Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets at The Plymouth Pavilions - 08/05/2022
Oh, the Disappointment!
Over the years I’ve photographed many bands, singers, and artists. Some of them have left me cold (both photographically and musically), but mostly they’ve all entertained and allowed me to capture some wonderful photographs. I have also been lucky enough to photograph some of my all-time favourite bands like Snow Patrol.
However, never in a million years did I think I’d ever photograph anyone from Pink Floyd. Gilmour or Waters? Not a chance. Nick Mason…well, he doesn’t even tour anymore. That was until a few years ago that is. Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets was born in a small pub in London where they played their first gig to a very enthusiastic crowd. With the success of that show, Nick decided to go on tour.
I am a massive Pink Floyd fan and I’ve seen Waters and Gilmour many times. Unfortunately, I came to Floyd a little late in life so I’ve never had the chance to see Pink Floyd live. The closest I came was at one of Water’s shows in London where Gilmour took on the guitar role on top of the wall for Comfortably Numb. I almost died of joy!
When Nick decided to tour I immediately got tickets for his gig at The Roundhouse in London. It was brilliant. Hearing so many early Floyd tunes sounding alive and fresh was amazing. It was a great show by a great band.
Fast forward a few years, and past the pandemic, and I find out that Nick is coming to Plymouth. I immediately contact Steve at MusoMuso to see if there is any chance of getting a photo pass. Surely even this would be beyond Steve’s power! But no, he got us both tickets and a photo pass. Amazing.
With a few months to go, I started doing some homework. I watched the DVD from The Roundhouse gig a few times to see if I could spot things that the band would do during certain songs that would make for good pictures.
I also decided that a once-in-a-lifetime gig like this was a great reason to get some serious photography kit. It’s not that my current kit is fit for purpose, but I wanted the best of the best, so I decided to hire the £5500 Nikon Z9. It’s a powerhouse of a camera and the autofocus capabilities of this camera would be of great benefit.
The night of the gig comes around and Steve and I drive through to Plymouth. We have turned up to gigs before and been turned away or told we can’t take pictures. It happens sometimes and I admit I was worried about that for this gig, but the tickets were there and I had my photo pass.
I went down to the front of the stage and got my cameras ready. Just as the band were coming on a security guard said I wasn’t allowed to take pictures. I showed him my photo pass but he said he had been told by the band or tour manager that no one could take photos at the front. Only from behind the sound stage or from your seat!
Nightmare!! I tried to get it all sorted, but the message kept coming back that I couldn’t photograph there. I was gutted. More than I normally am when I get told “no photos”. My dream of capturing my own amazing images of Nick Mason and his band was shattered.
It’s times like this that you have to stay calm and carry on though. There is no point in getting angry with anyone or waving your photo pass about! I just went to the back where the soundboard is and captured the photographs I could.
It’s such a shame as I could have captured some amazing pictures. I had the best tools money could buy at my disposal, and the stage lighting was great. Perfect for capturing amazing live music photographs.
Unfortunately, these things happen sometimes. It just had to happen with someone’s music I love. Talking of the music, the gig was GREAT. The band sounded amazing and I really enjoyed the show. They were superb.
Maybe I’ll see if I can get Steve to get me photo pass for Waters or Gilmour. You never know.
