HW:Northampton + Leeds

[Wright, Mike]

After Nick's review I thought I'd put in a little about Northampton.

The roadmender is quite a small venue, so everyone gets a good view. The set
list was similar to what everyone else has seen. I am impressed by Arthur,
someone in HW who is a 'proper' vocalist, belting out vocals, andd getting
most of the words back. Still, Silver machine was never as good as with Ron
on vocals doing a punky version.

I liked Arthurs front man act, with dancing, costumes and liveliness. I have
never seen so many smiling faces on stage at one time at a HW gig. As for
Huw... Is he the new Nik, noodles away without any reference to what the
rest of the band are doing. He turned up half way through the second song,
and never did more than gently noodle away with brief burst of notes - the
kind of stuff that doesn't irritate by being so obtrusive that it ruins a
song, but adds nothing to it. I guess his non appearance at Brighton is the
natural way of things.

Here is a review from a mate who went to leeds.
---->
Well HW in Leeds were very good. You know me, I do like to be picky but this
was fab fun. The Irish Centre is a weird place with a small *dance area* and
lots of seating - it's basically the showroom of a working men's club.
There's little shop near the entrance which sells Madonnas, Celtic scarves
and replicas of Christ's foreskin. Typical medieaval relics really. Cheap
beer at the bars and every hairy freak in West Yorkshire seated at tables
wainting for the turn to come on. It was packed by the end, not a sell-out
but can't have been far off. Lots and lots of people paying on the door.

Blake was OK as support - no computer problems. My issue with him is that
his sequenced stuff is a bit dull and he just noodles over it. Frankly
sounds like me on my guitar. However he has inspired Julie to learn how to
use the sequencer functions on our keyboard.

HW were very powerful - more metal and less trippy than for a while. Having
the Captain on guitar most of the time makes a hell of a difference to their
sound. Blake made all of the right noises, Alan and Richard were awesome as
ever. Is there a better rhythm section in British rock. Arthur Brown fitted
in very well - doing the sort of nutty stuff that Nik used to do but still
able to control himself. Got lost at times after jammy-bits but Alan and
Dave helped him out. I've never seen so many smiles on a HW stage. Huw was
mixed a bit loud at times - especially during Lighthouse - and had to keep
sitting down. Is he ill or is it drugs and drink again?

I've been a fan for 23 years now and first saw them on the Levitation tour
in 1980. Well this was the first time I've ever bought a tour shirt. I'm
wearing it as I type.

Overall, then, 9/10.

BTW Alan was standing by us for part of Blake's set. Julie later remarked
that on stage he looks quite scarey, but off stage he looks rather sweet.
Rock 'n' roll, eh?
<----------------

Someone at the mixing desk was videoing the gig, on a small camera.
Tim had computer problems during his support, but it didn't stop him.

I didn't note down a set list, but as it was 1h25m I guess it was similar to
the ones either side. I didn't record it either.

Cheers

Big Mike

-----Original Message-----
From: Krishne [mailto:nick at HERMIT0.DEMON.CO.UK]
Sent: 13 December 2002 03:31
To: BOC-L at LISTSERV.SPC.EDU
Subject: HW: Brighton


Excellent gig tonight. First and only time I'll be able to catch them this
tour. I was a little apprehensive, some of the on-list comments re. previous
dates were lukewarm, and the setlist had a rather familiar look about it,
but this gig definitely exceeded expectations. Concorde 2 must be the
smallest place I've seen the band play I think, certainly the smallest
stage- it looked a bit cramped up there, but the lightshow and projections
worked a treat in such a confined space. Very up-for-it crowd too.

Line-up was DB/Alan/Rich/Tim, plus Arthur Brown. No Huw, no
Simon- dunno what the story is. Anyway they didn't *sound* short- staffed
and Tim did a great job, playing synth as more of a lead instrument than
usual. I still don't like his solo stuff but he's playing well in HW. Arthur
Brown is a born entertainer, excellent singer, and even seems to have learnt
the words now. The 2 Arthur Brown numbers were OK, but didn't really sound
at home in the set IMHO. But interesting to see HW try something completely
different, although it does seem an odd move. Even more surprising was the
new mid-section in Hassan I Sabbah, with all manner of programmed drum
wizardry taking it into trance techno territory- maybe not everyone's taste
but I loved it. When you see the same old songs appearing on the setlists,
you tend to forget how much these old faves can mutate from tour to tour.

It took a while for them to completely hit their stride, but things seem to
take off with Lighthouse (not normally one of my favourites but hypnotic and
cool tonight), then a blinding rendition of  The Watcher, which really
slinks along evilly these days. The absolute highlight: You Shouldn't Do
That, with the Seeing It As You Really Are coda and a snatch of what might
just be a (gasp) new song to round it off. You Shouldn't Do That is one of
the ultimate HW songs, but the only time I've heard it live before now was
at the Brixton Hawkestra. It was just brutal tonight, astonishing, and mixed
with the barrage of strobes to truly mind-altering effect.

So- overall a very good gig, perhaps not one of the very greatest but
certainly there were some serious highlights in there. Enjoy Walthamstow,
those who are going.
--
Nick Medford


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