Pink Floyd Appreciation Thread for Dummies

[Marky Dread]

My stoke levels are super high for Thursday. I've heard nothing but great things from folks who have attended the first few shows of the tour. I'll try to submit a show review at least as detailed as my Elton John one.

"Hi everybody I saw Nick Mason last night thx''

[Flex]

"Hi everybody I saw Nick Mason last night thx''

I Went to a Concert: A Flex Goes to a Thing Story

[Rat Patrol]

It's not too late for the experimental helicopter to save us all by killing them all.

[JennyB]

It's not too late for the experimental helicopter to save us all by killing them all.

I agree with this post.

[Flex]

My friends: I am here to tell you that the Saucerful of Secrets tour may be THE show of the year to catch when Nick & co. visit town. This was a great, great experience. Let's break it down:

Venue/crowd: The Paramount, which at the very least our own Spiff has been to, is a sit-down music theater with a really nice sound system and in a historic (and nicely restored) interior. Helped set the mood for this Trip back in time. The crowd was a bit more diverse than i was expecting. Let's face it: seeing the drummer perform songs from before The Floyd became stadium monsters is very niche type of thing, but although the crowd was predominantly old grey and white-haired couples there were still a fair number of folks down to my age (and what looked to be a clutch of middle and high schoolers who came as a family. Always like seeing inter-generational concert outings) and with some more women in the mix than I thought there'd be. Some college-age lookin' folks were definitely all in on the "taking drugs and going to see Floyd" aspect of the night, which was amusing. Overall, crowd was pretty into it. Most folks seemed to know even the most obscure of the songs and stuff like See Emily Play and Set the Controls... got huge applause, which was great. Place was definitely not at capacity, maybe 4/5 full which made it fairly pleasant for those of us there but I imagine this tour would like to sell a few more tickets.

Opening Act: Some British singer/songwriter who goes by the name "Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly" which, ugh. Serviceable, but I usually enjoy opening bands (great chance to be exposed to new music!) and he didn't do anything for me. Had a tough time warming up the crowd, as an opening act hadn't been advertised anywhere so I think everyone was expecting Nick Mason to start right away, so the crowd was pretty subdued for him.

The main event: these guys OWN the stage, was my biggest impression. They're not The Floyd but they're still something more than just a cover band. Let's think through the lineup: Nick Mason, obviously. He came off as very amiable. A good job mic'ing his set up so you could hear the drums high enough in the mix but not so bad that it was overpowering, and Nick never tried any irritating drum solos or, like, tried singing lead or anything. He was content doing his thing and being the glue that held it all together. Really nicely done on him, didn't seem like an ego trip at all.

Gary Kemp, of Spandau Ballet, took most of the Syd lead vocals and guitar parts. Shockingly great guitar work and the vocals were on-point for the evening but never came off as an impersonation. Some critiques I've heard from earlier in the Tour was the Syd stuff still felt a little uncomfortably cover band-ish, but last night Gary and the rest of the band felt totally at ease with the material, really inhabiting it. Gary brought a lot of Rock and Roll swagger with him, which gave the psych pop a real nice punk edge at times, which was a delightful surprise.

Guy Pratt, Roger's replacement on bass for The Floyd and later a touring guitarist for David Gilmour (amongst others), Guy shared the "storytelling" duties with Nick and cracked a few jokes at David's expense (one gets the feeling they didn't part on particularly warm terms). Took a few lead vocals and obviously fed off and contributed to the energy with Gary. Those two were a great front-person tandem and he obviously helped bolster the "cred" of the unit a bit, making the Floyd roots a bit deeper.

Dom Beken, keyboardist of the Transit Kings and The Orb (the latter of which recorded with David Gilmour a few years ago). They discussed on stage that he was mentored by Rick Wright (no idea how much of a stretch that is, but they did work together) which was some nice connectivity. He was in the back of the stage most of the time, but obviously the keyboard work is important in this stuff and he did a great job.

Lee Harris, of The Blockheads. Not a lot of singing, but great guitar work and particularly some really ripping slide guitar work, which was a lot of fun. A really nice pedigree among all these players, all told.

