When Nick Mason (during the press launch of the Rome staging of The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains) 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 in May 2018, held in small venues in Camden and Putney, a full European tour was announced for September. The expanded shows for the full tour were even more highly acclaimed, and it came as no surprise when further dates for 2019 were announced!
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 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5th at 10am (local time), via Ticketmaster. Please support Brain Damage by purchasing your tickets using this link - thanks, we really appreciate it!
Our thanks to Ken Langford for the ticket scan shown to the right.
SET LIST - highlight the following with your mouse to read...
MAIN SET: Interstellar Overdrive, Astronomy Domine, Lucifer Sam, Fearless, Obscured By Clouds, When You're In, Remember A Day, Arnold Layne, Vegetable Man, If/Atom Heart Mother/If Reprise, The Nile Song, Green Is The Colour, Let There Be More Light, Childhood's End, Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun, See Emily Play, Bike, One Of These Days.
ENCORE: A Saucerful Of Secrets, Point Me At The Sky.
WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD!
Do not read on if you don't want surprises to be spoilt, regarding what the band played!
As the North American leg of the 2019 Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets tour heads towards it's conclusion, prior to the string of UK dates at the end of April/start of May (with a number of European dates in July), last night saw the band at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.
Much to the surprise of the audience, as the band readied themselves to start Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun, a familiar face appeared on stage, as BD contributor, Ken Langford explains: "Roger delayed the start of the song by making maybe a minute's worth of comments. He then proceeded to sing the lyrics for Set The Controls, to bang the gong, to almost leave before the song was over, and then to finish out the song. The mallet for the gong broke at one point, and I said to my companion "Break The Hammer Again." Listen to the recording of 11th March 1973 for the reference.
"He hugged every member of the band, and appeared again on stage for the final bow after Point Me At The Sky. A fantastic treat for all in attendance!"
Nick and his band are back at the Beacon for a second night, but we suspect lightning won't strike twice - guest appearances like this are normally very much one-off events. Other videos and pictures are starting to appear of the appearance, and this article at the Brooklyn Vegan is a great place to start. Don't forget to check out the pictures, and full review, here too...keep scrolling down!
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 PICTURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Linda Heath
Our thanks to Linda for sharing these great shots from a memorable evening. All of them are thumbnails, so click on them to see them in greater detail.
CONCERT REVIEW by BD's Ed Lopez-Reyes
As the Saucerful of Secrets approach the end of their North American tour, the band plays a more relaxed yet tighter sounding set… and host a special guest.
Saucerful of Secrets has finally arrived in New York City and, as guitarist Lee Harris reminds us, it has been 13 years since Nicholas Berkeley Mason has pounded the skins in Gotham. As far as when he played here with Pink Floyd the first time, even Harris and Mason debate this on stage.
All that matters to the crowd though, is that an actual member of Pink Floyd is here to play classic Pink Floyd, digging deep into the Syd Barrett era, and with a cast of musicians supporting Mason that even a former member of Pink Floyd swears sounds better than the original – but more on that later. As Mason says: this is not a tribute band but the real thing: Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets.
Although the set list for the Saucerful of Secrets shows hasn’t really changed much since the first handful of pub shows in London last May, each venue and each audience impart a unique vibe. The band feeds off of that.
This evening, the set kicks off as usual: with Interstellar Overdrive and Astronomy Domine. The two songs drench the audience in a sonic atmosphere The Beacon Theatre has served well over many years. The audience responds in kind: clapping, singing, and swaying to every note blissfully. But by the time the band starts playing Lucifer Sam, something takes over (considering the title, that might spook you out… but it’s a totally benign possession): they sound simultaneously relaxed and tight, their performance flowing through an undercurrent of muscle memory and collegial comfort while the smallest ad libs and accents on specific parts of the song begin to shape the performance into its uniqueness.
