Exeter 25th October

Sat Nov 1 06:57:55 EST 2003

In general I'm pretty cautious about being in the front at any show just
because it tends to be the most physically dangerous place to be.  Granted,
Hawkwind has  a tendency to draw a somwhat more sedate audience such that I
don't really expect a "pit" to develop, but I've had uniformly bad
experiences at the front.  This opinion may be unduly influenced by a single
person who seems inevitably toshow up at all Chicago area HW shows, go to
the front, and generally cause trouble.  I'm sure others probably remember
this person as well.  I particularly remember in 1995 at the Park West,
standing right in front of the stage while this guy shouted and whistled at
maximum volume pretty much nonstop for the entire show, to the annoyance of
everyone nearby.  He was flailing around as well, knocking into people, and
at some point said to me, "You don't look like you're having fun," and he
grabbed my arms and raised them over my head and flailed them around against
my will for probably ten minutes... other people got similar treatment.  I
remember the same character right next to me at the Strange Daze 1998 show
where all the same behavior ensued, except this time people were more pissed
off and would give him a good shove any time he got too close.  Of course
this precipitated some minor fighting and eventually the guy was seemingly
removed.  At the same show it seemed like fans were extraordinarily
territorial as well.  At one point when I was knocked into by the above
mentioned fellow, I was jostled two feet to my left where the gentleman
behind me took my shoulder and informed me that he had been standing at the
front of the stage for hours waiting for Hawkwind and wasn't going to have
his spot taken by a newcomer!  As if I hadn't been there for hours as
well...  *sigh*  it was very much a "can't win" situation.  In general, I've
found that it isn't necessarily the most hardcore fans one finds at the
front... it's mainly the most aggressive ones.  Mainly these days I don't
even bother troubling myself but just try to get a good view in a
comfortable area.  In some ways the issue is reminiscent of many punk/indie
rock bands I've seen.  All the scenesters/mohawk kids etc gravitate toward
the front, while the fans of the band are lurking shyly somewhere near the
back.  A sad state of affairs.
John Majka
jmajk at indy.rr.com

> I always find in these "smaller" venues you're better off near the front.
It
> took alot of persuading to get Andrea up there as she gets panicky
> normally,( I mean at OTHER gigs) but at Hawkwind, everyone seems to
respect
> each others space. The novices seem to gravitate towards the back! I felt
> very out of place? People obviously didn't have much idea about what they
> were about to see.... I'm glad (VERY) that I moved to stage left??
> Wonderful!!Al.
>
>
> >From: Colin J Allen <colin at CALLEN18.FREESERVE.CO.UK>
> >Reply-To: BOC/Hawkwind Discussion List <BOC-L at LISTSERV.ISPNETINC.NET>
> >To: BOC-L at LISTSERV.ISPNETINC.NET
> >Subject: Re: Exeter 25th October
> >Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 19:17:15 -0000
> >
> >The new material is there, it is just not allowed out to play yet:).
> >
> >It was a bit of an odd gig; the promoters (Future Sound of Exeter) put on
> >regular events at the Phoenix and try to get an eclectic (and full)
> >line-up;
> >I also thought that the guitarist in the bar band was very good, although
I
> >thought that Dbkaos was the guy in the hall before Hawkwind went on; the
> >band in the bar were (I think) Sembalance with the Iconoclast.  The food
at
> >the Phoenix was worthy of mention as was the lovely, lovely (and
virtually
> >unique) mixing desk; it was just such a pity that they kept such a
careful
> >eye on the latter after the gig:(.  Now that I would not have minded
> >lifting
> >and pushing to the van!
> >
> >Colin
> >
> >
> >
> >Please note that this electronic mail system is not intended to form any
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only.
> >Please also note that this message should not be interpreted as any form
of
> >valid information. You use the information contained in this message at
> >your
> >own risk.
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Jill Strobridge" <jill at THETA-ORIONIS.FREESERVE.CO.UK>
> >To: <BOC-L at LISTSERV.ISPNETINC.NET>
> >Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 10:42 PM
> >Subject: Re: Exeter 25th October
> >
> >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Michael Blackman" <michael_1968 at OZEMAIL.COM.AU>
> > > To: <BOC-L at LISTSERV.ISPNETINC.NET>
> > > Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 6:53 AM
> > > Subject: Re: Exeter 25th October
> > >
> > > > There ought to be a page at Mission Control just for the roadies and
> > > all
> > > > those fine individuals who work so hard behind the scenes to make
the
> > > gigs
> > > > happen.
> > > >
> > >
> > > Yeah - there definitely should.    I must confess to a twinge of guilt
> > > sometimes when I leave a venue and look back at the stage - empty of
> > > people but piled high with equipment - knowing that some poor folks
have
> > > still got to dismantle all that lot and pack it away before the
evening
> > > is really over.
> > >
> > > Anyhow I finally introduced my sister and her family to a Hawkwind
gig -
> > > Hawkwind People here are my relatives - Relatives this is Hawkwind.
> > > Thankfully it seemed to go ok - no Damascenian conversions sadly - the
> > > neices have been too brought up on mainstream I'm afraid but the
eldest
> > > has learned how to get work at Glastonbury (thank you Merrick!) so her
> > > horizons might broaden a bit and everyone seemed to enjoy the
> > > experience.
> > >
> > > A strange mixture of a gig though - there was a DJ in the main hall
> > > right up until Hawkwind played, with a very trippy visual show but not
> > > much else by way of inspiration.   The support band (who
> > > were.........?dbChaos) set up in a tiny cramped corner of a smallish
bar
> > > space and the lead guy played (to my ear) some fairly decent guitar.
> > > But it was very very packed and everyone was standing on everyone else
> > > so there wasn't much room to hang around and socialise never mind
relax
> > > and listen.    Everyone managed to squeeze into the main hall -
> > > just -but there was no way I was ever going to see much of the stage
so
> > > it was a question of watching the lights (which were flashy and
dramatic
> > > but clearly not the Chaos Lightshow - it was a real shame about their
> > > computer failure) and listening to the sound - which was good and
> > > powerful without being excessively loud - very well balanced.    I
found
> > > it difficult to separate out the different guitars (but then I don't
> > > have the ear of experience)  but thought that overall it had a nice
> > > depth and surroundsound feel to it and certainly everyone around me
was
> > > having a wonderful time!
> > >
> > > I'm (selfishly) glad there wasn't much new material but I confess I
was
> > > expecting more - in fact I was expecting a lot more!    Where has it
> > > gone then??
> > >
> > > Anyhow - hi to everyone I met - everyone I recognised and didn't know
> > > the name of, everyone I would have known the name of but didn't
> > > recognise and everyone for whom I managed to get both right.
> > >
> > > Ah dear - signs of senility.........
> > > jill
> > > -----------------------------------------------------------------
> > > Jill Strobridge <jill at theta-orionis.freeserve.co.uk>
> > > -----------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
>
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