Capacity: 2,500

Concert starts: 8pm

Address of venue: Guildhall Square, Portsmouth PO1 2AB. MAP

Website: www.portsmouthguildhall.org.uk

COMMENTS

When Nick Mason made comments in Italy about heading out to small venues, to play early Pink Floyd songs, few took the remarks seriously. As unlikely as it seemed, Nick was entirely truthful and in the initial announcement a set of four shows in London were announced for his new band. Due to the critical success of those shows, held in small venues in Camden and Putney, a full European tour has been announced with this date one part of this.

Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets brings together some familiar names, all great musicians: joining Nick are Gary Kemp and Lee Harris on guitars, Guy Pratt on bass, and Dom Beken on keyboards. Kemp is best known for his work with Spandau Ballet, Harris as having played guitar with The Blockheads (Ian Dury's band), Pratt needs no introduction, and Beken is principally known for his work with The Orb, and Transit Kings (with Pratt). The band will be playing early Pink Floyd songs.

This is a unique opportunity to experience Pink Floyd's celebrated and significant early body of work played live including songs from albums 'The Piper At The Gates of Dawn' and 'A Saucerful Of Secrets'.

The regular sale of tickets started on FRIDAY, MAY 25th at 9am (UK time), via Seetickets.com, Ticketmaster and direct from the venue. 

WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD!

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

The first of six UK shows, concluding this tour, being held (as you'll see from the picture above) in a rather large building, with an impressive frontage, in the heart of the city, and performing to a crowd who - whilst quite quiet through most of the show - were clearly listening intently to everything, absorbing every detail. The last time Nick played here in Portsmouth was January 1972, when the Floyd played the entirety of (the early version of) The Dark Side Of The Moon for the first time in public... the previous night, of course, is the famous one - the Brighton Dome, where the equipment failed as they were launching into Money, but Portsmouth has the accolade of the first public airing of this opus.

For this latest show on the tour, during his customary initial thanks and welcome to the audience, Nick said: "Well, I hope you are all aware, we are not the Australian Roger Waters, nor indeed the Danish David Gilmours. We are Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets. [Big cheer] We're very happy to be here, this is really our first gig in the UK outside of a pub, so we feel we've made progress. I don't know if any of you were here, the last time I was here..." Some affirmative comments from the crowd, led Nick to say in astonishment: "Oh my god - is there an old folks' home nearby?! I think it was 1967, '69, and '71? '72? Whatever! Anyway, we're very pleased to be here, and I hope you have as much fun as we do."

With just one day's rest between the previous show (in Zurich, Switzerland) and this one, and Portsmouth being the 16th show in 22 days, one could excuse any band members displaying any fatigue or jadedness. However, the Saucers' are clearly made of sterner stuff, and despite the quiet audience turned in a great homecoming performance in this rather unlikely venue. Portsmouth is rarely included on major tour itineraries, yet the venue (small, but decent) suited the band well. As noted earlier, the crowd were pretty attentive; it seemed to be as the show got to Obscured By Clouds that there was some serious (if quiet), studied head nodding.

Musically, it was an incredible show, with the band really going for it, resulting in things like Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun having an extended improvisational section, feeling like the longest rendition of that part that Gary Kemp has done thus far.

A few video cameras were spotted - one by the mixing desk, and two mobile ones with the operators lurking in the wings of the stage. There may have been more, but I didn't spot them if there were! They weren't active all the time, clearly having a brief to capture some elements of the performance, maybe to use for publicity purposes in the future.

In an acknowledged break from the norm, Guy made a special announcement about Rick Wright, and his quiet nature. He paid tribute to Juliette Wright, his ex-wife, for prodding Rick into action and ensuring that he got involved with Pink Floyd, otherwise we would never have had the man's incredible contribution to the band and the world of music. There was a particular point to doing this in Portsmouth - Juliette was in the audience for the show!

By the end of the show, the audience were on their feet, offering plaudits to the band. A great start to the tour-concluding run of six UK shows in seven nights, and the reaction of Lee, Guy, Gary, Dom and Nick said it all. We've said it before, but will say it again: the band's enjoyment and togetherness comes across clearly in the performance - it is a joy to hear the music performed like this, and it is definitely not a show to miss!

Next stop is the Roundhouse in London. A legendary venue, particularly for the early days of Pink Floyd, and a rare, standing show on the Saucers' schedule. If you are going, have a great time! It promises to be another great gig...

We'd love to know from those attending how they felt the concert went. How was the show for you, if you were one of the fortunate ones to attend? Let us know what YOU thought!

CONCERT REVIEW and PICTURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Rob Whitmarsh

When I bought my ticket I was unsure how much I'd enjoy this show, but as it turned out it was absolutely amazing. Everyone definitely needs to see the Saucerful Of Secrets. It's an absolute revelation. I wonder if they'll be doing any festivals next summer?

CONCERT PICTURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Ian McKenzie

YOUR HELP NEEDED! We want to cover Nick'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!