1973 November 04: Rainbow Theatre, London EARLY + LATE

updated January 2005

setlist for both the late and the early show: The Dark SIde Of The Moon /  Obscured by Clouds / When You're In

On November 4 1973 a benefit concert was held at London's Rainbow Theatre for Soft Machine's drummer Robert Wyatt, who had an accident in June 1 1973 when he fell from a third floor window at a party; he broke his spine and was left confined to a wheelchair . The Pink Floyd performed two sets (one at 5:00pm and one at 9:00pm) supported by Soft Machine. The shows raised over 10,000 pounds for Wyatt's hospitalization.

So far 1 recorder surfaced in general circulation for the LATE show, here are some examples of it: "Live At The Rainbow" (HL 226); "Live For A Friend" (Ganja-14); "Obscured At The Rainbow" (PYCD 053 - Triangle Records)

2 different recorders are in general circulation for the EARLY one, here are some examples of the versions I checked of it:

recorder 1: the common Revealed At The Rainbow (note that someone has it indexed diferently than my version but they are the same); and the various fantapes, like this 2ndGen

recorder2: the recently surfaced master

here are some points to distinguish them

Breathe: someone whistle at the beginning on recorder 1

Money: there's a little portion of song missing at the very beginning on recorder 2

Eclipse: at the end during the bells ringing there are only applauses on recorder 1; on recorder 2 a guy yells a lot ("yeah, yeah!") before the Waters' greetings, and then he yells something like "more, more!"

OBC: you can hear a guy near to the recorder laughing at the very beginning on recorder 2: mind that Waters announces OBC saying "Set The Controls, this is Set The Controls" and the taper 2 (or someone very near to him) says so "mm, I think it's Obscured By Clouds..... sure!"

When You're In: same as at the end of Eclipse, there are only applauses on recorder 1; on recorder 2 a guy yells a lot.

to recognize the early fromthe late show:

the Early show: just mind about how Waters announces OBC, he made a mistake and said "Set The Controls, this is Set The Controls".

the Late show: Waters makes some bungles with the lyrics on Brain Damage, he sings exactly: “The lunatic is in my, the lunatic is on the grass, and daisy chains and laughs” (“lunatic is in my” instead of “the lunatic is on the grass”, then he didn’t sing “remembering games”).

here's a review of the show from Melody Maker magazine:
"This was a splendid evening of rock co-operation, in which both groups have their services in aid of disabled drummer Robert Wyatt, and compere John Peel was pleased to announce that some 10,000 was raised. Heartbreats in fact commenced proceedings, pulsating through the auditorium and stilling the more excitable elements in the crowd. Clocks ticked mysteriously and with perfect precision, the Floydmen slotted their live instruments into the recorded sound, combining quadraphonic pre-recorded tapes, lights, smoke and theatrical effects into a kind of rock "Son et Lumiere". Overhead was suspended a huge white balloon the represent the moon, on which spotlights played, and not long after performance began, searchlights began to pierce the gloom, and yellow warning lights began revolving in blanks on the speaker cabinets. A choir of ladies cooed like angels of mercy and as a silver ball reflecting myriad beams of lights began to revolve and belch more smoke, the audience rose to give them an ovation. They deserved a Nobel prize or at least an Oscar"

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