Last Sunday, July 10, we returned to the cozy Alfonso XIII Royal Botanical Garden, at the Complutense University, to enjoy a special evening with a predominant ingredient: psychedelia in its purest form taken to the extreme. Within the attractive cycle of concerts “Noches del Botánico”, it was the turn of NICK MASON’S SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS. The veteran PINK FLOYD drummer was finally appearing in the capital, after some postponements due to the pandemic, with the band that he himself formed 4 years ago to recall the songs from the early days of his legendary band, before the outbreak of “The Dark Side of the Moon” (1973).

No staunch PINK FLOYD fan could miss this event, since the plan was to finally listen live and with 21st century technology, many of the band’s old songs that have rarely been heard at their concerts. Tonight, those songs sounded renewed and wrapped in a hypercolorful psychedelic and galactic atmosphere, thanks to the brilliant effects of lights, images and explosions of color on the big giant screen, before which Mason, with his drums raised on a small pulpit, he almost seemed like an intergalactic god well accompanied by great musicians.

His accompanists were Guy Pratt (Roger Waters’s replacement when he left the legendary band) on bass, and a singer on some issue. He reminded us that he had been married to the daughter of PINK FLOYD keyboardist Richard Wright, whom he still fondly remembers as the grandfather of his children. Dom Beken played a prominent role on his keyboards, supported by Lee Harris, who also took on second guitar. But the main singer and guitarist of the night was Gary Kemp (SPANDAU BALLET), talkative and joking, praising the city of Madrid, especially its museums (Prado and Thyssen), and asking why no one ever wears T-shirts of the band that gave him fame.

The main character, Nick Mason, always on his boss’s platform after his brilliant instrument, and apparently in good shape at 78 years old, was cordial, talkative, grateful to the audience and likeable too. He recalled that he was in Spain in 1988 and hoped that some attendees from then would be with him tonight, although they have probably already lost their hair. It was a long concert, with two well-defined parts and a long break between them, as well as some encores. Once again we experienced a concert like last year’s, with everyone sitting down but in this case it was more than adequate for what it sounded like, songs full of melody, with more or less fast rhythms, but not excessively hectic, for a audience mostly mature and calm, but enthusiastic from start to finish.

As we told you, old and unusual songs sounded at the concerts of the last stages of PINK FLOYD, always perfectly accompanied by images or sounds suitable for each song, whether they were the images of the young Nick Mason, or the sound of Liverpool fans. and his anthem “Never Walk Alone” to introduce “Fearless” (as it sounds on the original album, “Meddle”). With “Obscured By Clouds” psychedelia arrived, which would stay practically until the end. Its slow and dark tone gave way to livelier and more colorful sounds in the following songs, with a very gesticulating and expressive Gary Kemp.

Nick Mason raised his voice to pay a heartfelt tribute to the late Syd Barrett, founder, leader and composer in the early years of PINK FLOYD (until he left the group due to his addictions and especially his mental problems). And he presented “Vegetable Man”, which, as he said, was censored at the time and that was why it had never been played live, neither in concerts by PINK FLOYD or any other cover group, so he offered us a first with it.

“If” wrapped up the acclaimed “Atom Heart Mother”, in a musical salad where both the drums and the second guitar and the keyboards had more prominence. After the presentation, by the boss, of his entire team, “Remember A Day” and “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun” closed this first part with intergalactic sounds, and especially with Nick playing the same gong as Roger. Waters was hitting on the video for the song. After the break, the second half was different…

It started in a more galactic tone, with “Astronomy Domine”, followed by pure rock & roll with “The Nile Song”, where the two duet guitars and the deep sound of Dom Beken’s Hammond stood out. It was sung by Guy Pratt, who also had an emotional memory of the victims of the war in Ukraine, to whom PINK FLOYD, with Nick Mason and with Guy himself, have recently dedicated the first song they have published in almost three decades, “Hey Hey rise up”. But they didn’t play it tonight, instead the following songs were played, loaded with melody and a little more psychedelia. The closing of this second part was the best-known “Echoes”, long and with a very starry tone, which received the biggest ovation.

Review Courtesy Of redhardnheavy

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