The unmistakable bass sound and the swirling wind on “One Of These Days” from the album “Meddle” from 1971 open the show in Cologne’s E-Werk. A perfect song to open and Lee Harris plays the solo slide part perfectly. It’s a brilliant way to start the evening.
That 78-year-old Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason has chosen to celebrate Pink Floyd’s early psychedelic era – particularly the work of the late Syd Barrett, for whom he retains a great deal of affection – is for fans of that early era of British music Lucky pro rocker. We were already able to experience the show on the Loreley at the Night of the Progs – with better sound and a slightly different set.
Former Blockheads guitarist Lee Harris, who was the main instigator of the project, handles all of the slide guitar with great aplomb. Veteran session musician and Floyd collaborator Guy Pratt, who defines his role somewhere between David Gilmour and Roger Waters, provides punchy bass and vocals.
The new Saucers tour is split into two sets and there is a revival of some ‘lost’ songs. Barrett’s officially unreleased semi-autobiographical “Vegetable Man” is among them and “Candy and a Currant Bun”. According to Mason, the original title was “Let’s Roll Another One”, but the title was probably frowned upon and it was the B-side of “Arnold Layne”. There’s the moving “Remember a Day”, the beautiful, folky “Fearless” and “The Nile Song” gets almost a little metal-rocking.
Mason is set in front of a giant projection of his younger self set in the 1960s. From the delicate, jazzy rhythms of “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” to the gargantuan “Echoes,” he has lost none of his power and skill. After about two and a half hours, the band says goodbye to the fans with Barrett’s groovy “Bike”. What a lovely evening.
Review Courtesy Of Lina Macke
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