Highlights for me included the opening trio of Interstellar Overdrive -> Astronomy Domine -> Lucifer Sam. Energy levels were HIGH among the band and the crowd for those and it was just the amazing explosion of psychedelia. Getting a live Vegetable Man was wild (and Nick's comments of "we couldn't get the song finished before we ran out of Syd" was an interesting framing) and people rightfully lost their minds for the closing series of songs from the main set: Set The Controls For The Heart of the Sun -> See Emily Play -> Bike -> One of These Days. The other highlight for me was probably performing If/Atom Heart Mother/If and then just blasting into The Nile Song, the latter of which sounded most like when I saw The Melvins live a year or so ago. I can't really emphasize enough how heavy this band is. They do the delicate moments in songs well, but with the band's pedigree they really shine on the psych freakouts and the heavy and hard rockers. They had to be one of the rockingest outfits playing in Denver last night.

I never really thought I'd get the chance to see a living member of The Floyd play these great songs from before they became... well, what they would become, and with such a perfect outfit to bring the songs and the atmosphere to life. If you're a fan of the band's early stuff, or even if you just enjoy 60s psychedelic rock in general, this is a must-see show. I can't imagine this being a regular touring outfit, so don't miss the chance to see something really special.

Last night's setlist (a good clutch from the first two records but every album through Meddle - except Ummagumma - is represented. Really, the setlist is built around the Relics compilation as much as anything, which got a shout-out from the band with Nick Mason's artwork as the cover. Note that Vegetable Man was unissued until the Early Years box came out a few years ago and encore-closer Point Me at The Sky was a single that was never compiled on anything until the Early Years box. Great deep dives into the catalog, and the audience ate it up):

Interstellar Overdrive (from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn / Relics)
Astronomy Domine (from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn)
Lucifer Sam (from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn)
Fearless (from Meddle)
Obscured by Clouds (from Obscured by Clouds)
When You're In (from Obscured by Clouds)
Remember a Day (from A Saucerful of Secrets / Relics)
Arnold Layne (from 1967 single / Relics)
Vegetable Man (previously unreleased / The Early Years 1965–1972)
If (from Atom Heart Mother)
Atom Heart Mother (from Atom Heart Mother)
If Reprise (from Atom Heart Mother)
The Nile Song (from More / Relics)
Green Is the Colour (from More)
Let There Be More Light (from A Saucerful of Secrets)
Childhood's End (from Obscured by Clouds)
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun (from A Saucerful of Secrets)
See Emily Play (from 1967 single / Relics)
Bike (from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn / Relics)
One of These Days (from Meddle)

Encore:
A Saucerful of Secrets (from A Saucerful of Secrets)
Point Me at the Sky (from 1968 single / The Early Years 1965–1972)

[coffeepotman]

Fantastic review, I have tix to see them in April, can't wait

[Marky Dread]

My friends: I am here to tell you that the Saucerful of Secrets tour may be THE show of the year to catch when Nick & co. visit town. This was a great, great experience. Let's break it down:

Venue/crowd: The Paramount, which at the very least our own Spiff has been to, is a sit-down music theater with a really nice sound system and in a historic (and nicely restored) interior. Helped set the mood for this Trip back in time. The crowd was a bit more diverse than i was expecting. Let's face it: seeing the drummer perform songs from before The Floyd became stadium monsters is very niche type of thing, but although the crowd was predominantly old grey and white-haired couples there were still a fair number of folks down to my age (and what looked to be a clutch of middle and high schoolers who came as a family. Always like seeing inter-generational concert outings) and with some more women in the mix than I thought there'd be. Some college-age lookin' folks were definitely all in on the "taking drugs and going to see Floyd" aspect of the night, which was amusing. Overall, crowd was pretty into it. Most folks seemed to know even the most obscure of the songs and stuff like See Emily Play and Set the Controls... got huge applause, which was great. Place was definitely not at capacity, maybe 4/5 full which made it fairly pleasant for those of us there but I imagine this tour would like to sell a few more tickets.

Opening Act: Some British singer/songwriter who goes by the name "Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly" which, ugh. Serviceable, but I usually enjoy opening bands (great chance to be exposed to new music!) and he didn't do anything for me. Had a tough time warming up the crowd, as an opening act hadn't been advertised anywhere so I think everyone was expecting Nick Mason to start right away, so the crowd was pretty subdued for him.

The main event: these guys OWN the stage, was my biggest impression. They're not The Floyd but they're still something more than just a cover band. Let's think through the lineup: Nick Mason, obviously. He came off as very amiable. A good job mic'ing his set up so you could hear the drums high enough in the mix but not so bad that it was overpowering, and Nick never tried any irritating drum solos or, like, tried singing lead or anything. He was content doing his thing and being the glue that held it all together. Really nicely done on him, didn't seem like an ego trip at all.

