HW: Cubby Bear review

[Frank Weil]

I am finally getting around to posting my review of the Hawkwind show
at the Cubby Bear in Chicago on August 24, 1997.

First, let me say that I thought the show was excellent.

Second, let me ask if it would have killed the powers-that-be if there
were a little bit of ***ADVERTISING***?  If it weren't for boc-l and
the flier I got in the mail, I probably would never have known the
show was going on.  The only advance notice that was given was the
band's name with the date in the Cubby Bear's listing in the Chicago
Reader and the New City (both free weekly newspapers).  There was no
other advertising that I saw, and nothing in the "Early Warning"
section of the Reader.  Even the Cubby Bear, which is across the
street from Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs - hence the name),
did not deem it worthy to put Hawkwind's name up in advance on their
large outdoor electronic message center (you know, the kind of marquee
that scrolls text in lights).  On the day of the show, Hawkwind was
still only infrequently mentioned on the marquee.  How do they expect
to sell tickets if no one knows about the show?  The attendance at the
show was only about 200 or 300 people, which is smaller than I can
remember ever being at a Hawkwind or Nikwind show in Chicago.  Hell,
they didn't even have advanced ticket sales through T*ck*tm*st*r or at
the box office. Sigh.  I hope that they were still able to make money,
and that it didn't sour them from coming back to the States again
sometime in my lifetime.

Anyway, on to the show itself.  The Cubby Bear is rather small, but
the sound was excellent and the small size of the crowd meant that
there was plenty of room to move around.  The crowd was enthusiastic
despite their numbers.

The opening band was called Electric Medicine, and they weren't too
bad, but not ready for prime time.  Let's move right on to the
starring attraction.

Hawkwind came on and all the members seemed to be in good spirits.
Dave was joking with the audience the whole time, and Ron came out
painted in green from the waist up.  They started right into their
set.  The set list was:

[some new song]
Warrior on the Edge of Time
Assault & Battery
Golden Void  (after which, Dave said "That was Golden Void and such")
Hassan I Sabha
Starflight
[something which really cranked]
Love in Space
Aerospaceage Inferno
Sonic Attack
Blue Skin
Brainstorm
[I can't remember - possibly 'Processed']
Brainstorm
Alien I Am
[one or two other songs I don't remember]

Encore:

Ejection
Black Corridor
Ejection

I didn't time the show, but I seem to remember it being a little over
an hour long.  Also, the set list could be wrong in a few spots.  If
someone can fill in the gaps or make corrections, I would appreciate
it.

Again, the set was great overall.  The band sounded very tight, which
is amazing considering the changes lately.  Ron sounded good on bass,
Dave was actually playing some guitar and was (believe it or not)
visible behind his synthesizers, Richard was in his usual "in a zone
and playing perfectly" state, and Jerry was adding a wonderfully
powerful guitar sound.  They were rocking out more than I can remember
them sounding in a long time.  Anyone who was afraid that Hawkwind was
sliding into ambient need only have been present to see that that is
not happening.

Random thoughts:

I met up with Doug Bates (and his friend Rick?? (sorry, I am so bad
with names)) before the show.  It was good to meet someone else from
the list there.  I thought there would be more representation, and
maybe I just missed everyone else, but I was wearing my Nethawks shirt
and didn't spot any others.  Anyway, I spent the show with Doug and
his friend where the video was set up back by the lights.  For the
entire show, the lighting guys were furiously swapping the circular
film thingies that made the swirly visual effects (sorry for all the
technical jargon :-), and I think it came off pretty well given the
small size of the venue and the stage.

I had a brief chance to talk to Jim Lasco.  He seems like a nice guy,
and he should be thanked for all the effort he put in.

The t-shirt that was for sale was basic black and was printed in
glow-in-the-dark ink.  It has the shield design on the front and the
tour dates on the back.  For a black-and white shirt (well, really
black-and-a-sort-of-glowing-off-green), it looks pretty cool.

Gerry Richards is a welcomed addition to the band.  I got a chance to
talk to Gerry after the show and he was very friendly.  Physically, he
is actually pretty easy to describe.  Image that both Frank Zappa and
Tony Iommi are running through an airport to catch a plane.  Picture
them colliding trying to both get through the metal detector at the
same time and then fusing together into one person.  Now go describe
the result to your friendly neighborhood sketch artist.  The resulting
drawing will look exactly like Gerry.

I can't wait to get a chance to see them again.  I have every
confidence in this incarnation of the band.

Frank

--
 ==============================================================================
Frank Weil | frankw at comm.mot.com | phone: (847) 576-3110 | fax: (847) 576-3240

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
        -- Steven Wright