After a long 3 year wait, the Saucers have returned back to Chicago! Having seen them 4 times on their first outing in 2019 I was beyond excited for the long awaited ‘Echoes Tour’ and they did not miss a beat! I took my 14 year old daughter with me and we both had an amazing time, it was her first experience seeing what early Pink Floyd music was like. I was sonically immersed from the moment I stepped inside the theater, seeing that the theme this time around was the Hokusai Wave and Nick himself bearing the same drum kit design he had in the mid 70’s I was like a kid in a candy store!
Adrenaline was high, you hear the dog bark in the soundscape before the show and you know its 5 mins until showtime. Soon enough you hear that famous B note delayed …OH YEAH!.. One Of These Days- out comes Guy with his thunderous bass sound shaking the front row. Everyone comes out after and assumes their position, they hit the ground rocking in the opening minutes of the show. The setlist this time around was pretty much the same from the last time but in a bit of a different running order, mind you I never tire of this early material being played live as its such a unique thing I would much rather hear the early songs live than Another Brick 2! Nothing against Brick 2 but cmon.. I don’t need to hear it again!
The band rock through the first half and their camaraderie shines, Lee and Gary are the perfect guitar duo, Dom is a master on the keys and of course the rhythm section of latter day Pink Floyd (Guy and Nick) are monstrous! You can tell this a group of 5 mates having fun playing the music they love, its a complete 360 from what came before it. Adding in a new Floyd-Syd tune (well new to the setlist anyway) is Candy and a Currant Bun which sees Nick resuming his vocal duties in a hilarious way.
To cap off the Syd song suite was a nice little tribute with a photo of Syd smiling, which was so lovely and warmed my heart to see. Fast forwarding to set 2 I knew what was in store since I had been following the tour since they started and finally it was here ECHOES…in all its glory!!! They performed the hell out of this piece, adding their own flare to the song, this was a different take then what Pink Floyd and David Gilmour have done, but the Saucers were able to pull it off! Guy and Gary harmonizing perfectly, this sounds just like early Pink Floyd. The guys nailed the run up to the funky bit, Gary playing closer to the record on this one and everyone is extremely on point musically. They are tight! Guy playing the funky bass part always gets me! What can I say? I am a bass player myself – that line is so simple and Roger Waters is a genius for coming up with it.
Dom takes a new approach with the keys during the funky section, he’s jamming and it sounds excellent – cementing the fact that this is not a tribute band but a continuation of early Pink Floyd. Now comes the ‘Sunrise’ bit and the guitars slowly fade in coming from all around you. Nick doing his trademark drum fills while the music builds up, I never thought in a million years id see him do it in person – A M A Z I N G! Nick is such a perfect drummer, who often gets overlooked by the likes of other heavy hitters! His less is more approach works so well with Pink Floyd and his sound is unmistakable. The music builds up and Nick signals the guys to do the “hero” guitar part, while Guy is shaking the house with his Taurus pedals (he’s gone full Prog!) the hairs are standing up on my neck, im in a state of awe, beauty and happiness and I literally shed a tear. It was the most brilliant thing I had ever heard and seen.
It ends with a bluesy David-esque outro added in by Lee Harris who when you close your eyes you’d think David was on stage! I was left wanting another 20 minutes of Echoes. F’ing brilliant work men! The band bowed and said thank you, then exited the stage and came back to do a 3 encore stretch of songs and then off we were for the night! My Daughter in awe of what she had witnessed and me being the total Floyd nerd that I am I was on Cloud 9. I am so happy I got to experience the Saucers’ long awaited return with my Kiddo. The audience was generally well received as we usually are here in Chi-Town! 😉 Well done men, see you next time? Do NOT miss your chance to Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets live!!
Do go out and support them, they are something completely unique and have deep roots in Pink Floyd history! Doesn’t get any better!
Capacity: 3,600
The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark theater located on North State Street in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 1921, the Chicago Theatre was the flagship for the Balaban and Katz (B&K) group of theaters run by A. J. Balaban, his brother Barney Balaban and partner Sam Katz. Along with the other B&K theaters, from 1925 to 1945 the Chicago Theatre was a dominant movie theater enterprise. Currently, Madison Square Garden, Inc. owns and operates the Chicago Theatre as a performing arts venue for stage plays, magic shows, comedy, speeches, sporting events and popular music concerts.
Review and photos by Lead Editor Tony Rapata
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