Gary Kemp, of Spandau Ballet, took most of the Syd lead vocals and guitar parts. Shockingly great guitar work and the vocals were on-point for the evening but never came off as an impersonation. Some critiques I've heard from earlier in the Tour was the Syd stuff still felt a little uncomfortably cover band-ish, but last night Gary and the rest of the band felt totally at ease with the material, really inhabiting it. Gary brought a lot of Rock and Roll swagger with him, which gave the psych pop a real nice punk edge at times, which was a delightful surprise.

Guy Pratt, Roger's replacement on bass for The Floyd and later a touring guitarist for David Gilmour (amongst others), Guy shared the "storytelling" duties with Nick and cracked a few jokes at David's expense (one gets the feeling they didn't part on particularly warm terms). Took a few lead vocals and obviously fed off and contributed to the energy with Gary. Those two were a great front-person tandem and he obviously helped bolster the "cred" of the unit a bit, making the Floyd roots a bit deeper.

Dom Beken, keyboardist of the Transit Kings and The Orb (the latter of which recorded with David Gilmour a few years ago). They discussed on stage that he was mentored by Rick Wright (no idea how much of a stretch that is, but they did work together) which was some nice connectivity. He was in the back of the stage most of the time, but obviously the keyboard work is important in this stuff and he did a great job.

Lee Harris, of The Blockheads. Not a lot of singing, but great guitar work and particularly some really ripping slide guitar work, which was a lot of fun. A really nice pedigree among all these players, all told.

Highlights for me included the opening trio of Interstellar Overdrive -> Astronomy Domine -> Lucifer Sam. Energy levels were HIGH among the band and the crowd for those and it was just the amazing explosion of psychedelia. Getting a live Vegetable Man was wild (and Nick's comments of "we couldn't get the song finished before we ran out of Syd" was an interesting framing) and people rightfully lost their minds for the closing series of songs from the main set: Set The Controls For The Heart of the Sun -> See Emily Play -> Bike -> One of These Days. The other highlight for me was probably performing If/Atom Heart Mother/If and then just blasting into The Nile Song, the latter of which sounded most like when I saw The Melvins live a year or so ago. I can't really emphasize enough how heavy this band is. They do the delicate moments in songs well, but with the band's pedigree they really shine on the psych freakouts and the heavy and hard rockers. They had to be one of the rockingest outfits playing in Denver last night.

I never really thought I'd get the chance to see a living member of The Floyd play these great songs from before they became... well, what they would become, and with such a perfect outfit to bring the songs and the atmosphere to life. If you're a fan of the band's early stuff, or even if you just enjoy 60s psychedelic rock in general, this is a must-see show. I can't imagine this being a regular touring outfit, so don't miss the chance to see something really special.

Last night's setlist (a good clutch from the first two records but every album through Meddle - except Ummagumma - is represented. Really, the setlist is built around the Relics compilation as much as anything, which got a shout-out from the band with Nick Mason's artwork as the cover. Note that Vegetable Man was unissued until the Early Years box came out a few years ago and encore-closer Point Me at The Sky was a single that was never compiled on anything until the Early Years box. Great deep dives into the catalog, and the audience ate it up):

Interstellar Overdrive (from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn / Relics)
Astronomy Domine (from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn)
Lucifer Sam (from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn)
Fearless (from Meddle)
Obscured by Clouds (from Obscured by Clouds)
When You're In (from Obscured by Clouds)
Remember a Day (from A Saucerful of Secrets / Relics)
Arnold Layne (from 1967 single / Relics)
Vegetable Man (previously unreleased / The Early Years 1965–1972)
If (from Atom Heart Mother)
Atom Heart Mother (from Atom Heart Mother)
If Reprise (from Atom Heart Mother)
The Nile Song (from More / Relics)
Green Is the Colour (from More)
Let There Be More Light (from A Saucerful of Secrets)
Childhood's End (from Obscured by Clouds)
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun (from A Saucerful of Secrets)
See Emily Play (from 1967 single / Relics)
Bike (from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn / Relics)
One of These Days (from Meddle)

Encore:
A Saucerful of Secrets (from A Saucerful of Secrets)
Point Me at the Sky (from 1968 single / The Early Years 1965–1972)

Brilliant set list. Glad you had a good time Flex. Vegetable Man is an ace track and they should have released it as their third single. My first hearing of this track was a cover in 1980 by the Soft Boys a band that was hugely inspired by Syd era Floyd. I got it on a bootleg not long after and of course The Jesus and Mary Chain covered it as a B-side.

[coffeepotman]

Both of those covers and albums they are on are worth checking out!