Hawkwind gig review BURG HERZBERG 17.07.2004

[Nick Lee]

Definitely a very good weekend, despite the weather which was truly
biblical at times.  On Saturday night it managed to go from 0 to force
10 in a few seconds!
The weather had stayed fine on Friday though and Mr Quimby's Beard
played a cracking set.  Very similar to the Sonic Chillout set but
tighter, the sound was excellent and they got a great reception from the
crowd.
Though it may have soaked people through it certainly didn't dampen
their spirits.  There was a great crowd for Hawkwind who played an
excellent set.
Very similar to the spring tour but with the addition The Watcher and
Angels of Death in place of Angela Android and Wings.  Dave was out
front for most of the set (playing the Les Paul again for those that are
interested).  Though I'm still not sure about the amount of sequencing
being used now that it comes from Alan's side of the stage it certainly
seems to leave Dave free to play a lot more lead guitar and experiment
with 'live' effects, and Dave was certainly on fire on Saturday.  From
where I was stood the sound seemed fine, I was near the front and more
to Dave's side of the stage so I probably wasn't placed to hear the
sound problems Mike could hear.  Could've been a bit longer though at
barely 90 minutes but they were on an hour late and with another band to
follow.  The audience didn't seem to want to hear that there was to be
no second encore and the poor MC didn't really stand a chance against
their shouts while a very sheepish looking Mr Barton had to start taking
down the Baron's equipment.
A very sociable festival all in all with a great atmosphere, reminiscent
of a larger Hawkfest or maybe Treworgey, the sort of festival we don't
have too many of over here any more.
Good to catch up with lots of people from the list and crew as well.
I'd probably consider going back to this one, despite the distance, even
without HW on the bill.

Nick


> Hi folks
>
> Managed to go for the 1st Hawkwind gig in Germany after 8 years.
> And it was a great one !!!
>
> Met lot of folks from the lists
> Mike Holmes, Keith Henderson, Nick Lee, Alfred Koessl, Rainer Wangler,
> Andreas Stuewe, Dietrich Pless, Christos
> Had a great time
>
> I had the chance to chat with THE CAPTAIN for about 20 minutes and of
> course Richard, Alan and Keith Barton were not far away
> No new t-shirt poster or CD. Just the familiar stuff
>
> Hawkwind played a blinding set. They hit the stage at 23:59h
> (after the
> hell has opened with black massive clouds and heavy lightning and it
> pissed down for about 30 minutes) and played a blinding 90 minutes set
>
> Here is the track listing
>
>
> 17.07.2004, BURG HERZBERG, FESTIVAL
>
> intro / assault & battery / golden void / where are they now
> / out here
> we are / sword of the east / right stuff / paranoia / brainstorm /
> angels of death / psychedelic warlords / watcher / spirit of the age /
> hassan i sahba / space is their / hassan i sahba / brainbox pollution
>
>
>
> Only Dave Alan and Richard on stage but we all had the feeling that
> there were more
>
> It was one of the heaviest sets Hawkwind have ever played
>
>
>
> It was pissing for the most part of the set but we all did not care
>
> The band had fun. And we had fun as well !!
>
>
>
> Do not know what happened to Dave but I have NEVER heard him play so
> many (and excellent) guitar solos !!!!!
>
>
>
> Highlights were without doubts
>
> WATCHER (Dave played for the complete song a guitar solo)
>
> BRAINSTORM (again here lots of guitar)
>
> SPIRIT
>
>
>
> The 2 songs I could live without were
>
> WINGS
>
> OUT HERE WE ARE
>
>
>
> Lots of stereo effect during the songs
>
> SPACE IS THEIR was very interesting
>
>
>
>
>
> cheers
>
> Bernhard
>