Looking back in time, something like 46 years, all the way back to the PF show at the Hollywood Bowl, and how it was presented with the opening of "One of These Days" and the highlight being somewhere in there, "Echoes". and then having seen the band later in their more famous days ... I have to let you all know that the early work is the work that I love the most and go back to listen to ... something like the stuff that was on so many bootlegs ... 10 different versions of "Set the Controls ...", at least 5 different versions of "AHM" including the one portion that was done for a failed ballet that was seen by a rock audience who more than likely did not like ballet and wanted to hear the hits instead, and then, of course, another wonderful version of "Saucerful of Secrets" ... 

There were a few more pieces at that time as well, like "Be Careful with that Axe, Eugene", and one of my favorites, "Astronomy Domine".

Time has not been kind to those pieces a whole lot, and today's audience is to hit song oriented to even like something like those things, and not consider a lot of it just "meandering", and "improvisation", which is something that most progressive thinking folks do not like, because the lyrics will not tell them where it is going ... sort of lilke you can't find out for yourself, where the road/trip is going or is about ... for me.

I call it, nowadays, the "Life of the Lost Children" after the great film and its wonderful premise of having the innocence and the dreams taken away from the children. Maybe this is what THE WALL was trying to tell us, but in the end, it became another piece of the ground beef! 

I saw the London show and I actually think these songs still feel very fresh, much more so than lots of 70s prog these days, or even stuff that some 70s heroes do today. I saw some young faces in the audience and I hope they will be inspired.

The primary impression was how much fun the musicians had. And then the wonderful set list showing all the different facets of the old Pink Floyd in perfect balance, the space psychedelia, Syd's brand of rock with a twist, and the dreamy poetic side, with some explicit appreciation of all the Floyd's former members, all very good humoured. I hadn't seen Floyd in the old days (unfortunately I could only see them live when Waters was already out and it wasn't the "real deal" anymore) and I'd assume that the performances of Mason's Saucerful do not have as much space for anarchy, improvisation and spontaneity as they gave themselves around 1970; despite all the fun it's somewhat more civilised, but well, you should expect that from a band headed by a 74 years old gentleman playing 50 years old songs.    

Regarding highlights, some of these such as Astronomy Domine and Set the Controls will always be so important for me that they can hardly be beaten, but some underdogs really shone, I loved Bike much more than ever before, hadn't been quite so aware up to now how good a song See Emily Play is, and Obscured by Clouds, which on the album always seems a bit static to me, was a perfectly welcome addition in the right place, giving a surprise hint at Pink Floyd's influence on post rock.

The band members all showed some good enthusiasm for the music. I've got to say that good old Nick played his parts in a quite economical fashion and missed the odd beat. But then he never was a big virtuoso, rather what he brings to the table for Floyd and his own project is, in the first place, taste, and long shall this last.

I think that Nick was more into the "music" than the later PF that was more about its "lyrics" and "meanings" than the music itself, though one should say that the music was strong to help it work.

In the earlier days, it was more about the "trip", at least the time that Nick is selecting for the material that was done. This has been, for the most part the most ignored of all the material by the other 2 folks in PF, though DG has done a couple more of them than RW, but in the end, it did not feel as honest and far out, as it is likely to by someone like Nick.

I hope they DVD this ... so I have a chance to see it before I depart from this earth ... but I can tell you that I remember that Hollywood Bowl concert well, and it is by far one of my favorite concerts ever, even given the incredible show that the next several tours by PF gave us in the next 10 to 15 years, but in the end, I think that the coziness and style of the early stuff was far more attractive for me, than the later bombastic material trying to feed the audiences!

I always looked at the earlier material, including Syd Barrett's as more artistic and poetic, than the later material that was no longer poetic, but more pointed and articulated to let you know its opinions. I do not see any of Barrett's lyrics as political ... mostly satirical and funny, but not pointed and trying to show you all the rights and wrongs in the world ... when all of it became no more and no less the same meat grind that it showed us! It didn't give us an alternative for freedom except to get more stoned and quit the world!

Wow ... outstanding version .... totally far out and so happy to see things like this again!

A few observations on the Nick Mason's video on the blooptube.

SPOILED! NO CLOSE UPS!

The video business for the past 40 years has been about the closeups up to and including the half nekkid veeman, and on this particular one, it was just very far with one zoom that would embarrass grandma 50 years ago because it showed that the dress was old! Oh, btw, the closeups in MTV were always overdone, and the "sexy-ness" stopped there. You know how that goes ... familiarity .... 

I would have liked a bit more work on tightening the idea of the video, but honestly? I kinda think that this was just a sort of Nick's birthday party ... or drinking party ... or more chips and beans!

FABULOUS!

There are no bands today (2018 or something like that!) that even come close to the ability and freedom of that time when it came to the music, and you can hear it in the versions of all the pieces in this concert. Not quite the Syd Barrett songs, but his two long pieces stood out. 

