Capacity: 1,650

Concert starts: 8pm

Address of venue: Djurgårdsslätten 43-45, 115 21 Stockholm, Sweden. MAP

Website: www.cirkus.se

COMMENTS

When Nick Mason made comments earlier this year 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 ticketmaster.se. 

You might spot a slight error on the ticket, shown to the right. It shows "Nick Mason's - A Saucerful Of Secrets" as opposed to the correct rendering of the band's name... 

WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD!

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

The 2018 European tour by Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets couldn't have started better. Performed at a permanent indoor circus building, some 126 years old, the venue gave the show some wonderful atmosphere and ambience. Situated by the Tivoli Gardens fun park and the rather cheesy, but entertaining Abba Museum, Cirkus has a unique feel - staff wearing uniforms, historic fixtures and fittings, and (for this show anyway) great acoustics.

Our review of the concert is below, but suffice it to say, the show is an absolute MUST SEE. If you attended, or saw/heard anything of the London shows, they were just a taster for the full experience. Adding in the lighting, the full, rich sound, larger stages (must be great for them to have room to move around) and an expanded set list - with another song added to the set that was never performed live originally - and you have a heck of an experience.

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!

"Eat your heart out, Roger!"

The start of any tour is special. Anticipation, wonder, discussion and eagerness abound, with everyone entering the venue with the same level of knowledge about what the show will look like, what will be performed, and what merchandise will be on offer.

Obviously, with the Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets tour, there were the four, small shows held in London, in May. In terms of the potential setlist, they gave a good indication, but there was nothing to say that in the intervening months, thought hadn't been made to shuffle things around. Also, in some interviews, Nick mentioned additional material would be added, ruminating on one or two songs as possibles. Other than that, though, anything else would be guesswork.

With the tour visiting venues significantly larger than Camden's Dingwall's (500 capacity), and Putney's Half Moon (250), this enabled the band to have a much more suitable stage area to work on, and the opportunity to beef things up with lights, projections and suchlike. However, a sensible move was made to pick (on the whole) intriguing, quirky, historic venues, and to keep sizing to a certain level to keep the intimacy that made the four shows in May so special for those in attendance.

Cirkus is an old (126 year old) building, with a unique style. Situated on one of Stockholm's many islands, adjacent to the Tivoli Gardens amusement park (which Pink Floyd were pictured at, back in 1967) and the Abba Museum (a fun place which some of the band visited on the morning of the show), the building has all original fixtures and fittings, and the staff themselves wear a uniform, akin to a military outfit, which gives further feel of being somewhere special.

Slightly incongruously, the venue is entered via a new, and very modern, extension, to the rear, but for most this was forgotten as the merchandise stand faced you! One comment we had a number of times a few months ago, was that it was a pity there were no t-shirts or anything else produced for the four London shows. Well, that's all been taken care of for the tour proper. As you'll see from the pictures above, the range on offer for this first show included six t-shirts, one hoodie, a bandana, cap, drumsticks, a mug and a poster (which - for this show at least - had been signed). There were also signed copies of Nick's, Guy's and Gary's books on offer. Queues quickly built for the purchasing opportunities presented, and a significant amount seemed to be sold.

On to the show though. Into the auditorium, which, yes, looked like the inside of a circus tent (albeit with hard walls and ceilings rather than canvas), and the first glimpse of the staging. During the summer break, a large backdrop had been created with the band logo on it, and Nick's and Dom's equipment both were on risers, with the swirl patterning on the bases of these. Plenty more room for all the musicians which is no bad thing.

After the well-received support slot from Emma Tricca, an engaging set from her, playing an acoustic guitar, anticipation was building due to the use of a pre-show recording (as heard in London) which intrigued and amused in equal doses. Prior to the band arriving on stage, some new (well, old) sounds were added, but we won't spoil it for those attending a future show.

What a difference a proper sound system, proper lighting, and a larger venue makes! It elevated what was already a superb show, into a higher level somehow. From the off, the Saucers gave a powerful, impactful performance, which dazzled both musically, and visually. Apart from the aforementioned backdrop, there is extensive use of lighting in the show now to set the mood. This was very effective, and whilst there were the odd little things which could do with a little tweaking (follow spots might be better in some circumstances; one song, for example, began with Gary standing nearer to Guy than the fixed lighting was set for) this first show went really well. Lighting is something that evolves during a tour as band and lighting get used to each other, and also interesting changes, techniques and subtleties are explored from show to show.

Those familiar with the London performances (either as attendees or via recordings/YouTube videos) would have been familiar with some of the set. This is a well balanced, effective, and most importantly, hugely enjoyable romp through the early days of the Floyd.

