HW: OFF: Quimby!

[K Henderson]

Hey Folks...

Here's my review...perhaps not the amazing metaphorical zoo that Jon
Jarrett offered on the Nikestra, but I try my best.  :)

Mr. Quimby's Beard/Harvey Bainbridge/Quarkspace - Columbus OH - Little
Brothers 10/21/01

Space Rock shows rarely come to Columbus, and so if you want to see them,
you pretty much have to book them yourself.  Thanks to Jerry K., I didn't
actually have to be the one to do all the legwork.  Scheduled to lift off
at 8:30 PM (trying to get an early start on this schoolnight), Quarkspace
actually started their set closer to 9 PM, but still got to play a full 70
minutes of prime quality space rock.  This was perhaps the most diverse
repertoire I've heard from them, sprinkling in some numbers from their
earliest recording days with some brand new material that I hadn't ever
heard before.  A pair of loopy multilayer space jams (that perhaps
represent their most familiar milieu) led off the show, including the
always energetic and cosmic "Starbridge Freaks."  Right from the start, I
was pleased to hear the excellent sound mix with Chet Santia's bass cranked
way up and thumping merrily from underneath the elevated stage where the
large woofers lurked.  Percussionist/keyboardist Paul Williams was
seemingly outfitted with more electronic gear than normal vs. a smaller
e-percussion pad, but didn't appear to be limited in anything but space
with which to operate on the crowded stage.  Keyboardist Jay Swanson was
virtually invisible behind the Quimbys' massive synth gear, but his fluid
e-piano runs were perfectly audible.  Santia switched over to acoustic
guitar at times (guitarist Stan Lyon countering with his own bass guitar),
and at one point seemed to employ an e-bow device for an unusual-sounding
'acoustic-drone' effect.  I don't think I had seen Q-space perform "In the
Shadows" (from 'Hidden Moon') before, and it turned out really nicely live,
and so was probably the highlight for me.  I can't comment so much about
the new tunes, especially since I don't even remember the titles, but you
can check out the entire album yourself at www.quarkspace.com where the
band is offering 'Drop' for free download.  What I did know well were the
updated versions of "I See the Water Wash Me Away" (that was first done
this way last year at SD2000 I think) and "Dancing Swan," both of which
featured extended improv middle-sections that were like isolated cosmic
day-trips to nearby moons.  "Fade to Black" was also brought back from long
ago, coming across more subdued and gothic-flavored than even on the debut
'Quarkspace' CD.  All-in-all, a first rate set that only led us to demand
more.

Which we got!  Quarkspace's gear was quickly removed from the stage, and
long-time Hawkwind veteran Harvey Bainbridge fired up his bank of synths
and tape devices.  It was roughly a year ago when he graced this very same
stage, and although his show was similar in style, it also featured some
different works.  During the ambient/electronic intro, we heard snippets of
his Hawkwind past in the form of "The Demise" from 'Chronicle of the Black
Sword' and "The Scan."  These were just little soundbites, but soon
thereafter he took us into the "Mutation Zone," a wildly-rearranged
pulsating synth extravaganza based on the Bainbridge-penned track of the
same name on Hawkwind's 1988 'Xenon Codex' CD.  Similarly modified for an
all-synth interpretation, his 1978 classic "Free Fall" was presented as it
was at Strange Daze 2000 (and the excellent Live CD from
Strange-Trips.com).  Near the end of the hour-long performance was a couple
space/ambient selections I didn't recognize, and then another reinterpreted
piece - "It Could Be Day" from the 'Afrodiziac' album by the
Bainbridge/Alman duo known as the Alman Mulo Band.  As always, Harvey's
vocals were delivered in his signature semi-spoken, mocking voice that
suits his peculiar socio-political commentary.  A solid set of electronic
wizardry from one of the masters, and the perfect interlude for preparing
for the heavy onslaught from the Beard.  Jim Lascko's Solar Fire Lightshow
was as strong as ever, and included this year a computer-driven green-laser
light device that emanated from under Harvey on far stage-left projecting
out and over the audience, and then 'danced' to the music in MIDI-lockstep.
 The rotating psychedelic wheel designs, NASA-style still photos, and
strobe lights were projected as always on the white screen behind the stage
to great effect, though I remember even more fondly the wonderful
audio-visual show we were treated to last year when Harvey was performing
last on a nearly empty stage where the canvas became so much larger.

