Live Shots: Saucerful of Secrets revived the dazzling psychedelic origins of Pink Floyd

Nick Mason, the drummer from the original line-up of Pink Floyd, put together an amazing group of talented musicians for the “Saucerful Of Secrets” tour, named for the 1968 Floyd album, which hit the Fox Theatre on October 28. The group performs early Pink Floyd songs from the mid-’60s and early ’70s—the psychedelic ones released before Dark Side Of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and The Wall. These are songs from original creator Syd Barrett created , ones that never saw the light of day in regular performances, even from any of the current Pink Floyd tribute groups around the world, as Nick pointed out.

The band consists of Nick on drums (of course), Gary Kemp and Lee Harris on guitars, Dom Beken on keys, and Guy Pratt on the bass. One poignant moment during the show came when Pratt talked about the recent reunion collaboration in. which Nick, David Gilmour, himself, and Nitin Sawhney recorded Pink Floyd’s first new material in 28 years, in the form of a protest song against the Ukraine war. Guy also joked that this would be the only politics mentioned during the show, and that the audience would not need to go to the bar. It was a tongue-in-cheek jab at Roger Waters’ recent appearance here, where he told the crowd that if they didn’t like his politics, that they could head out for a drink instead.

Eschewing the grand theatrics and flying pigs of Waters’ show, this is a stripped down, analog-embracing, psychedelic super-show. San Francisco and London are the two best cities for psychedelic rock, the band pointed out—and they made sure the adoring crowd understood just how excited they were to perform on the stage that also hosted San Francisco-based classic bands like Jefferson Airplane.

The show was broken into two halves, with a 20 minute intermission in between. Sprinkled throughout the show were anecdotes about the Pink Floyd heyday, including several jabs at their former leader Roger Waters. Nick Mason lamented that he never was able to pilot the ubiquitous gong and that on his tour, he will take that control back.

The visuals for the show were performed “in the old way” and are done live. The old school method for creating the psychedelic visual accompaniment for the show are featured in the video below.

Here’s the setlist from the night:

First Half:
One Of These Days
Arnold Layne
Fearless
Obscured By Clouds
When You’re In
Candy and A Currant Bun
Vegetable Man
If
Atom Heart Mother
If (Reprise)
Remember A Day
Set the Controls For the Heart Of the Sun

Second Half:
Astronomy Domine
The Nile Song
Burning Bridges
Childhood’s End
Lucifer Sam
Echoes

Encores:
See Emily Play
A Saucerful Of Secrets
Bike