Especially as a young Pink Floyd fan it is something very special to be able to see Pink Floyd or parts of the legendary Cambridge band live. The last Floyd concert with Roger Waters was the Wall Tour in 1981 and the last concert as Pink Floyd already with Guy Pratt on bass, who was also part of the party tonight, was in 1994.

The special thing about Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets that makes it highly interesting even for older fans is the setlist. Only songs up to the 1972 album Obscured by Clouds are played. The oldest numbers are the non-album singles from March and June 1967. Conversely, that means no “Dark Side…”, no “Wish you were here” and no “Wall”, but you don’t really need them with what you do is offered here.

The concert starts punctually at 8:00 p.m. with the opener from the 71 Meddle album “One of these Days”. The bass run, the transition, the wandering sound in the middle section. “One of these days I’m gonna cut you into little pieces” a rarity in which Nick Mason speaks up on the Floyd albums. Goosebumps on the first song fit and the almost sold-out Circus Krone trembles. Second comes the oldest song of the evening, the first Pink Floyd single “Arnold Layne”. Syd Barrett’s legendary songs logically play a very important role in the early days. Many spectators sang along here. A very special feeling to have the opportunity to hear the Syd songs live. Gary Kemp, Spandau Ballet’s lead guitarist, plays the notes insanely well throughout the evening, paying homage to David Gilmour and Syd Barrett on their parts. The line-up was completed that evening by keyboardist Dom Beken and second guitarist Lee Harris. Back to Meddle with the song “Fearless”. Anyway an underrated but strong track with the nice acoustic guitar and the dynamics. Hearing this dreamy tune live is just great. Of course, the “You’ll never walk alone” shouldn’t be missing either. The journey goes back to 1972 with the spherical Obscured by Clouds title track and the classic Gilmour style. Followed by the album’s second song “When You’re In” with its rousing groove and organ fills. Of course, the crown rocks with it. Now it went far back into the single phase. First with the wicked “Candy and a currant bun”, B-side of “Arnold Layne”. Drugs and sex are discussed here, which Nick Mason laughs about in the speech afterwards. He seems in a very good mood and incredibly likeable: “I’m hiiiiiiiigh!” Surprisingly, we stay in 1967 and with a Syd song with the unreleased “Vegetable Man”. Mason and his boys are the first to have performed the song live since a Pink Floyd appearance on the BBC in December 1967. Arrived in 1970 something was done that I really liked. It played the quiet Roger Waters song “If” by Atom Heart Mother, then inserted the prominent theme of the eponymous sonata in the middle of the track, before returning to “If”. A nice idea to deal with the long tracks in this way instead of omitting them outright. Just great because there was something surprising about it. Now for the previously omitted second album A Saucerful of Secrets from 1968, which also gives the band name. It started with a song written by the original keyboard player and my favorite band member Richard Wright – “Remember a Day”. Guy Pratt, the bassist, is Wright’s son-in-law and emotionally announced the song about how much it means to him. A very emotional moment and a great song. After a humorous speech about the gong, which Roger always abuses for this number and about which Mason said he was always a little jealous that he wasn’t allowed to bang it: it was clear what was to come. “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun,” a hypnotic track that captivates listeners.

After about an hour of play, there was a 20-minute break – time for a new T-shirt.

And it continued with the first song of the first album. “Astronomy Domine” is a song that gets better and better with every listen, but to be able to hear these sounds live was just incredibly impressive. In my eyes and ears, the acoustics were basically better in the second half than in the first. It’s straight on to the ears with “The Nile Song” from the 1969 soundtrack album More. Probably the heaviest number in the band’s history, including almost screaming vocals, raises quite an alarm. Before that, a funny speech from Guy who said it was the first Floyd song he knew and thought they were a heavy metal band. Back then it belonged on Relics, this record was half the price of normal Pink Floyd records. Back to the Obscured with the two-part sung “Burning Bridges”. Love that this otherwise neglected album gets so much play on Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets. Because of this everyone should notice that the album is just great. We’re sticking with the ’72 album with the somber beginning “Childhoods End”. The transition to the more groovy part is of course excellent. Then came “Lucifer Sam”. My favorite song from the Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. Accordingly, I was blown away when I heard the bass run. “That cat’s something I can’t explain” is similar to why I like the song so much. Definitely a goosebump moment for me. Goosebumps also with the sonar-like button sound at the beginning of “Echoes”, it was clear anyway. Since this is the Echoes tour I was hoping they would play the whole track and they did. The background projections were also appropriate and the sound was strong anyway. Getting more than 20 minutes of enjoyment live was just a dream.
That ended the original setlist, but of course there were encores. The whole thing ended in great applause.

It started with “See Emily Play”, the band’s second single, which impresses with its psychedelic sound in a pop song. Sing along and groove at its finest. Contrary to this, the somewhat wacky and dark “A Saucerful of Secrets” was played as the second encore. The sounds that went through the Circus Krone were amazing. Really loud and really good! Like Syd Barrett, the lead guitarist also used a Zippo as a slide to create these special sounds. Nick Mason’s catchy, constant drum sound also came across really well. The album cover was chosen as the background. The background projections were interesting throughout the concert, as some hand-mixed color gradients were projected. “Bike” took over the end of the fantastic evening from the debut album. The carnival-like rhythm suits the concert venue particularly well and is a good ending. It also closes the Best of Pink Floyd Echoes, so that was pretty obvious.

You were on a journey through time from 1967 to 1972 and floated from highlight to highlight. The variety and ingenuity of the pieces, the joy of playing, the funny and grateful announcements are in their combination something that makes the evening memorable for me. Pink Floyd has always been magical to me, but with Rick dead and Roger and David preferring to fight, a reunion will probably remain a dream. But would it really be better than what was happening there in the Circus Krone? I doubt it. An absolute recommendation. If Nick Mason and company should come again, I’ll definitely be there!

Review Sent In By Maxlrose

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