Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets at The Tabernacle
Story and photographs by Charles Emory
Photographs from Nick Mason’s Facebook page
Photographs from Saucerful of Secrets’ Facebook page
Video courtesy of Alan Crawford and celawesi hyt
When I heard the news that drummer Nick Mason was touring original Pink Floyd music in the fall of 2018, I could only dream that he would bring his band to North America. That dream is now being realized with 28 dates running through April. Playing the early catalog rarely heard by the casual fan, they took us back to a time of bell bottoms, fringed vests and ’60s-era British psychedelia. True pioneers of the genre lead early on by the late Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd forged a unique path in rock history. With the Floyd’s most famous compositions completely absent from the setlist, we got to experience the raw early formation of what would become some of the most extraordinary music ever performed. This show was played at The Tabernacle in Atlanta March 29.
From the opening instrumental, “Interstellar Overdrive,” you instantly knew you were in for a treat as the guitarists hopped all over the stage, playing to each other playfully and blissfully. In mid-tour form, they jammed it out with intensity and nuance. “Astronomy Domine” was my “holy shit” moment! The guitar work by Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet was scorching and reminiscent of the old Syd Barrett style, where he would make the guitar scream with a zippo slide! This was not a cover band, as they brought their individuality and intent to the original music.
The opening notes of the super groovy “Lucifer Sam” got the crowd wiggle going ’60s pop style, a rare danceable moment in the psychedelic explosion of an evening. Then into “Fearless,” beautifully played and sung, bringing one of my friends unexpectedly to tears. It was ‘that night,’ feels and goosebumps all around.
In an evening full of flashback moments from my musical life, “Obscured By Clouds When You’re In” brought a sunny afternoon of laughter and frisbee-crashing into my mind. Bathed in the bliss of that day, my smile widened, and this man and the journey continued.
Guy Pratt, playing bass with Pink Floyd since the Monetary Lapse of Reason tour in 1987, introduced “Remember a Day” as a song written by his son’s grandfather, the late Rick Wright, the original Pink Floyd keyboard player and creator of some of rock’s most beautiful musical pallets and playful notes.
Nick Mason picked up the microphone several times to talk about songs and tell funny stories. Paying homage to his former bandmates and fellow innovators, Nick fondly remembered them all in various funny and humbling ways.
Describing a transvestite stealing women’s clothing from a washing line, certainly risqué for 1967 and pruned to three minutes for the single, they broke into “Arnold Lane,” channeling the original live versions with improvisation. Yes, early live Pink Floyd delved into improvisation as they honed their skills and explored the boundaries of new musical territory.
As the opening notes of the bizarre and funny “Vegetable Man” poured out, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. I watched the grinning Guy Pratt animatedly point stage right, “Vegetable Man, Where are You?”
The “If > Atom Heart Mother > If” sandwich proved to me that the band knows the early live catalog, as the groove of AHM was the same one played live as a four-piece sans horns and choir in 1970. Not quite the 15- to 20-minute extravaganza of old, it was a treat that I never expected in my lifetime to experience. Dom Beken, who played keyboards with Guy Pratt in the British band Transit Kings, brought out the synthesized choir and effects, one of the hallmarks of this long piece. During the song “If” so beautifully played, I witnessed a crowd mesmerized by this rare performance. Before this tour it was played only once live with the early lineup during the Peel Sessions, BBC’s Paris Theatre 1970. Roger Waters has since played the song in concert.
“The Nile Song,” never performed live by the Floyd before Nick’s Saucerful of Secrets, rocked the house, loud and proud. I loved watching Guy Pratt bounce around triumphantly to one of his childhood favorites, as he explained. Just another headshaker moment for the hardcore fan with more treats to come. Then into the soothing and ethereal “Green is the Color,” cooling us down from the previous rocker. The funky, groovy, spacey “Let There Be More Light” showed how tight the band was, as they playfully moved between funkiness and spacey psychedelia, keeping us on the edge of our seats. Their joy flowed throughout the night. Catching Nick grinning as he watched his bandmates blaze a trail through the songs made it all the more special for me.
Drifting into “Childhood’s End,” the tribal groove moved through us, blowing minds across the Tabernacle with poignant lyrics and a groove thankfully not lost to time. The sound was so dialed in as the Pink Floyd legacy demands that you could hear every note, every nuance in perfect detail.
“Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun”! It’s still hard to bring together in my mind and describe the impact of this performance. My wife was brought to tears! I had to gather my jaw from the floor and forcibly stop shaking my head. As a psychedelic vehicle there aren’t many — if any — songs that surpass it. The band put so much power and passion into this performance we were all left a bit dumbfounded. See and hear for yourself (courtesy Alan Crawford):
They then bounced into 1967’s single “See Emily Play,” showing off some of the playful keyboard and swirly effects. As the whimsical “Bike” started, I heard the same gasp from the crowd as what came from me. Truly paying homage to Syd Barrett’s playful stylings, the song is strange and beautiful and makes you laugh out loud.
Guitarist and co-founder of Nick’s Saucerful of Secrets Lee Harris laid down some blistering licks with the lap slide during “One of These Days.” Included in many later Floyd tours, OOTD is one of the only songs of the night anyone has ever heard played live by Pink Floyd and company. The song has Nick’s only cameo vocal in the band’s catalog.
The band blazed through OOTD as if they were young and full of beans. I came away feeling the night was fulfilling like not many can be. After a short break, for the encore we got a shortened “Saucerful Of Secrets” with some wild synth work and strange sounds from across the pond. Ending the night to fill my only “hope to hear” was the classic “Point Me at The Sky” with the apropos lyric “And all we’ve got to say to you is goodbye.”
Earlier when Nick asked if anyone in the audience had seen the 1972 Dark Side of the Moon Atlanta stop, only a handful shouted out. I was ten at the time. As a lot, we were all in new live music territory. It’s the rare American that has seen any except two of these songs played live by any member of Pink Floyd. Except for the bootlegs of varying sound quality, I only dreamed I would ever hear any of these songs performed live, as Roger Waters and David Gilmour have left most of them behind. But Nick Mason brought to life the musical foundation of Pink Floyd with an amazing and powerful band, keeping a groove throughout the night as only Nick Mason does. As Neil Peart once said of Nick, “Always the right thing in the right place.”
This video is of a show from Luxembourg 09/09/18:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYk4eaKOfSo