As a start to the set, Interstellar Overdrive and Astronomy Domine is a powerful statement of intent. A few around me sat open-mouthed at the performance of these, and so they should. The quintet combine beautifully right from the word go - the perfect blend. It makes a huge difference that they approach the shows as a band, rather than a tribute act. Every night has its clear differences, with a fresh approach, and improvisation, employed. It is exactly how the Floyd performed in the 60s and early 70s, and one of things which makes early recordings so beloved.

The first change to the version of the set seen in May, came after Arnold Layne, with the live - and unannounced - debut of Vegetable Man. I heard a gasp from behind me when the opening guitar notes rang out! It sounded as good live as I always suspected it would - a real joy.

After Vegetable Man finished, Nick said about both songs: "Well, that was something old, something new. When I say old, I mean 50 years old - our first single, banned by the BBC because of its explicit lyrics. Weirdly six months later they put out Walk On The Wild Side which was far worse, in my opinion. And something new, which means its actually the first time I've ever performed it in public: Vegetable Man, which was a track destined for A Saucerful Of Secrets that was never quite finished. Draw your own conclusions. We will now continue with yet another oldie. Or two."

This lead into the other addition to the setlist - a lovely reading of If, which lead into a powerful Atom Heart Mother, concluding with a reprise of If. It sounded great, and the crowd loved it; 2008's performance of this piece by David Gilmour and Mun Floyd (an Italian tribute band) reminded us just how good it sounds live, even if the band fell out of love with it back in the 70s, so it is great for it to be back. The combination of Lee Harris's and Gary Kemp's guitar work on this, with a counterpoint of Guy Pratt's bass, underpinned with Nick's drumming, and Dom Beken's keyboards, made quite a statement, and the blend back into If was an inspired touch.

Guy revealed a new bass guitar for Let There Be More Light, warning that "As you might have gathered from this preposterous instrument I've just put on, we're about to enter the Spinal Tap part of the evening". A sparkly, irregularly shaped guitar, it looked similar to one of the instruments on display across the road in the Abba Museum! Irrespective of its looks, it sounded great.

Another announcement of a first from Nick, to much amusement of band and audience, as the show entered its final phase: "For the last fifty years I've not been allowed to play the gong. But tonight, once again for the first time in public, I get to play the gong - Roger, eat your heart out!" Set The Controls does therefore feature Nick using the gong to kick things off, but (as if to reinforce his gong restrictions) as the song progressed, Guy crept around the back of Nick's kit to do some later gong work.

This final stage of the set seems to go quickly, and is a great blend of familiar and no so familiar (depending on your Floyd knowledge). Emily, Bike and One Of These Days bring the main set to an end, and the Swedish audience made it clear things couldn't be left at that, giving a rousing ovation to the band. Back for the final two selections, and the performance of Saucerful is an absolute joy, with a Pompeii-esque reading, leading to the unconventional, yet always effective, ending of Point Me At The Sky.

Suffice it to say, the audience loved this first night. As Gary remarked earlier in the evening, it proved to be a great place to start the tour. Wandering back into the city after the show, it was clear most of the posters for tonight's show had been removed - in Stockholm, gig posters are found on walls, recycling bins, lamp posts, and telephone cable junction boxes, stuck with masking tape which meant they are easy to remove. Maybe it is a legal thing; it might be forbidden to paste these on walls, but the tape comes off easily with this method which might be a legal loophole to take some of the heat off. Certainly those putting the posters up do it quickly and furtively! There were a number of these posters up in various locations around the city for Nick's show, alongside those for many other artists. The following morning we could only see one remaining example, right outside Stockholm's Central Station - the others, no doubt, taking pride of place in fans collections, a visual reminder of a superb show.

Those who are fortunate enough to be going to subsequent shows on the tour are in for an absolute treat. The band members all play so well, and are the perfect combination. There's also a true rapport, and sense of fun and camaraderie amongst the band members. The set list is the perfect blend of classic and lesser known/lesser performed songs, and it's all delivered in a truly memorable, and quite addictive, format. If you have been wavering over getting a ticket, don't. If ever there was a tour you have to attend if possible, it's this one...

CONCERT COMMENT and PICTURE by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Christer

Nick's SOS did play some new songs yesterday. They started with If, then went into Atom Heart Mother, to end up with If again. Will see the show again in Antwerp.

CONCERT PICTURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Henrik Tronstad

I attended the fantastic Nick Mason concert at Cirkus in Stockholm. Here are some pictures:

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!