Fw: Tapes's in the mail!

[Herb Rosenberg]

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> From: MR DEVON J BERUBE <DGRS94B at prodigy.com>
> To: chuck at genesisnetwork.net
> Subject: Tapes's in the mail!
> Date: Thursday, January 30, 1997 9:55 PM
>
> This is something a non-BOC-L friend of mine forwarded. If everyone's
already read it, sorry...

> --------------------------------------------------
> Live Reviews: Nik Turner
> by Mitch Goldman
>  NIK TURNER'S SPACE RITUAL--VARIETY PLAYHOUSE, ATLANTA, GA 7/11/95
>       When Dave Brock formed the British progressive-rock outfit
> Hawkwind in 1969, it's doubtful he envisioned a career spanning two
> and a half decades. But 25 years after their eponymous debut album,
> Brock is still going strong with a new crew of Hawk-musicians. As
> further testiment to the staying power of this music, ex-Hawkwind
> singer/songwriter/flute-and-sax-player Nik Turner is currently
> touring the US with his second version of Space Ritual, a Hawkwind
> tribute that includes many HW classics as well as some of Nik's solo
> material.
>      Hawkwind's debut album in 1970 did little to hint at things to
> come; it's folky feel belies the spacey, bottom heavy jamming that
> came to full fruition on their sophomore effort IN SEARCH OF SPACE
> (1971). Hawkwind's synthesizer jams combined with a heavy approach to
> the bass and drums (HW's bassist in this era was Lemmy Kilmister, who
> went on to form the seminal heavy metal band Motorhead); imagine Pink
> Floyd and Grand Funk Railroad locked in a room together, and you'll
> get some idea of HW's sound. Their third album DOREMI FASO LATIDO
> (1972) represents the peak
> of classic HW and contains Nik's most famous HW composition
> "Brainstorm". DOREMI was followed by the double live lp SPACE RITUAL
> (1973, and one of the first double live albums of the 70's). The
> final two albums of the classic HW lineup followed...HALL OF THE
> MOUNTAIN GRILL (1974) and their finest moment, WARRIOR ON THE EDGE OF
> TIME (1975). After WARRIOR, Lemmy was thrown out of the band, and Nik
> only survived the lineup for one more release, 1976's ASTOUNDING
> SOUNDS, AMAZING MUSIC. Brock fired most of the HW personnel and moved
> on with a new sound and new members. Nik came back to HW in 1981,
> only to be fired again by Brock in 84. After several side projects
> and solo lp's, Nik gathered some key ex-HW members early last year
> for his "Hawkwind Experience" which this year is called NIK TURNER'S
> SPACE
> RITUAL. Nik's outfit is backed by ex-HW members Alan Powell on drums
> and Del Dittmar on synths and axe handle (Del plays an axe hooked up
> to 70's synths...by pressing on the handle much the way you'd fret a
> guitar, Del is mysteriously able to generate spacy synth tones).
> Simon House, ex-keyboard player of HW, was supposed to be a part of
> Nik's band and open the show with his own band Spiral Realms, but
> visa problems have kept Simon out of the country for most of this
> tour. Also performing
> in Nik's Space Ritual are members of the prog band Pressurhed
> (including a second drummer, a bassist, and two guitarists). In place
> of Spiral Realms, Del Dittmar performed a 20 minute opening set.
> After improvising
> synthesizer soundscapes and dealing with mulitple equipment problems,
> Del gave it up and shouted into Nik's mike "don't waste your stuff on
> electronic shit!" gesturing at his 70's synth set up (Del came out of
> a 20 year reclusive retirement last year to join Nik's tour...he
> hasn't updated a single aspect of his keyboard setup since 1974!).
>      Nik and company took the stage at 9:45 and tore through two
> hours of Hawkwind classics, some Pressurhed material, and one new
> song. A white screen behind the band was used to project films and
> lights which, conceptually, matched the lyrical content of the songs
> quite nicely (films of the ocean during "Dying Seas", etc). Nik took
> the stage dressed in a white suit that resembled a spacesuit; the
> space helmet he removed during the first tune certainly lended
> credence to that resemblance. Nik also had painted his face with
> silver metallic paint; though he seemed to be enjoying himself,
> there's something a little awkward about a 50 year old musician being
> that
> theatrical, especially in front of the paltry crowd of 120 of so
> rabid HW fans (the Variety Playhouse is WAY too big for this show!).
> The band had no problem getting into the spacy groove of classic HW;
> the guitarists were excellent, the twin drummers were reminiscent of
> the loose-yet-syncopated feel of original Mothers of Invention
> drummers Art Tripp and Jimmy Carl Black; and of course, Nik's flute
> and sax playing was brilliant and expressive throughout the set.
>     Show hightlights included the HW classics "Kadu Flyer", "Spiral
> Galaxy", "Opa;-Loka", and "High Rise" for which Nik left the stage.
> The expected show closers "Brainstorm" "Silver Machine" and "You
> Shouldn't Do That" achieved that classic rush (or the
> "whooooooooossssshhhh" as some call it) of early 70's Hawkwind. It's
> interesting to compare Nik's "You Shouldn't Do That" to the version
> that Brock's Hawkwind played on their recent tour. While HW pay only
> token obeisance to the tune, playing it for three minutes, Nik's
> outfit extend the jam to a full fifteen minutes, similar to the
> studio version on IN SEARCH OF SPACE. "Do That" is probably the
> quintessential HW space-rock
> tune; also the best example of space-rock by ANY band (not surprising,
>  since HW pretty much single-handedly invented and sustaing the
> genre).
>      Despite the small crowd, Nik and co. played an excellent show
> that brilliantly evoked the feeling of progressive rock from the 70's
> while still somehow sounding current. While seeing Brock's Hawkwind
> feels like a more authentic, well-rounded experience, any fan of Nik
> or Hawkwind will not be disappointed by Nik's Space Ritual. Yeah,
> it's nostalgia, but it's fun...
>  SETLIST (9:45-11:47:)
>  Dream Worker
>  Watching The Grass Grow
>  Kadu Flyer
>  Master of the Universe
>  Spiral Galaxy
>  Lord of the Hornets
>  some Paul Fox tune????
>  Anubis Nights
>  Opa-Loka
>  Dying Seas
>  High Rise
>  Thoth
>  Countdown/Ejection
>  Pressurhed tune????
>  Orgone Accumulator
>  10 Seconds of Forever
>  Brainstorm
>  ENCORES:
>
>  Silver Machine
>  You Shouldn't Do That
>
>
>  Copyright © 1995
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------------------------------------------------
> There you have it! Remind me to send you the address for the HW
> "Blanga" guide, if you haven't already seen it.
>      Talk later,
>            Devon