Our thanks to Theatrice Westbrook for very kindly sharing recollections of an evening in Irvine, California, in June 1984, when David Gilmour played at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre as part of his About Face tour that year:

Chef André Wiederkehr, a friend of my co-worker and friend Karen, got tickets and they had a couple extra. They invited me and other coworker/friend Brian and gave us a ride. Pink Floyd wasn't really Brian's cup of tea. He was more New Wave, outrageous… he turned me on to John Waters and "Pink Flamingos"! But ironically after a group of us saw Berlin in concert in Hollywood earlier, he told me LA was too much, he couldn't wait to get back behind that Orange Curtain (the more conservative Orange County, California)! Go figure.

Brian had his leg in a cast, but refused a wheelchair and walked from the parking lot to our seat on crutches. (He took up the wheelchair offer after the concert.) We had great seats in the lower section, closest to the stage.

David Gilmour's first solo tour. Roger Waters had also begun his first solo tour during the middle of this tour (and more Floyd acrimony would lay ahead). Before the show, André and I went to the restroom; I came out first. Through the fence I saw a guy in jeans and a red Pendleton talking with crew or someone. He looked like a trucker. I looked at his face from profile, it was David Gilmour, 20-25 feet away, with very short hair. I about shit myself. André came out of the bathroom, talking. André was a super hardcore European Floyd fan from Austria. (Translation: Hardcore fan.) When I pointed out David Gilmour, he stopped in his tracks, staring, speechless. We both stared for a couple minutes before returning to our seats.

No opening act. A beautiful Summer eve, a little warm. I had both solo albums and hoped he would play my favourite track "There's No Way Out of Here" (he didn't). But I was not disappointed. The new album, "About Face", was more "radio friendly", with more guest players (Jeff Porcaro was the drummer). The stage was much more scaled down than on Floyd tours. (Part of the show is visible in the US-only 1984 home video release "David Gilmour Live.") The band played cuts from Gilmour's two solo albums along with a couple of Floyd tracks.

The stage darkened and a deep synth pulsated in syncopation with lighting on the lip of the stage and around the edge of the stage risers. This signalled the opening song "Until We Sleep", the first of 5 new album cuts. The band was on it. Loud and clear. I thought I recognized the second guitarist who looked like Mick Ralphs, noted this imposing bald drummer, and a lady on percussion who looked like she was pregnant.

The next song was the Pete Townshend/David Gilmour song "All Lovers Are Deranged", which slammed in the same fashion as the first, and with an ending that presaged the intro/outro of Pink Floyd song "Sorrow" (from the 1987 album "A Momentary Lapse of Reason"), as it shook the whole amphitheater.

The first Gilmour solo album instrumental of the night, "Mihalis", was a forerunner to another "Momentary Lapse" track, "Terminal Frost." "Cruise" was a song about our then-omnipresent Cold War with Gilmour branching out, as the song ended in a reggae style. "Short and Sweet" was all power chords, very "Floydian" due to Gilmour's totally recognizable voice. Pink Floyd stepped in at this point of the show as "Money" was performed to an appreciative audience. The band executed so well on the Gilmour solo tracks that the Floyd songs did not dominate the show.

"Out of The Blue" and "Let's Get Metaphysical" (a play on Olivia Newton-John's huge hit) had Gilmour and Ralphs switch out on Yamaha electric grand piano: Gilmour played on "Blue"; Ralphs on "Metaphysical." And as introduced, yes, it was that Mick Ralphs, from Bad Company.

As for the remainder of the band, drummer Chris Slade bashed away and held the beat all night; bassist Mickey Feat on fretted and fretless bass; Gregg Dechert (ex-Uriah Heep) on keys; and the late Raphael Ravenscroft on sax and keys. (He also played on the Floyd's "The Final Cut," and played the iconic sax part on Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street.") Ravenscroft was a natty dresser and quite a presence onstage.

Jody Linscott, who was pregnant, slammed on percussion. I am reminded in hindsight of Sheila E (whose first hit was released just prior to this concert). I was only familiar with female percussionists Bobbye Hall and Karen Carpenter at the time, so she was still a bit of an unusual sight. But Ms Linscott was a show unto herself as well.

"You Know I'm Right" was extended with a soaring guitar solo at the end, so good I thought this must be the guitar spot of the night. More Floyd fun with "Run Like Hell", still a lively performance with a lightshow as animated as available. (The big "dominoes" backdrop is visible in the video and in fan photos posted onto Floyd fansite A Fleeting Glimpse.) "Blue Light", a funky jam, showed Gilmour branching out in the "Run Like Hell" direction, with percussion and bass solos. On re-entry into the song, Gilmour, Feat, and Ralphs (in the middle) reappeared on an elevated riser out of nowhere behind the band. They had a routine to march a few in-step, then turn about face (no pun intended), repeating to the beat of the song till the end. Ralphs missed his about face and met an oncoming Gilmour, who had to hold his arm straight out to stop him. Ralphs realized his mistake, fake-stumbled his turn-around, then they finished the routine and ended the song. A comic bit onstage, and another bit of David Gilmour branching out, with a floor routine! The Mick Ralphs - even with this hiccup, he was an MVP onstage all night.

"Murder" ended the main set, beginning with Gilmour on acoustic and vocals. It ended with a Gilmour solo and a Gilmour/Ralphs guitar duet.

There was a two song encore. I got the feeling some of the music on both of Gilmour's solo albums was not necessarily only about relationships, but stifled creative output and just an absolutely untenable working/creative environment. "Near The End" began slow with acoustic guitar and vocal, like "Murder." It ended with a poignant acoustic solo, great enough in itself to end the song. I did not document this show as I did others. As memory had it, and listening to only a couple of recordings I have: Ralphs acoustic, Gilmour electric. That final solo was another impressive expression which maybe even surpassed "You Know I'm Right" (a matter of opinion, I suppose.) Listening back to other recordings, I am reminded (by Gilmour's announcement) that the soaring solo was by Ralphs, with some Gilmour vibe and truly effective juice on his guitar. (Personally, one of Ralphs' best performance spots. It made sense that Gilmour would give Ralphs some spotlight.)

Then the show closed with Gilmour's rendition of "Comfortably Numb." The song's legendary status was to be carried forward. It began with a heavier, guitar driven base under the verses instead of the orchestral, original Floyd version. Gilmour's solo to end this song was as it would always be, one of the absolute highlights of any show in which it was performed. I must note, nothing can surpass the effect of the original "Wall" performances. There was no outrageous, standard-setting lightshow on this tour as there would be on subsequent Pink Floyd or solo tours. But tonight the music, the Strat, did all the talking, and it spoke well.

Though not a Pink Floyd fan, Brian said he did like David Gilmour's voice. There is no disputing Roger Waters' lyric genius, however, hearing and witnessing this show was sure proof of Gilmour's influence on Pink Floyd's sound. Again, he also branched out a bit, with touches of Reggae and Funk, all delivered by this great band.