HW: London review

[Dave Berry]

Well, I was a bit disappointed, to be honest.  The set contained some good
moments (The Golden Void is still one of the best rock tracks ever recorded),
but there was too much time where I was waiting for something to happen.
Maybe if they'd had a better light show instead of the rather naff amateur
theatricals, or even if the mix had been better, I might have enjoyed it
more.

After all I'd read here about Ron, I was expecting someone more manic.
Except for when he was dressed as the alien, he didn't have a very
striking stage presence, though his make up was fun and his singing was
OK.

The rest of the band was at the back of the stage, under a sort of canopy,
leaving space for the dancers.  Various flashing lights were projected onto
this canopy.  I really missed the projected images on a reasonably-sized
screen that they had on the last tour.  Instead, the visuals relied too much
on the dancers and the fire-eaters, who were OK, but not good enough for
the length of time that they were on.  I got tired of the Alien theme,
and the "robot" was just silly.

Musically, the set began well with Death Trap, Wastelands and Are You Losing
Your Mind.  Then the interminable synth bits started.  Inbetween these, Sputnik
Stan was good, as was the instrumental in the middle of it. Blue Skin seemed
OK.  I'm not sure which bit was Alien, but I think it was a fairly rocky bit
that was quite good.  Robot was a bit nondescript, which was a shame because
I really like the PXR5 version.  Lord Of Light, Silver Machine and the
customary Assassins Of Allah/Space Is Their were all good.  Even in the rocky
bits, there were times when I felt the beat was getting a bit samey; they
didn't seem to do much of the rhythmic variations of Out Of The Shadows or
Mask Of Morning.  But the bass-heavy mix might have had something to do with
that.

Overall, I felt it wasn't a patch on the 1993 tour (or the 1993 Brixton gig).
Maybe it would have helped if I'd heard the new album beforehand.  Maybe a
better mix would have helped.  But even then, I think I would have found the
visuals rather pathetic.  If this is what the Live Chronicles tour was like,
I can see why Andy didn't like it.  Just give me the projected images and
the seven coloured strobes...

About 2/3rds of the way through I moved back a bit so that I could see the
whole stage.  This was a better view, but I never did find the rest of the
list members after that... whoops.  It was good meeting you all beforehand!

Of the support bands, Porcupine Tree were pleasant -- I'll recommend them
to some Floyd fans I know.  RDF were very good -- I love dancing to reggae,
and did (or at least twitched about in time to the music).  Back To The Planet
played, and as usual I can't remember what they sound like.  Utah Saints
laid down an impressive groove -- I was surprised to find that they weren't
just synth players, but have real drums and bass.  They got a bit wearing
after a while though.