Venues serve as different vessels for sound in such diverse ways too… during Lucifer Sam it’s hard to ignore Dom Bekem’s keyboards: they really fill this theatre and weave the rest of the show together in a magical way that only the Beacon can afford to.
As they begin to play Fearless, the crowd is completely smitten, experiencing quite the zen moment when the song exclaims “hear the sound of the faces in the crowd.” With the audience under its spell, the band moves into Obscured by Clouds – the track that really illustrates Mason’s power and precision as a drummer. Hearing this song live will spoil you: only the historical charm of the recorded original will sustain a listen after you hear Mason playing it live; in fact, let’s hope that Saucerful of Secrets releases a live recording of this tour so the world can hear Mason’s powerful drumming in a more permanent way.
If anything, the one challenge Saucerful of Secrets faces is the length of the songs: Pink Floyd fans are used to epic songs – but many of the songs from the Barrett era are quite short. Tracks like Lucifer Sam and Obscured by Clouds deserve (in a future performance) a bit of an elongation … by way of jammin’ or otherwise.
But, no complaints: as an audience member says, who would have thought we’d hear a member of Pink Floyd performing Atom Heart Mother? Here we are though.
Of course, a New York City show is always meant to stand out. And tonight will cement in Nick Mason, Pink Floyd, and Saucerful of Secrets history as the night Roger Waters showed up to play the gong.
As Mason began to remind the audience of how little opportunity he had to play the gong in the Waters era of Pink Floyd, Waters made his way through the stage and toward the gong. The two embraced as the band delved into Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun. There is no need to describe audience response: Waters was gracious, sang a great tune, and was given a hero’s welcome.
Waters’ presence gave the performance a different hue. Special guests at these shows are a double-edged sword: they have to work hard to create a special moment while helping preserve the integrity, artistic vision, and expression of the hosting band; the guest’s history with any of those current band members is bound to trigger memories for audience members and to shape the way the gig cements in history. Given the time this band has been touring and the comfort level they’ve arrived at, this was a perfect night for a guest spot. Waters embraced it and the audience felt they were witnessing something special. The band carried the moment with remarkable artistic integrity and really created a moment of its own for the books.
As he egressed, Waters made the comment that this band sounded greater than the original – while half in jest, there is something about the song renditions Mason has constructed with Harris, Bekem, Gary Kemp, and Guy Pratt that has really given the Barrett era catalogue an entirely new shine.
This is only the second time Waters has shared the stage with Pratt. Inevitably, the audience focused a great deal of attention on their interaction. As Waters departed and embraced each band member there was a particular warmth (or at least it appeared that way) between Pratt and Waters and a certain peace that came with it.
The band delivered a solid set for what remained after Waters’ visit. One of These Days is always the set’s climax – and Lee Harris’ time to shine. Though he delivers from beginning to end, consistently, it is One of These Days that guitarists will always find most hypnotic.
Following the encore, A Saucerful of Secrets and Point Me at the Sky, the band embraced and began to wave goodbye. Mason spoke into the microphone and said he would try to get Waters back out for a final bow. As they all took their final bow with Waters, few probably recognized how neatly the moment fit as a bookend: for it was during a Roger Waters gig, 13 years ago, that Mason last drummed in New York City.
Saucerful of Secrets will perform for a second evening at The Beacon Theatre, in New York City, tonight.
CONCERT REVIEW by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Ken Langford
While Ed Lopez-Reyes has done an excellent job of capturing the mood and significance of this performance [see above review], I feel there is more to add to help give the event some context.
