Guitarist Ravi Iyer climbs over Pink Floyd’s musical wall

On January 31, Pink Floyd’s music took an acoustic tangent as guitarist Ravi Iyer, accompanied by a three-member band – consisting of Shawn Pereira Docarmo (lead vocals/rhythm guitar); Geet Gupta (upright bass); and Vedaantaa (cajon) – featured a ‘Rockumentary Takeover’ with a 75-minute set at Baroke, a vinyl listening bar located not on the dark side, but on the southside of Mumbai.

In redoing songs from Pink Floyd’s past, guitarist Ravi was back at what he does best: sharing his incredible talent, as the gig started at 9.06pm to a crowded house with “In The Flesh”.

Expectedly, the bulk of the setlist was spread across Pink Floyd’s more popular albums, ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’, ‘Wish You Were Here’ (this writer’s favourite), and ‘The Wall’, but the repertoire also included “Coming Back To Life” from ‘The Division Bell’.

Acoustic renditions often lean into the melancholic, reflective, and sometimes desolate themes that permeate Roger Waters’ songwriting—right from the “machine” of the music industry to the loss of connection – but Ravi’s band brought out the “bittersweet” quality of the songs through the set list by providing a unique, more subdued, and personal experience compared to Pink Floyd’s renowned, large-scale, and immersive live audio productions.

For the uninitiated, Ravi Iyer received his obvious popularity because of his prowess on the guitar, amalgamating the sounds of a predominantly Western music instrument with multiple Indian instruments, creating his inimitable sound and expertise in the genres of both fusion and rock.

No doubt, the acoustic renditions performed during ‘Rockumentary Takeover’ were obviously challenging for Ravi’s band, but Ravi was most impressive with the arrangements as, apparently, both guitarists “rehearsed” the content online with Shawn, based in Hyderabad, and Ravi in Mumbai.

But the comparatively minimal sounds had a maximum impact on the remarkable talent of the members  – including guest Anand Dwarkanath, who utilized the harmonica on those passages that had featured saxophone on the original selections, such as “Money” and “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” – in an impressive manner.  The sounds of simplicity held the band in staid while the acoustic interpretations transformed Floyd’s sprawling, psychedelic, and progressive rock masterpieces into intimate, stripped-down performances, effectively relying on acoustic guitars and a double bass to highlight the raw emotion and songwriting at the core of Pink Floyd’s music.

While the original recordings are known for their complex soundscapes, sonic experiments, and studio production, Ravi’s acoustic arrangements focused on the lyrical themes and melodic structure as he superbly overcame the acoustic challenge in the Pink (Floyd) of musical health.

Setlist :

1. In The Flesh
2. Thin Ice
3. The Wall Part 1
4. The Wall Part 2
5. The Wall Part 3
6. Breathe
7. On The Run
8. Time
9. Money
10. Mother
11. Shine On You Crazy Diamond
12. Coming Back To Life
13. Comfortably Numb
14. Wish You Were Here