TICKET SCAN TO GO HERE

Capacity: TBA

Concert starts: 9pm

Address of venue: 36100 Vicenza, Province of Vicenza, Italy. MAP

Website: www.vicenzatoday.it

COMMENTS

Due to the critical success of the four initial shows in May 2018, held in tiny venues in London's Camden and Putney, Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets announced a full European tour for September that year. 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. The insatiable demand for more dates, in more locations, resulted in the band carrying on from where they left off, with numerous shows in 2022 taking the music to new fans, as well as those who have already experienced the show, eager for more - particularly with the halt to concerts due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The band clearly had a great time last year, as they are performing more shows in 2023!

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 starts on TUESDAY, 31st January 2023 at 10am (local time), via TicketOne

SHOW UPDATE - CANCELLED ON THE EVENING OF THE CONCERT:
Show four of the 2023 European tour tour saw the band back in Italy, which like much of the central band of Europe has been suffering with extreme weather, with temperatures breaking records in many places. As you'll see from the below, sadly a bad storm came in shortly before the band were due on stage, forcing organisers to evacuate the city square where the concert was to be held, for everyone's safety.

Ticket holders will be able to request a refund before August 10, 2023 through the Ticketone portal at www.rimborso.info.

EVENT REVIEW AND PICTURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, John Johnstone

Vicenza - The Gig That Wasn't Meant To Be ...

I was really looking forward to this one, having seen the Saucers five times before in a variety of venues; Manchester, Cambridge, Nimes (outdoors), RAH and Newcastle. Sadly, my wife had just had an operation and was unable to attend so I was flying solo!

I checked the BBC weather forecast on a daily basis for days before the concert and was relieved when the threat of lightning at Vicenza disappeared a day before I was due to leave for Verona. Hmmmm. I flew from Manchester to Verona and was greeted with a wall of heat ... and this was the evening. Still, things looked good. I spent the following day exploring Verona before taking the train for a short ride to Vicenza the morning after. It was a short walk from the train station to the Piazza dei Signori and I arrived just as the stage was being set up and the chairs arranged. It was a glorious hot summers day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After going on to my B&B, I got settled in and got fed and watered before walking back into town for the concert in the evening. There was quite a buzz and the atmosphere was friendly and expectant. Blue skies everywhere ... but the BBC weather app was back to forecasting lightning again. Surely not!

I queued at around 20:45 for only a few minutes to gain entry to the piazza and the seats were barely occupied. I went up to the stage and got a couple of pictures and all seemed ready ... the guitars were in their stands, the drums set up and the side screens were showing adverts. I then went to look at the merch and passed by the sound desk. I noticed that there was a sheet of paper next to the consoles that listed the songs from the first set. The sound guy looked a little bit sheepish when I pointed this out but we had a good chat about the gigs that I had been to. All looked good.

I then sat in my seat and struck up a conversation with a friendly Italian guy sitting next to me and we both were in good spirits as it was half an hour before the 21:30 start ... and then we turned around to see the most horrendous grey storm clouds behind us. We could see sheet lightning in the distance but there was no thunder or rain.

After about 15 minutes, a steward with a loud hailer instructed everyone to get under cover in the alleyways of the Basilica Palladiana next to the piazza. Apparently there had been reports of golf-ball sized hailstones falling a few miles away and the promoter was nervous about personal injury. The lightning increased in intensity and we were told that the promoter would make a decision at 22:00 on the concert going ahead. The wind then got up and it started to rain heavily, and the crew tried hard to tie the backdrops down. The promoter deadline was then extended to 22:30 and at about 22:20, although the lightning was really dramatic, the wind had calmed down and the rain slackened off. We hoped for a positive outcome. However, at 22:30, the stewards told us that the concert was cancelled and that was it!

I guess that, at times like this, you have to be philosophical especially as it was an outdoors concert where there is no control over the weather. The organisation of the concert was very good and the band were undoubtedly disappointed that it was cancelled. It was just a bit of a choker though, as all subsequent concerts in Italy took place without issue. Still, I'd had a lovely short Italian city break and I'm hoping that a UK tour will be organised towards the end of the year and I'll be able to take my wife as well.

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!