Finally, midnight was near and the five who so courageously travelled so
far from their home in Sunderland, upon the River Wear in the northeast of
England, to raise the spirits of our saddened colonies did just that.  Mr.
Quimby's Beard included numbers from each of their three superior space
rock albums in their nearly two-hour set, all done in the most lively and
spirited fashion.  Early on, the Quimby's settled into a steady hyperspace
drive with three offerings from their most recent CD, 'The Definitive
Unsolved Mysteries of
' and it was quickly imparted to us that the virtuous
sounds archived on that disc were no fluke...these lads can deliver the
goods in person.  Hardy's synth banks awoke magnificently for his
composition "Darkness," and we had no problem hearing the wild screamin'
electronic outbursts that occasionally sprang from the overhanging
tweeters.  That wonder was followed up with the mysterious "Mystery" and
the stompin' "Nebulae."  Kidd's bass guitar was equally boomy as
Quarkspace's Santia, so a good balance was heard by the audience - very
important due to the fact that it was darn loud!  If I were to make one
complaint about the mix, it was that rhythm guitarist Ray was often buried
underneath that of lead guitarist Tim Jones*, and Jones' guitar sound was
lightly fuzzed and tuned up to the trebly side.  Not exactly the prime
'blanga' sound, but then that may have been the soundman's fault (who
otherwise did a stellar job) and anyway, the punchy bass brought the
overall median frequency down to appropriate levels and it was not
particularly bothersome.  On the contrary, both Ray's and Hardy's vocals
were clear and well-delivered, and they can pull off the difficult task of
mixing more lyrical lines with the occasional semi-shouting fit (they make
it work), and a fair amount of space-whispery 'oohs' and 'aahs.'  Somewhere
in the middle of the set, the Quimby's treated us to the classic "Marijuana
Nightmare" from the self-titled cassette/CD, one of several tunes they do
with that great 'cosmic conquistadors' sound that I really like.  I'm not
sure, but then I think they offered some new material, or at least I
remember one excellent instrumental passage that featured an excellent fast
and loopy bassline that I couldn't locate on any of the three discs later.
The Beard ended their set with the fabulous space anthem "Beyond the
Light," true to the album and a joy to hear live.  With enthusiastic
encouragement from the Central Ohio SpaceRock Backers Club, MQB (with
assistance from Harvey Bainbridge) retook the stage for the "Bringin' up
the Acid" (from 'Out There'), a blissful dreamy space beginning but a
blistering crunchy space rocker finish to round off a fabulous night.  I've
seen the Ozric Tentacles three or four times (probably the band that
Quimby's are most often compared to), and this show was on par with any of
those.  I'll get to see them again in just a few days at Strange Daze
'2001, and although it might seem like a case of 'been there
done that,'
I'm really looking forward to seeing this band perform one more time.  I
may not get the opportunity to witness the Beard again for some time
and
that's unfortunate.  A great night of space rock in my own backyard - we
have to make them count, and this one definitely counted!  Tremendous.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
*(although I thought Jerry told me his name was Jim, so perhaps they got a
new lead guitarist?)

Time now for the addendum


The fun started in early afternoon over at the Kranitz residence, nary a
half mile from my own desperately-cluttered flat in wonderful downtown
Grandview Hts., OH.  All the Quimby's (plus Mr. A. "Polly" Pollard, of
MQB-spinoff Alfresco Mantis, and recently of A-I.com), three-fourths of
Quarkspace (nightshifter/guitarist Stan 'The Man' Lyon was still sound
asleep somewhere amongst the autumn breezes blowing through the
recently-harvested cornfields), and last but not least Harvey and wife/SO.
Deb K. graciously provided the sumptuous victuals (fried chicken, potato
salad, and baked beans - a hearty midwestern-style meal that a jealous Mr.
Kranitz was denied from fully enjoying due to diet restrictions), and then
eventually after some random conversation we all headed over to Little
Bros. to get everything set up for the show.

At the show, copious amounts of merchandise was available. Included was the
SD2001 official T-shirt featuring a MQB-related front design, and all the
band names from the weekend event listed on the back as in previous years.
A really nice design (available in several shirt colors, including white,
grey, and yellow), as long as you're not particularly squeamish about
protruding alien genitalia.  Those of you with the 'Definitive Unsolved
Mysteries...' disc should know of what I speak.  CDs were spread upon
several tables, including the entire Quarkspace catalog, the three Quimby
CDs plus Hardy's solo disc, and then a number of Strange Trips specials.
These included (I think) the three that were released last year (Harvey's
for sure), but also a couple of 'new' CD-R specials that Jim has offered
(perhaps just for the tour?).  Alman Mulo's Afrodiziac (which I believe has
been OOP for over a decade) and Harvey's more recent solo effort 'Red
Shift' (which I didn't look at, but I assume it was also a S-T CDR?, unless
Harvey had his own stash of Taste issues which I rather doubt).  I got an
Afrodiziac for myself, and just put it on moments ago to discover it
doesn't read easily on either of my disc-players.  But with a little
encouragement, it did finally 'read' and play - seems to play fine now but
I'll probably burn myself an extra copy for security.

Not sure if anyone taped the show - wasn't really paying attention.  I
don't have the energy to waste today on lamenting about attendance, or
rather the lack of it.  Suffice it to say that those that were there
enjoyed themselves immensely and will be Quimby fans for life.  And
hopefully this weekend will draw lots of folks that will help the bands
that travelled so far feel like their efforts weren't in vain.  If we can
manage it, Jerry and I will attempt to do an interview with Harvey for
A-I.com, so if there's something that you've been dying to ask him but
never had the opportunity, send me a personal email (henderson.120 at osu.edu)
and we'll see if we can get an answer for you.

Grakkl (FAA)

P.S.  As I've been typing and editing this, I've been listening to
'Afrodiziac,' which although I have been paying that much attention, seems
to be a pretty good album - and perhaps the best of the three Alman Mulo's
I've heard.