When I entered the Beacon on the evening of April 18th, my friend Rob had lagged behind in an attempt to stash some contraband. As I waited just inside the door, I noticed a shortish man (I am tall) who looked a lot like Lee Harris. Having seen them from the front row at a previous show, it just struck me how closely this man looked like Lee. After a minute or so, I approached him and said "excuse me, but you look remarkably like the guitarist for this band," and Lee said "I AM the guitarist for this band." Indeed, it was him, but to this crowd which was pouring through the entrance of the Beacon, he was just another guy waiting for a friend. I shook his hand and thanked him for the great work he was doing on the tour. He was very friendly, and said he was waiting for his family to arrive so they could take in the show. Sure enough, in short order his wife, two kids, and either a parent or in-law arrived to his warm greeting. Of course by this time I had left him alone, but seeing him greet his family was to me a good omen for the show. Tonight Lee had more than a professional stake in the performance. Tonight it was personal. He had also mentioned to me that the band was tighter now than at the start of the tour, which having since seen the show I can absolutely confirm.
Once the show commenced, the first spoken commentary of the night came after Astronomy Domine. Lee Harris & Nick debated when Nick first played in New York City. Lee quoted several good (but incorrect) sources when he said Nick and the Floyd 1st appeared here at The Cheetah Club on 11/12/67. This date can be found on Vernon's Pink Floyd Archives web page, and in the book "In The Flesh." On the Brain Damage website the same date is shown as "12 November PF Cafe Au Go Go, Manhattan, New York City, NY, USA (cancelled)." In Glenn's book Echoes, the last 1967 USA date is listed as 11/11/67 at Winterland, with which the Brain Damage tour page agrees. And in Nick's book Inside Out, he also says all East Coast dates were cancelled in 1967. Back on stage in 2019, Nick suggests his first appearance in New York was at The Scene Club in 1968 or 69. Pink Floyd did not play any North American dates in 1969, so for the record the correct answer as to when Pink Floyd first played NYC is July 15 through 17, 1968 at The Scene on West 46th Street, Manhattan, New York City. This factoid will be relevant later in the show.
Another great omen appeared when Guy Pratt dedicated Remember A Day "to my old mate Danny Moynihan." So yet another band member has a personal stake in tonight's show!
Now Rob & I, we are old veterans of the Floyd Wars. We debated and commiserated our way through the 1980s as our favorite band unwound before our very eyes. We attended every vaguely Floyd related tour we could get our cash on. We are fairly obsessed, and although we are not "insiders," we know enough to be dangerous. So it was that we both were keenly aware that Roger Waters A) lives on Long Island, and B) was not touring in the spring of 2019. So while not expecting an appearance here, we were speculating that this might be the perfect opportunity for such a cameo. Furthermore, I guessed that if he were to appear, Set The Controls would be the perfect time. Particularly considering Nick's rap about Roger hogging the gong. Specifically I said "I hope he comes out and takes the mallet from Nick."
Even with this prediction, it was Rob and not I who first spotted a roadie adding an extra microphone to the stage at the end of Childhood's End. Rob let me know as soon as he spotted it. Could it really be? YES! The big payoff for two old fans who had come so far together.
Here is a transcription of Roger's comments before he began singing. Roger starts speaking at 2:18 into the song Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun:
"One Two. It was called... The Scene Club... the owner was Steve Paul, and it was 1969 (sic - it was 1968). I remember it well. (Clears throat). We had a gong in those days. As I remember, I used to - in the middle of the show - hurl an empty whiskey glass at it, and the glass was empty because I'd drunk the whiskey, as we did, back in the old days. Anyway. I'm so happy to be here, playing with Nick. We're very very close old friends. And uh... when I was doing The Wall he came and sang Outside The Wall a couple of times. So here we are. Oh, loving the show by the way Nick. My considered opinion is that you sound a lot better than we did back in the day." Roger then proceeds to sing Set The Controls @ 3:55 into the song.
There was hugging when Roger got on the stage, there was hugging as he left the stage. It was very emotional and special, and his appearance was definitely an energy vortex into which the remainder of the show seemed to flow. Still a great show, but both band and audience seemed a little drained from the climax. Perhaps this is why Roger did not revisit the same stage the next evening.
I am grateful to have been there for such a rare and momentous event. That one is gonna be hard to top. Maybe if Hendrix shows up next time... Doesn't seem likely!
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!
Nick Mason's SOS 2019 
