Today’s gig was supposed to have taken place almost exactly 2 years ago, 2nd May 2020 to be precise, but here we are 2 years and 2 rescheduled dates later. We had got lucky in that the despite now being a Sunday tomorrow was a Bank Holiday so we booked in to a nearby hotel for the evening. Sallying forth we wandered through the centre of Leicester looking at where to eat. Lots to choose from but none appealing to us although the customary Portuguese chicken restaurant was there. On this occasion we opted for something closer to the venue, the Italian was fully booked and the next door Indian completely empty, personally I avoid empty restaurants. So we made for the pub as had many other gig goers.
Interestingly, once at the venue there was only the customary bag searches no metal detectors or pat downs but perhaps that’s down to the average age of the patrons some of whom looked like they’d set off the detectors with implants (much like myself!). I’ve seen Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets 3 times in total and was very fortunate to have been there at the “birth” of this group at Dingwalls. They’ve come a long way since those nascent gigs and are now internationally renowned scoring rave reviews from the press.
We visited the bar first for some refreshments and had a lively chat with the lady serving us because she’d asked me if I wanted my “Old Speckled Hen” off the shelf or from the cooler! Off the shelf of course no one drinks cold real ale as the man next to me agreed. She did say some do and we laughed when I pointed out the dust on the bottle suggested she was correct and only us oldies appreciate real ale the way it’s supposed to be drunk – warm.
Taking our seats we had a great view of the stage. Looking about there were a few mask wearers but unfortunately quite a few empty seats in the sold out venue. Were they empty because of the rescheduled date or did this represent victims of Covid (again considering the average age of the audience). Whilst the age was top heavy it’s pleasing to see many younger members of the audience perhaps reflecting the appeal of this brand of, at times whimsical, psychedelic prog-rock.
The imminent arrival of the band is signalled by a tape recording that ends with a countdown as Nick and the rest of the band emerge to cheers and applause. They open with a favourite of mine, “One of These Days” with it’s deep bass line effortlessly plucked by Guy Pratt as the lights circle and Lee Harris caresses the wailing slide guitar as the sound rises and falls. It’s an energetic opening as the song conveys an anger and brooding presence. Yet, as Nick later tells us, it’s not quite the original nor do they intend to faithfully recreate the sound or timbre of those songs. All songs played tonight come from the days Pink Floyd inherited the smoky club rooms of London experimenting with their sound and, dare I say, tripping out the outrageous twist and turns many of their more expansive melodies take.
Nick rises from his seat behind the drums to address us and appears nervous, he’s still not accustomed to being in the lime light. Nicks more at home as the stick man gluing together the dysfunctional parts of Pink Floyd, keeping things nicely ticking over as they reach stadium filling superstardom. Nick mentions that this run of gigs was a long time coming and thanks us for sticking with them. He gently asks us to turn off those annoying lights if we’re recording the show to which they have no problems with at all.
Apparently the next song was banned by the BBC for its lewd content which actually, and often seems to, meant increased sales. “Arnold Layne” is a one of those charming Barrett ditties that at first appear childlike but actually are musically well structured like the other Barrett penned songs “Candy in a Current Bun” (name changed to avoid another ban), “If” and “Vegetable Man” all of which got an airing.
The actual performance of “If” was briefly interrupted by “Atom Heart Mother” reminding us that the band are interpreting the works of early Pink Floyd rather than just covering them. It was at this point that I realised that these works were actually very inspirational to me as a teenager growing up in the 70’s and influential on my musical tastes. Perhaps this is why I keep coming back to see the band and also because invariably no two concerts will be the same. They seem to connect with my psyche and induce a sense of rapture.
During more chat there were poignant moments when Nick remembered Syd and Rick and warm applause rippled round the arena. There’s a birthday greeting for a 16 year old fan from one of the social media pages as Guy introduces Rick’s offering of “Remember a Day” and says he’d best get it right as Rick is also his father in law!
Nick then introduced the band to us and recalls a tale about Lee Harris convincing him to come out of retirement to create the band and about how Gary Kemp came to be lead guitar. “It was all a bit vague” he says “Gary thought he’d be working with Roger (waters) and I thought I was getting Tony Hadley”, cue lots of laughter. Gary replied that it was a great honour to be part of the band and that he’d bought Relics in Woolworths (remember that store?) but only because it was half the price of the other albums, more laughter. To end the first half they play the otherworldly near instrumental “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” with the title whispered into the overlapping and intertwining melodies as the back drop shows the Sun’s roiling surface casting an eerie red/orange glow over the band.
This spaced out feel continued after the interval with “Interstellar Overdrive” and “Astronomy Domine” from Pink Floyds debut album “Piper at the Gates of Dawn” . These cement the psychedelic elements of the band as each member cajoles intricate expressions from their instruments in tune with the back beat delivered by Nick. You can see each member is looking for leads from the other as, on occasion, it feels like a jam session and perhaps that’s what these free flowing instrumentals are. Harking back to Pink Floyds experimental roots where they were given free rein to develop sounds, test them out and use or throw away.
After a couple more songs we were presented with an absolute treat “Echoes” the full 23 minutes of prog-rock extravaganza. It reaches exquisite heights of instrumental improvisation before the echoing screech of what I’ve always imagined was an Albatross’s cry in flight. Finally crashing into the amped up sound of Gary’s ferocius guitar strumming as Lee compliments this by caressing his 6-string in a way that rolls around and under and before Dom’s keyboards finally calm it all down. We were on our feet, thunderous applause, cheers and whistles rang out as the band came forward for a bow. Oh that was good, very good.
Not finished yet we get a 3 song encore of “See Emily Play”, “A Saucerful of Secrets” and the charming childlike absurdity of “Bike” which, when heard, who can then forget “Gerald” 🙂
Outstanding again and the joy they seem to have whilst playing is reflected in the songs and their delivery. Have fun, play music and the rest will surely follow and it does.
My Review Score : 10
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