If there is one thing that was clear about the music at that time, that helped make PF so big and famous in concert BEFORE their DSOTM thing, it was that they were an amazingly strong band and that the tripping was far out, and when they went "quadraphonic", which was sometime in early 1972 or thereabouts, they blasted everyone out with sound effects and music moving all over and around you which was as close to a TRIP as you could possibly imagine. 

One thing that you can see here is that there was (at the time) a certain freedom to doing things, and very few of the pieces were defined/designed to be a song, but a musical journey that you followed and loved going along with.

You might find something like it today, but you can not get the feeling of the control and "song" side of things that (for me!) bring things down from the strength and value of the music itself.  Today, people rely on LYRICS to tell them about the trip and you figure you don't need the "meandering" to fly around anymore ... a horrible and lousy substitute for the real thing.

Watching this, I had a few thoughts and cries ... of a time, that has gone by and is largely forgotten in the music "business", that continually refuses to allow for music to be free, and this intimidates bands from getting away from a song ... everything is just a song, by people afraid of tripping with the music, figuring that it is as bad as the dope in those days, when they really have no real necessary connection for their existence. 

It's nice to see Nick Mason do this, and for once do something that has more value in the definition of what became PF, that both RW and DG took on, but really forgot their ability to have fun and fly and play things in a manner that was not mechanic, and controlled as much as the later shows were. You knew the songs, at that time, but in the old days, you did not need exactly to "know" many things and many times, you had never heard that thing before ... but you sat there and watched and enjoyed it ... and this video shows that there is a lot in that time, that we still do not know, enjoy and appreciate ... and until the day that we take a good look at it, we will never really understand or appreciate an incredible period of music and arts ... that the media would rather forget, and make you think that it never existed!

Weird how the "prog" folks are kinda ignoring this ... it's like they don't "get it" and wonder what all that mishmashing was about, since it did not have lyrics!

This is where almost all of it came from, and folks don't seem to understand where things like Yes, Genesis and so many others actually came from and learned from.

Just plain strange and weird!

It's great when old music can be reinvigorated.   

Hmmm, Boston?   That means they'll prob be in the Bay Area at some point.

enigma wrote: Roger joined them on stage in NY to play gong and provide vocals on Set the Controls

Wow - that's awesome.. I gotta check it out. Thanks!

 

That makes me wish I went to that gig even more.

 

but that's awesome. I hope we get some sort of live CD from all this.

Nogbad_The_Bad wrote: Tickets bought for Boston gig next April, super stoked.

Ian, where did you come across those tickets? Everything I see shows only European gigs in 2020:

http://www.thesaucerfulofsecrets.com/" rel="nofollow - http://www.thesaucerfulofsecrets.com/

https://www.jambase.com/band/nick-masons-saucerful-of-secrets" rel="nofollow - https://www.jambase.com/band/nick-masons-saucerful-of-secrets

This thread is rather old. You're quoting someone who bought tickets in 2018 and saw them last year because you are correct that so far 2020 seems to be only Europe.

You are correct sir!

(Sorry about the late reply)

That was the point of the bootlegs, though ... it was not about the "quality" ... it was the fact that showed how far out and great some of these concerts were, but you really have to use some imagination, when they do a lot of their sound effects bits in between various songs ... something that eventually became DSOTM and TW even later in a more "refined" style. PF, Bob Dylan and The Grateful Dead had the biggest list of bootlegs in the early 70's ... and the reason? Each and every piece was different each time, and it was neat to see this, and Bob went even further ... changing/adding lyrics left and right!

But the many versions of this song or that song, were far out ... and it was neat to trip on them, and all of them gave you a very different sentiment and visual (for me!) that a lot of other music did not.

This was the strength of PF in those days ... a fabulous trip band ... and the reason why so many folks got busted a few years later in LA and other places ... because the cops knew that there was going to be massive amounts of dope around ... but I have to tell you that seeing these cops on the floor pulling people out of the stands, was not fun, and it was sad and pathetic ... and while the music in the show was fine, the feeling got corrupted ... and even later, RW complaining about all the dope that was getting to the stage ... even got boos from many folks ... but again, by that time PF had already sold out to the public anyway ... so it was too late for the idiot RW to open his mouth and complain!

I need to pay more attention (or wear my reading glasses).

I was lucky enough to see the original do its thing at the Hollywood Bowl in 1972 and to me that was enough. I might get the DVD when it comes out, but in seeing this on the net already in 2 shows, I have to say that it is a far out trip to yesterday ... but a trip that for me, is not as much fun anymore ... and while I still love the music, the feeling (FOR ME) is gone, and while it is really nice, it is missing its soul and spirit for me, but it is a magnificent "primer" for many folks today that had no idea what "tripping" was all about ... even though on that show I was not stoned, and didn't need to be ... the quadraphonic sound (that folks here still don't know what it is or did to you!) was enough to carry you along ... and this show, today, does not have all those neat bits and pieces that went all around your head, that created a far out movie ... like today's stuff can't, and Roger forgot how to do it!