It was the first live concert of summer 2022 and for sure, it will belong to the best live concerts of that summer. I am talking about Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets concert in Athens, Greece, on the 4th of June. It was a call to all the fans of classic rock music in Athens, a reason for all of us to gather and celebrate.
Pink Floyd’s legendary drummer, Nick Mason, had announced his coming to Greece, in order to give a special show with his new band, which is playing the music from the early days of Pink Floyd, that means until the “Obscured by Clouds” album (1972). Every Pink Floyd fan knew what he had to do that night – of course, the fans of Pink Floyd would prefer a reunion of their favorite band, however, they would have the opportunity to enjoy the one and only Nick Mason in a pretty rare performance!
With these thoughts on my mind I arrived at the Technopolis of Athens at 19:00 p.m. and sat patiently at the long queue. The doors soon opened and I noted that there were seats for the fans in front of the stage – well, I believe that many people from the audience would need that seats some time after the concert’s beginning!
According to the schedule, the live show would start at 20.30 p.m. and indeed, some minutes later Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets entered the stage. The band begun with “One of These Days” and with that song we understood how amazing that show would be. I felt a shiver down my spine and within seconds I got lost in a psychedelic/progressive rock trip that ended two hours later!
Nick Mason sat behind his drum kit, in front of the legendary gong, and despite this age, he performed like he was a teenager! What is more, Nick Mason’ band played perfectly, being loyal to the original material, with so much passion and self-esteem – apart from being professionals, all the members showed how much they love the classic songs of Pink Floyd. It is not an exaggeration to say that the songs were performed like we listen to them on the records! The sound production was crystal clear and loud enough, the audiovisual show gave another dimension to the Pink Floyd classics, which sounded so enthralling under the Athenian sky!
Nick Mason and his friends selected the set list wisely and conveyed us the mysteries of Pink Floyd’s music, all its genius, all its strange beauties! It was mind-blowing to listen to these consummate performances of Pink Floyd classics, it was so touching to listen to these psychedelic/progressive rock hymns, so shockingly nice to discover the live charm of these late sixties/early seventies songs. We listened to songs like “Echoes” (a magical moment!), “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun”, “When You’re In”, “Atom Hear Mother”, “Interstellar Overdrive”, “Astronomy Domine”, “See Emily Play” etc., and the doors to new dimensions opened for us!
During two hours we admired the majesty of Pink Floyd’s music, we understood how the phenomenon of Pink Floyd began, we learned how British psychedelic/progressive rock started back in the late sixties. Nick Mason and his new band played for us only, the audience was more than satisfied and applause at the end of this fantastic show, with a standing ovation! Thank you so much Mr. Mason, it was an enchanting live show, which will never be forgotten! What a night!
Dimitris Zacharopoulos
