Gig review: Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets at Barbican, York

He may be enthroned behind a non-more prog rock drum kit, complete with twin bass drums, a rack of tom-toms that stretches into the middle distance, and, of course, a massive great gong – but Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason is a down-to-earth master of ceremonies for tonight’s space odyssey as he sets the controls for the lesser-explored regions of the Floyd back catalogue.

Mason and his band are here to celebrate the music that Pink Floyd made before their rise to quarrelling global stadium behemoths – in particular the psychedelic visions of the late Syd Barrett (and a good diplomatic move to sidestep the tedious forever war between his ex-bandmates David Gilmour and Roger Waters).

They clearly delight in their freedom to bring new life to neglected treasures and deep cuts – tonight’s set goes places that Pink Floyd themselves rarely visited live, from Atom Heart Mother to Obscured By Clouds, on a voyage from the colourful 60s to the space rock 70s.

Aboard for the ride is Floyd’s long-serving live bassist Guy Pratt, sharing lead vocals with Gary Kemp (yes, that Gary Kemp – the Spandau Ballet mainstay is an out and proud massive Floyd fan and no slouch on guitar either). We start in the Barrett era, as a cosmic swirl of video projections and sound effects leads into Astronomy Domine, swiftly followed by Arnold Layne and See Emily Play’s perfect blend of pop and psychedelia.

In the deepest possible dive into the vaults, Remember Me sees the band blast out backing to an unreleased raw Barrett vocal, extracted from tape by the technical wizardry of their synth player Dom Beken, while Pratt also pays tribute to late Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright with the lovely Remember A Day.

But with the past duly remembered, and for all the bonhomie and banter between these rock ’n’ roll raconteurs (including some good gags at the expense of the famously irascible Roger Waters), the real strength of this show comes from the improvisational edge of the early Floyd’s epics – which allows them to break away from the tribute act route and let the music come to life.

Closing the first half, the hypnotic Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun is magnificent, with Kemp and lead guitarist Lee Harris building to a freeform firestorm, while Mason finally gets to deploy that gong.

The heavy twang of Lucifer Sam gives way to the sonar ping that heralds the climax of tonight’s show, the truly epic Echoes, a journey through inner and outer space where both Harris and Kemp get to channel David Gilmour for the guitar solos. A standing ovation and a welcome breather for the band later, their encore includes a mighty One Of These Days – built on colossal reverberating bass and howling pedal steel.

A two-and-a-half hour alternative history tour of a rock institution by a band who are clearly enjoying themselves as much as the audience – if you have even a passing interest in Pink Floyd or Syd Barrett, catch them while you can.