Get ready early Floyd fans – Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets hits Boston

Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets and techniques set the controls for excursions of Europe and North America in 2022. When COVID postponed the trek, the Pink Floyd drummer used the down time to increase the set checklist. He wasn’t timid along with his ambitions.

“Earlier than lockdown, it was a comparatively quick present, it was a no (set break) present,” Mason informed the Herald. “We determined we might make the leap to doing two (units) with no assist band. And I believe it’s a a lot stronger present.”

Mason is 78 years previous. The present will be 21 songs — all from the Floyd’s pre-“Darkish Aspect of the Moon” catalog. The songs will be 21 minutes lengthy. (See the band’s Thursday live performance on the Shubert Theatre.)

Sure, in the course of the break, Mason and band determined so as to add in “Echoes,” the completely epic nearer to 1971 album “Meddle.” Taking over the observe exemplifies the spirit of Saucerful of Secrets and techniques. After 1 / 4 century handed with no Floyd tasks, the drummer gathered a dream staff — longtime Floyd touring bassist Man Pratt, Spandau Ballet guitarist Gary Kemp, guitarist Lee Harris, keyboardist Dom Beken — to remake rock’s dreamiest music.

“We’d left ‘Echoes’ out as being too lengthy, too difficult, however now it’s turn into the excessive level of our present,” Mason stated. “Wanting again on the tune, it all the time felt longer than it must be. The extraordinary factor was that once we got here to be taught to play it correctly, it sustains itself. For me, ‘Echoes’ has been the most effective factor to come back out of the brand new set checklist.”

Followers would possibly discover different excessive factors: “One in all These Days,” “Fearless,” “The Nile Tune,” “If,” “Bear in mind a Day.”

In fact, many individuals would somewhat hear anticipated tracks akin to “Comfortably Numb” and “Cash.” However that’s not what Saucerful of Secrets and techniques is about, and it by no means might be.

“You may’t go 5 meters with out a tribute band enjoying ‘Comfortably Numb,’” Mason stated with fun. (He’s not fallacious, Australian Pink Floyd play the identical night time in Boston). “For me notably, I’m very anxious to not get into that territory. … It’s fairly essential for us to determine our personal model of what we’re doing, notably to have the liberty to improvise a bit inside issues in a manner that we did 50 years in the past.”

Mason may promote twice the tickets and make 3 times the cash doing a “Pink Floyd Drummer Nick Mason Does the Full ‘Darkish Aspect of the Moon’” tour. However that wouldn’t seize the wild, unprecedented vitality of the band’s early run. And it wouldn’t be enjoyable.

“Once you begin off in a band, you’re mates, ultimately you discover that every of your pals has bought their very own lawyer,” he stated with fun.

“We’re on the stage the place we’re a lot mates and I believe that comes throughout on stage, we’re there as a result of we wish to be,” he added. “We had been very not sure as if this is able to work in any respect and I used to be in all probability essentially the most diffident about it. So we stated we’d do two days in a rehearsal studio and simply see if it’d work … after two days we went, ‘That is actually enjoyable, let’s get on with it.’”

For tickets and particulars, go to thesaucerfulofsecrets.com.