Capacity: 1,700

Concert starts: 8pm

Address of venue: Church Street, Brighton, BN1 1UE, England. MAP

Website: www.brightondome.org

COMMENTS

Due to the critical success of the four initial shows in May 2018, held in tiny venues in London's Camden and Putney, Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets announced a full European tour for September that year. The expanded shows for the full tour were even more highly acclaimed, and it came as no surprise when further dates for 2019 were announced. The insatiable demand for more dates, in more locations, resulted in the band carrying on from where they left off, with numerous shows in 2022/2023 taking the music to new fans, as well as those who have already experienced the show, eager for more - particularly with the halt to concerts due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The band clearly had a great time over the last couple of years, as they are performing more shows in 2024!

Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets brings together some familiar names, all great musicians: joining Nick are Gary Kemp and Lee Harris on guitars, Guy Pratt on bass, and Dom Beken on keyboards. Kemp is best known for his work with Spandau Ballet, Harris as having played guitar with The Blockheads (Ian Dury's band), Pratt needs no introduction, and Beken is principally known for his work with The Orb, and Transit Kings (with Pratt). The band will be playing early Pink Floyd songs.

This is a unique opportunity to experience Pink Floyd's celebrated and significant early body of work played live including songs from albums 'The Piper At The Gates of Dawn' and 'A Saucerful Of Secrets'.

The regular sale of tickets starts on FRIDAY 16th FEBRUARY at 11am local time, via this link at MyTicket.co.uk.

WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD!

Do not read on if you don't want surprises to be spoilt, regarding what the band played!

Show twelve of the 2024 UK and European tour tour, and the Saucers arrive at the Dome in Brighton, a venue that Nick himself reminisced about at some length during the show. He first played there during the Jimi Hendrix Winter Tour of 1967, with Pink Floyd one of the support acts. As with previous shows, the band were on great form and the crowd gave the band a very healthy ovation at the end! Did you go to this show? Let us know!

The band now head northeast to the town of Ipswich, for their penultimate UK show of this current tour.

Brighton, and the Dome itself, clearly holds a special place in Nick Mason's heart. Between 1967 and 1972, the Floyd made multiple visits to the city (during those years, still a town) playing diverse venues ranging from the West Pier (now derelict due to arson attacks), smaller venues such as the university and the Big Apple (where cushions festooned the floor for people to lounge on to soak up the music), to the Dome, where the first public performance of The Dark Side Of The Moon was attempted in January 1972 (and not November 1972, as Nick said during the show). The Floyd played the venue three times that year, returning for a brace of shows in June to make up for Dark Side failing during the start of Money; they also took the opportunity to film a small portion of the show too.

With the proximity of David Gilmour and Polly Samson to the venue, there were eager hopes with some of those attending that the pair might be spotted in the audience, or indeed, would do a guest spot during the show. As you might have guessed by now, that didn't happen. The thing with such appearances too is that it can become the story of the night, taking all the attention away from the event as a whole. And with the Saucers putting on such a superb, exemplary show, that would be such a shame.

Whilst the set list isn't dramatically different from last year - and it would be a bold person to consider dropping any of the show highlights such as Echoes, If/Atom Heart Mother/If (ALWAYS seems to get a massive cheer, for a song that the band almost disowned for many years), A Saucerful Of Secrets, and the tour titling Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun - there are some interesting and fun additions to the set. These include the 1965 Floyd demo, Remember Me, which through the clever use of AI features Syd's original vocals for the band to accompany, and Scarecrow, which goes from the bucolic wooden block beginning through to a guitar-heavy stomper. What great additions to the set, and both were amongst the most unexpected selections from the Floyd's back catalogue. It just goes to show, with the Saucers being such a great and coherent BAND, they can bring any song to life and bring it to new audiences.

During one of the breaks between songs, Nick remarked on the show being the 500th time that he and Guy Pratt had playing live together - in actual fact, that's Saturday's show at the Royal Albert Hall in London - but close enough. He also observed that he's only played with two bass players during his career "and both of them are $@*%ing difficult!" which took Guy and the rest of the band by surprise! There's was also a call that came through on Nick's phone during his intro to Set The Controls, which made the audience laugh.

With a set full of highlights, it's impossible to single anything particular out. The Saucers are such a good band, with great camaraderie and innate understanding of how each other plays, that every show is a joy. I saw friends who had come, in some cases, thousands of miles to see the band at the Brighton Dome (partly due to the historic nature of the venue, but also as it is a great place to see a gig) and it's a great example of how the band have really struck a chord with fans (excuse the pun).

Let's hope that these few UK dates aren't the final time we'll see Nick and his merry men on these shores - the show is so good, their performances are so top notch, and the overall experience is so unmissable, that it would be such a shame for there to be no more. Obviously one of the main drivers is how much Nick - now 80, let's remember - would be up for more travelling around, and for performing with the sheer effort he puts in every time on stage!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YOUR HELP NEEDED! We want to cover Nick's concerts the best we can, to share the experience with everyone, especially those who won't be able to attend the shows. We'd love to see ANY pictures, tickets scans, reviews, newspaper reports, and anything else you come across for this show - we look forward to hearing from you!