HW: London review

[C.E. Anderson]

        Well, it was good to meet that sizable percentage of active
listmembers who turned up at Brixton!  I'd like to thank all for
their hospitality, since all were most hospitable--and especially
Andy for donating the space for a bit of kip, etc.! :)

> 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.

        Over all I felt the show was _solid_ Hawkwind.  It wasn't bad
(which it can be) but wasn't particularly brilliant either, though it
had some good moments.
        The main thing was there was a huge expanse of emtpy stage
which often had little more than Ron to fill it, and otherwise only
the rather silly dancers and fire-eaters.  Alan was a bit more visible
than on the US spring tour, but Dave was lurking back behind a wall of
gear as badly as ever.  Not to put too fine a point on it, but enough
of whatever bizarre pretensions or personality quirks have led to this!
Get them--primarily Dave--out of the backstage area and up where the
audience can see them.  Fire-eaters and lights do not make a substitute
for the artists stage presence, and I think this show would have been more
fun if one got the "psych" value of having Brock & Co. rocking out in
front of your nose, rather than lurking away somewhere, Oz-like ....

> 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.

        Ron was considerably more manic on the US tour!  I still like
Ron as a frontman--I'd be happy if they got a real synth player and
nailed Brock to the stage somewhere visible.

> I got tired of the Alien theme,
> and the "robot" was just silly.

        I thought the robot was good fun.  Mind you--it would have been
_more_ fun if it had blown up dramatically or summat :)

> Sputnik
> Stan was good, as was the instrumental in the middle of it.

        Sputnik Stan was cool, and there was an _excellent_ bass solo from
Alan in the middle.  One of the coolest parts of the show, I thought.

> I'm not sure which bit was Alien, but I think it was a fairly rocky bit
> that was quite good.

        I thought the Alien last night was not quite up to the standards
of one of the ones I saw on the US tour.  Come to think of it, New Haven
was probably a better show except that this was much longer.  'Course,
New Haven was also a much smaller venue, and even Dave couldn't avoid
being seen by the audience on occasion then! ;)

> 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.

        I actually, enjoyed Robot a good bit, and was very pleased by
Lord of Light (but I would have been pleased by Lord of Light even if
it was crap--which, as it happened, it wasn't!).

> 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.

        I think it's all this fucking around with ambient/techno shit
they've been doing.  I mean, Hawkwind is not a band that as ever liked
shifting chords much ;) let alone time signatures, but the need more
"light and shade".  Right now they get their variation by playing a
"song" and then having an ambientish "linking instro", which doesn't
really cut it.  There seems to have been much more variation the '89
tour, at least, and much less ambient-techno meandering.  I mean, I
don't mind a bit of that on an album, but it is _boring_as_fuckall_
live.  If "live" is even a word that can be used in this context.

        Ah well, rant mode off.  No, really, it was a good show, it
just didn't change my life, that's all.  And one really has to complain
about the perennial Hawkwind annoyances ("Has anyone seen Dave?  Is
anyone actually playing an instrument during this bit?").  Just like
one _has_ to complain that the BOC set was predictable and that there's
no new album.
        And it was very cool to see Hawkwind in the UK, so I'll definately
be headed for the next tour as well.  Who knows, Brock might stand
somewhere where you can see him--he seemed quite animated at times,
but only Richard will really ever know ;)

Cheers,
Carl