and not the last one on this gig.

Our favourite song is Us and Them and we danced to this song at our wedding (it was the first dance). It was fantastic to hear it from DG live for the first time since 1994. What a fantastic wedding gift for us. The third interesting new song was the jazzy The Girl In The Yellow Dress. This was yet another proof that we were not seeing sentimental reminiscing of a famous old guitarist just before turning 70. David Gilmour had made more progress and he is maturing like good wine. There was a sense of the calm power of DG over the venue. His voice was clean and guitar enigmatic. He also had his band, absolutely professional and enjoying themselves. Dave enjoyed the gig too, sometimes put down his guitar, had a brief walk on the stage, drank some water, made a little dance, picked another guitar, smiled at us (or the band) and carried on. We were smiling through the whole gig, there was literally an exchange of energy.

Everything was very smooth maybe except The Blue. I think there was some technical issue with DG's guitar and pedals. At the end of the second set there was another surprise – Run Like Hell. To hear RLH just after the brilliant and powerful Sorrow, that was really something. The whole Pula Arena was already on their feet at that moment and clapped hands in the air. After the song Dave said "goodnight and thank you" and went to the backstage. Of course we all started clapping and yelling. Then somebody began stomping and in a moment the whole arena were stomping like a herd of elephants! Who did not stomp, he would rather clap in the same rhythm. And again and again. It took several minutes and we had the feeling, that this is not a Floyd gig but a football match! After those very few but very wild minutes DG showed up and started to dance in the rhythm of our stomping. He said: "Thank you. Carry on, I am enjoying it!" A very special moment. In the encore I expected Another Brick in the Wall II and I was wrong again. And right here comes our very big THANK YOU to DG and his band. This was far better, than we hoped and expected. Live long Floyd! Greetings from Bratislava, Slovakia.

CONCERT COMMENTS AND PICTURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, PETER CEJKA
I attended David's gig in Pula - we travelled over 900km from the Czech Republic, but it definitely was worth such a trip! What a stunning show! Here, I share some pictures with you.

CONCERT REVIEW and PICTURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, MIHA BRODNIK
This concert review will start with a statement: David's concert in Pula was out of this world and simply brilliant. It was like as if a rock god had descended from up and above, and took us on a heavenly ride through sonic and visual places, that only Pink Floyd's music can.

So I want to start at the beginning. When 6 months ago (give or take) David announced his tour, tickets were sold out in minutes. And I was one of many, who were a bit too late to get them. That meant my only option was to get tickets on the black market, and taking the extreme demand for these tickets into account, the result was buying 40HRK tickets for 150HRK. For the standing area that is. I managed to get two additional tickets for 200HRK each for my friends, this time for seating area. But it was definitely worth every single cent, and if you throw in the fact that my friend was able to pass her ticket for the seating through the fence (after she already entered the area..) to me, thus enabling me to take a seat ( the seating was not numbered in that area, so no harm done I guess;-)), I was definitely well set for everything magical that was to come.

The crowd was was full of anticipation, and whilst watching a beautiful sunset over the ancient Roman Amphitheatre, you could feel the special atmosphere building up towards a night to remember.

Exactly at 20:30 the lights dimmed, the crowd cheered and David took the stage with the rest of the band. The whole setlist was unchanged from the Brighton gig, 5 AM + Rattle That Lock were show openers, and immediately set the tone and atmosphere, in which every single soul present was immersed in this magical journey through Pink Floyd's and David's music.

From the technical aspect everything was spot on - from the amazing sound, which was crystal clear and loud, and all the way to stunning Mr. Screen Videos (old and new) and fantastic lighting arrangements from Marc Brickman. Put in the flawless performances from all members of the band, and the sum of all parts just came together as something as unique and original as possible.

It is hard to put all the emotion behind this event into words... Highlights? Well probably the whole show, but if I have to pick, Sorrow was definitely outstanding, Us & Them was as powerful as seen on PULSE, Astronomy Domine and Run Like Hell were visual stunners of the night, and of course Comfortably Numb's solo resonating between the ancient walls of the arena and making everybody fall in some sort of a collective orgasm... And of course I really need to point out the enthusiastic crowd - David even prolonged the pause before the encore, because we just went ballistic with cheers and applause after Run Like Hell.

All in all it was a fantastic experience, and I have to say that the whole concert had more of a Floyd vibe rather than a Gilmour vibe. And that fact says a lot of David's new forthcoming album - the new music is powerful, meaningful and comes off very strong live - just as Pink Floyd's music used to. So to sum it all up - this was an experience rather than just a concert. An experience one never forgets and carries it in his heart forever...and ever. It was louder than words.

