‘The Man’ and ‘The Journey’ are two longform experimental song cycles that were performed by Pink Floyd during several of their 1969 concerts. The suites consisted largely of numbers that would appear on the More soundtrack and Ummagumma (and confusingly some already released songs with different titles) knit together with onstage activities like cannons being fired, pink smoke bombs exploding, a roadie dressed as a gorilla running around in the audience, the band being served tea and making a wooden table from scratch!
When the live show, “More Furious Madness from the Massed Gadgets of Auximenes,” debuted at the Royal Festival Hall on April 14th, the Floyd employed a joystick operated quadraphonic sound system they nicknamed the “Azimuth Coordinator.” The Azimuth Coordinator was a multi-speaker pan pot system—operated by keyboardist Rick Wright from the stage—whereby the sound could be routed 360 degrees around the venue. The original system was stolen after a concert in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, so a second system was built for the Royal Festival Hall performance.
Parts of this show were recorded for a Top Gear radio program a month later. In Amsterdam, on September 17th, a crisp soundboard-recorded performance at the Concertgebouw was broadcast by VPRO radio. There were originally plans to release “The Man” and “The Journey” as a live album, but this was scrapped ultimately. A pre-FM tape of the Amsterdam show slipped into circulation, has been widely bootlegged and is a fan favorite (I have a ridiculous amount of live Pink Floyd bootlegs and I reckon this one is near the very top. It’s deliriously good)
Here is the show on YouTube. High quality versions can easily be found on several bootleg blogs and torrent trackers by searching for “Complete Concertgebouw 1969.” If you’ve never heard this one before, it’ll blow your doors off.
Part I: The Man
1. “Daybreak, Pt. I” (“Grantchester Meadows”)
2. “Work” (Percussion and vibraphone with musical sawing & hammering)
3. “Teatime” (Pink Floyd were served tea on stage at this point)
4. “Afternoon” (“Biding My Time”)
5. “Doing It!” (“The Grand Vizier’s Garden Party (Entertainment)”
6. “Sleep” (“Quicksilver”)
7. “Nightmare” (“Cymbaline”)
8. “Daybreak, Pt. II” (“Grantchester Meadows” instrumental reprise, with alarm clock sound effects)
Part II: The Journey
1. “The Beginning” (“Green Is the Colour”)
2. “Beset By Creatures of the Deep” (“Careful with That Axe, Eugene”)
3. “The Narrow Way” (“The Narrow Way, Part 3”)
4. “The Pink Jungle” (“Pow R. Toc H.”)
5. “The Labyrinths of Auximines” (Part of “Interstellar Overdrive”)
6. “Behold the Temple of Light” (A part of “The Narrow Way, part 3” expanded)
7. “The End of the Beginning” (“A Saucerful of Secrets, Pt. IV - Celestial Voices”)
Rehearsal footage from the Royal Festival Hall date: