Review: Bedouin in Cambridge

[Carl Edlund Anderson]

     So Bedouin rocked a bit, eh?

     Post-gig, I was informed by the Cambridge Rock Society
contingent who attended (and there were many present) that I
_had_ to write a review.  "Why?  Nearly everyone I know was at
the gig!?"

     "Because you always do!"

     And I may as well take up bandwidth on other lists
as well ....

     Yes, this was the long-awaited return of Bedouin to
Cambridge.  As Shaun said, rounding up to the bar _apres
rock_: "So why didn't you just _say_ that Bedouin are the
band led by an insane ex-Hawkwind bass player who is _not_
a_little_ influenced by Lemmy? That would have explained
everything!"
     Oh--I thought I had :) There was a lot riding on this
gig.  I'd done my best to convince everyone I know that they
*MUST*SEE*THIS*BAND*. Spacey: like the Veil Nebula.  Heavy:
Like a black hole on speed.  Loud: Like the pushing the button
on the last of the red hot suns.

     Oh, yes ... in space they _can_ hear you _rock_ ...

     Luckily, term has just started at the university here,
and people were cruising into the Boat Race (our pub-sized
venue) a little after eight.  We were a bit worried, as there
was no sign of a band; only a synth and a lonely bass drum
sitting on stage.  No matter.  Beer was acquired, consumed,
repeat, and all the while more friends and relations drifted
in.  We were beginning to become more seriously alarmed, but
perhaps a bit after nine the band came rushing in and hurled
equipment onstage.  Good.  I hadn't just dragged everyone down
here for nothing.  Alan checked the bass was working, and a
ruinous noise rocketed out of his amp to roll up and down the
fretboard before trailing off in searing feedback.

     Looks were exchanged.  Grins were cracked.  This boded well.

     I had promised Jim Lascko to deliver Alan a message, but
it was clear things were a bit manic, so I figured it could
wait until post-gig.  I checked out the "toy stall", but there
wasn't too much.  Lots of flyers, some random CDs--no T-shirts,
alas, as they could have sold some (instead, everyone's money
got ploughed back into beer, I think!).  No video from the London
gig last autumn, as they guy producing it apparently sodded off
on holiday right before the tour.  And, of course, still no real
album--though the word from Alan is that EMI Germany are making
interested noises. No fools they ...

     So without too much further ado, Bedouin set up, cranked up,
and took off!  There had been no real soundcheck, so the sound
started out a bit iffy, but in the event most of it was coming
straight out of the amps anyway.  With the vocals brought up a
bit to compensate, everything sorted itself out in short order,
though Alan asked for more bass in his monitors on occasion.
     There was a *lot* of bass going on.  It's not exactly news
to say Alan has taken a page out of Lemmy's book for approach.
I mean, the man decided to play bass after hearing Lemmy's solo
on "Time We Left" off of _Doremi Fasol Latido_ waaaaay back when.
And I can't fault the choice.  So: massive bass-in-yer-face
assault from Alan.  No one is going to confuse Danny Thompson, Jr.
with Simon King or Richard Chadwick (or Al Bouchard :), but he
holds things down solidly enough on the percussion end.  Sean
Massey provides a good complement to Alan, with lazy, loping,
effects-drenched guitar lines weaving around in a hashishin kind
of way over the warp-core detonation of the bass.

     There was a lot of new material.  They actually started
with something I didn't recognize.  Heads were nodding, feet were
tapping. Then Bedouin fired off into "Queen of the Night" (I think)
and the hair starting flying, people were grooving.  Ohhhhhh yeah.
     There were bunch of other new tracks, and some subtle little
additions to beef up the old ones.  Lots off of Alan's _Bedouin_
solo album. Also the very cool remake of "Wings" (which blows away
the _Space Bandits_ version), "Sword of the East" (introduced as
"Sean's Trouser Snake" :) ...  "Sputnik Stan", of course--one of
Alan's best.  Fast, heavy, the bass solo went into *hyperspace*.
No guitar, just drums and bass--but, man! no weak dance-club music
could boldy go where this one went. Insane. Crunching back to the
reprise, massive feedback, Alan bounding around the stage, huge
drawn out final chords.  But there's more. "Chasing the Dragon",
for example ("Do you like fast ones?" They do ...)  Riff, counter-
riff, space, above, beyond ... sundive. Ship : Sun : Boom.

     No one really seemed to take the end of set that seriously.
Just keep playing, guys!  'Cause we all now you're coming back
to play:

     "This one's dedicated to my mum ... it's called 'LSD"!"

     It is _impressive_ to see this put into the setting of
a spontaneous three-piece--and the other Hawkwind escapee-tracks
in the set likewise.  Not tied to a fairly close arrangement
any more, it's fairly clear that the band can spend a lot of
time zooming around *inside* the song, twisting it this way and
that, more or less as however they feel like at the time.  There
is a lot _happening_ in hear that you won't hear on the studio
recording on Hawkwind's _Electric Teepee_ nor in the live HW
rendition from _The Business Trip_. That, and it's louder,
heavier, and *burns* on re-entry.
     After this, people _are_ shouting for more (knowing they
aren't already guarenteed to get it) but the lights come up and
the house music flicks on and there's no hope. Ah well.

     But everyone is _well_ pleased (as they should) be, and I'm
not beaten up for dragging everyone to a lame gig.  Yeah, it
rocked a bit, you could say.  Yeah, I think some people might
just go see them again when Bedouin tour this autumn: they damn
well SHOULD :)

     Postscript: I deliver Jim's message to Alan, who mysteriously
recognizes my name from somewhere; darned if I know why.  Tania
knows him better than I do ;)  He explains the delayed start to
the gig--the ever-popular van break-down.  This, he says, is why
they didn't play anything from _Captured Rotation_ (arse!), because
they had to cut several numbers to finish by their 11pm cut-off
point. (arse!)  Several other things already mentioned: autumn UK
tour, interest from EMI Germany, lots of mew material.  Hopes they
can play the States, but is worried about the timing of Space Daze
in August, since that's when they'll be trying to sort out gigs
for September in the UK and it costs a load to get over to the
US for just a one-off.  But there will be more European dates
as well.  After the tour, a Bedouin web page will be going up, and
records and stuff will be available through it (theoretically).

     In summary then: Bedouin came, we saw, everyone rocked.
Do what is necessary to see this band.  One would be hard-pressed
to beat them for psychedelic heavy rock and they put on a damn
fine show.

In Space We Trust,
Carl

--
Carl Edlund Anderson
Dept. of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, & Celtic
St. John's College, University of Cambridge
mailto:cea20 at cus.cam.ac.uk
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~carl/