For a nice and fitting conclusion of this rather personal review, I want to forward a story of a fan from Bulgaria, who sat right next to me - he and his girlfriend (I think...) drove to Croatia just to see Gilmour. Before the show, they took advantage of the beautiful sunny weather and went to the beach in Rovinj, where something truly surreal happened. A certain elderly gray haired man was also there, along with his wife and two kids, also enjoying the warmth of the sun while lying there on the sandy beach... No one seemed to recognize him, but our Bulgarian friend did. It was so surreal and unbelievable, he did not know what to do at first, but encouraged by his girlfriend, he approached the grey haired man, and politely offered a handshake to introduce himself. Yes, you guessed it - he introduced himself to none other than our beloved David Gilmour... They had a nice short chat, and then he left David in peace, not wanting to disturb him too much. He later showed a picture on his phone for proof. Fast forward to the show in arena - he was in tears several times during the show, and when we shook hands at the end, he said: "I can now die happy!" Nothing to add to that, really...

CONCERT REVIEW and PICTURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, GIAMPAOLO ROMAGNOSI

Exceptional concert.
Enchanting place.
Songs from the new disc suggests that will be his best solo album.
Everything perfect except maybe the lack of Echoes that the arena would be a must!
Thanks David and see you in Verona !!!

CONCERT REVIEW by BD CONTRIBUTOR, BRION HOKE
My name is Brion Hoke and I was lucky enough to see the David Gilmour show three times. Once in Pula, Croatia, in Verona, Italy and in Orange, France.

It was quite a journey. To make a long story a little shorter - I flew from Detroit to Amsterdam then to Venice. I rented an Alfa Romeo and drove through Slovenia and into Croatia. I arrived in Pula around 4 the day of the show - September 12th.

It was a sunny day and the coast of the Adriatic in Croatia is really nice. Before I left I had met Damir Barisic on Facebook. I had a ticket for the show in Pula that I bought from some ass that sold it for $300. It was a general admission ticket. Damir had promised to sell me a ticket for the show in France for face value. He had purchased several knowing that so many people are out to make big bucks. He had it in mind to sell the tickets at a fair price to real fans. Not only did Damir come through with a ticket for the show in France - when he saw my general admission ticket for the show in Pula - he pulled out a 20th row ticket and said with a smile, "you are sitting with us." The venue was amazing. As I entered the ancient stadium I saw David Gilmour giving an interview that I later saw. In it he said, "I wanted to give fans a night to remember and the venue really adds to the memory." There is no doubt about that =- it was a show that I will never forget. The people of Pula were amazingly nice as well. Thanks Bojan Sumonja for the great artwork and for a nice conversation.

After the show in Pula I drove to Verona. I did not have a ticket for the show in Verona but I was not deterred. I walking around beautiful Verona for hours with one finger in the air and repeatedly said, "I just need one!" It was a few hours but finally Rafael Ortega from Oregon and a Nike Football rep saw me with that one finger in the air. He came up to me and said, "I have been watching you for the past hour and my wife did not come on the trip. I have an extra ticket, do you want it for 60 Euro?" The sound was amazing - I felt like I could dive into a pool of sound. The band was really hitting its stride. They seemed to really have a great time together on stage. I really enjoyed the new videos that accompanied The Girl in the Yellow Dress, Rattle that Lock and In any Tongue.

I then drove to Florence. The show in Florence was help at an old racetrack. This was not really a very special venue and it was very close to Rome. The street prices were 300-1,000 Euro so I decided to skip this show and get some sleep.

I then ran into a problem. I stopped in Pisa for a few photos of the Leaning Tower and the Keith Haring piece there. I parked for a short time in a public lot. My car was broken into and my luggage was stolen. Luckily I had my passport, my cash, and my ticket for the show in Orange. I have the clothes on my back, a broken window and a seven hour drive.

The show in Orange was the best of the three because it was so intimate. I sat on a stone slab with some German guys, a couple from Grenoble, France. With no videos, the show was about the music and that made it even more intimate for me.

I was so lucky to see these shows. I truly love 5 AM - I listen to it every morning and it says to me - Just have a great day! I am 48 and The Boat Lies Waiting also forces me to look at my own mortality. It surely is a beautiful song.

YOUR HELP NEEDED! We want to cover David's concerts the best we can, to share the experience with everyone, especially those who won't be able to attend the shows. We'd love to see ANY pictures, tickets scans, reviews, newspaper reports, and anything else you come across for this show - we look forward to hearing from you!