We bought tickets for this concert in November 2019, a few weeks after seeing the second edition of Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets European tour in Ulm and Amsterdam. A certain lack of motivation in the SRT team was already evident in this leg. Nevertheless, after the great concert in the previous year (2018) in the Tempodrom, the show planned for 2020 was set, as was the concert at the (Floyd) historic location, the Halle Münsterland.
The tour announced for May was called “More Games for May” in reference to the Pink Floyd concert on May 12 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in 1967. In the early days of the pandemic, we still hoped that “the It should be over by May.” Well…
In fact, the two-year delay had a positive impact on the concert. Not only the SRT team was hungry for the Saucers again. The break had also done the sound good. Almost all band members have been heard working on their gear setup in the last two years. Of course, the most striking thing was Nick’s new drum kit in Hokusai Wave design and Guy’s additional pedal board. The presence of Guy’s bass was particularly noticeable in the mix this time.
The stage only grew slightly, the backdrop screen is now a bit larger and divided into 3 segments and is played by three projectors instead of one. Animations have established themselves as part of the light show for all songs. The light kit even looks a bit thinned out, but still effective, but less beam-heavy. Before the start of the European tour, the band had already played around 20 concerts on a UK leg. As the 19th concert, Berlin was not exactly at the beginning of the tour. So the band was recorded. Werner also reported this from the Vienna concert. fine. Although we had to live with the fact that Interstellar Overdrive has since been dropped from the setlist.
Songs like Lucifer Sam or The Nile Song came in a wonderfully crisp version. Atom Heart Mother still remains a just good fun piece in the if bracket. A newcomer to the setlist was Candy And A Currant Bun, which has become a dangerously catchy tune. Burning Bridges, another newcomer, remained colorless for me. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun was a great set closer to the first set, with lots of Garry Kemp using the knobs on his effects pedals.
As the pandemic progressed, the tour changed its name to The Echoes Tour, indicative of an acclaimed but surprising setlist addition. Hadn’t Guy Pratt repeatedly emphasized that the song was about the musical dialogue between Rick Wright and David Gilmour. In 2006, Rick and Guy toured with Gilmour and Echoes was the highlight of every concert. After Rick’s death, Gilmour and Pratt agreed that the song should no longer be played. At the concert in Pompeii in 2016, Gilmour and Pratt made this clear again when the audience called for echoes.
Meanwhile, at least Guy Pratt has changed his mind, because if both Gilmour and Wright aren’t playing, you can approach the song differently. To get straight to the point: the band has succeeded in creating a dignified alternative. The key to this are two guitarists with whom you can avoid direct Gilmour comparisons. Said musical dialogue now takes place between Gary and Dom. Significantly more compact. Then Lee Harris enters the dramatic Seagull section, optically designed a little differently than the creator of this pleasant screeching noise.
Then comes the majestic return to the original song construction. This is where Nick comes into his own, as in this version the “Reentry” phase is significantly longer and dominated by Nick and Guy. The sequence becomes something like a Mason solo: the swinging cymbal thud gives way to wonderfully rumbling runs over the toms. A monumental drum roll then leads to the mythical climax of the epic. Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets Berlin Tempodrom 2022 Then Lee and Gary get their turn again.
While Mark Brickmann greeted Gilmour at this point in 2006 with a storm of steel from his light cannons, today we are received with a subtle optical illumination. A comparison is pointless. It’s a different approach and that’s good too and it’s good as one of the highlights of the concert. Childhood’s End With an important namesake on the drums born in 1944, two years can already have a significant impact on condition and health and thus on tour planning. Corona continues to have the concert industry under control. Tickets often sell slowly or spontaneously and concerts are still on shaky ground. We had just entered the hall when the news came in that the Rolling Stones were canceling their Amsterdam concert at short notice due to Mick Jagger’s corona disease. A few minutes later, Automatic announce the cancellation of their Berlin concert. We hope for a repeat of the successful concert evening in a few weeks in the Halle Münsterland.
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