HW: Salisbury

[Ian Abrahams]

The trouble with taking half a day off work to go to a gig, is that you never really get started at work in the morning, and you don't really switch off from work in the afternoon, so unfortunately I arrive chez-Alan Linsley in Bristol at 5pm with a nagging stress headache that doesn't go away.

6pm-ish and we hit the road for the drive down to Salisbury amidst the Bristol rush-hour traffic and quite foul driving conditions and so arrive at our destination a tad later than we anticipated - just time to grab a quick beer, meet up with Alan's mate Steve, Rob Dreamworker and Nick Lee. I grab a quick chat at the merchandise desk with Pete Pracownik (a true gentleman if ever there was one!) and have a natter with Nick on the many merits of Christopher Eccleston as the new Doctor Who.

Huw's just started his acoustic set when we get into the hall. As other fans have noted, he still looks a little frail but does seem to have got healthier since the Astoria last year. His guitar playing was enjoyable (he stuck to the same three or four numbers that he usually plays in these acoustic sets)but he also tries to do the raconteur bit with a bit less success. But it's terrific to see him on-stage and there is a warm buzz in the audience for his appearances. At the end of Hawkwind's set he's found sitting by the merchandise desk - and, having spent a few hours talking on the phone to him for the HW biography a couple of months or so ago, want to go introduce myself and say hello - but I don't manage to pluck up enough courage!

So, to Hawkwind who are again the Dave Brock Trio - after all this time playing together they have a claim on the title of "seminal line-up" in a way.

"Angela Android" I find a strange choice of opener - though I like the song quite a lot (but prefer Sunray which oddly seems to have been dropped from the set at the moment) it doesn't really cut it as a kick-off number and I think goes better later in the set. Assault & Battery/Golden Void has sort of turned into a "cut to the chase and get to "Where Are They Now?" which despite being around the set for a year now is still a thrill to hear. "Sword of the East" was a great choice to bring back but, as noted by others, could do with a lead instrument and so it's a pity that for whatever reason Huw is not yet joining for an electric number or two - but a welcome revisit none-the-less. Working less well so far, but I think will be great by mid-tour, is the new version of Psychedelic Warlords - like others in the set it suffers a bit from the amount of sequencing needed to sustain the trio. I sort of feel, though the Brock/Davey/Chadwick line-up is probably my favourite HW era, they now need an extra head on stage - probably on keyboards - the US tour with the trio + Bainbridge I think points to this as the most effective combination, though of course a renewed interest from Simon House would be nice if it could happen again.

Lightshow was marvellous - a great mixture of patterns, film, cartoon and imagery and the stage set-up allowed for a really good projection.

At the end, I make a quick dash to the exit and hand-out (with Alan Linsley's kind help) a bunch of leaflets for the biography. The Hall staff are giving out ones for a Led Zep tribute band also - but, enouragingly, when we walk back to the car some of their's our found discarded - but none of ours :-)

Overall, well I preferred the three gigs I saw last year but that might have been me on the night rather than the performance - and the trio are certainly cooking and as tight as you'd expect from the three longest serving members of Hawkwind playing together. Somebody noted the set-list from Norwich looking a tad short - the set was the same here but whereas on paper it looked truncated, in reality it was a very full set, though when Brock asks the audience at the start of the encore whether they want a "slow or fast" number the real answer, is, well, "Both Please"! I think the encore could do with a second number to round things out but other than that no complaints - if only the damn stress headache would go away!

Very poor driving conditions down from Bristol to Cornwall this morning and it's still lingering!

Ian