HW: BURG HERZBERG 17.07.2004

[Henderson Keith]

Mike said...

>Unfortunately there was a problem with the left speqker stack at the
>site after the second thunderstorm and this meant that Alan's base feed
>came through distorted and cutting out - it afected all the bands after
>Hawkwind who were bass-heavy. Clearly I should have moved to Dave's side
>of the stage but I was having a hard time staying upright by the gig,
>never mind moving.

I was on Dave's side of the stage, and it was the same.  Well, actually,
it sounded like the *guitar* cutting out to me!  I thought it was Dave's
own equipment, but then it made sense what you said later about the
rain getting into the unprotected PA.  I don't remember it affecting
Pothead's performance (BTW, who the hell are they, and why haven't I
heard of them before...they were excellent!  I'm glad I wasn't too
knackered to have gone and staggered up the mudslope to 'home' before
they went on.)  And during HW's set, it was only a problem (to my ears)
during "Angels of Death" and (sadly) "Psychedelic Warlords" (the excitement
of which was pretty much killed off by the two minutes of constant
6-million-dollar-man sound effects).  Luckily, all seemed normal during
an awesome Spirit of the Age (double guitar breaks from Dave thanks to
Bernhard's shameless pleading earlier that afternoon).

Just home from *both* Herzberg festivals...it's really silly what's
going on 'politically' there, from what I can tell (as the discussion
occurs mainly in German, so I have to concentrate extra hard to tell
what the 'truth' is), almost like the Dave & Nik debate.  But the
Think Progressive festival (the originators of Burg Herzberg, but no
longer the organizers, but instead now running this other one that they
called "Herzberg Goes Wilhelmsthal" but is really more accurately the
reborn Cornberg festival, after a two-year failure-driven hiatus) was,
in contrast to the tight organization of Andi Schnell's crew (which
gladly did not interfere whatsoever with the 'freeness' of the BH event),
quite the clusterf*ck.  Not so surprisingly, but still disappointing
to see.  Despite this, I saw some great bands there too, and in places
there was a lot of 'free spirit' going on that made me forget the
nonsense of the festival dis-organization.  In short (much more to
come soon, when I have the time to sit and write *two* long festival
reviews), Amon Duul II decided not to 'risk' coming (and not being
paid), and it seemed to be a popular theme as a number of advertised
bands did not show (no Groundhogs for instance), though oddly two
that had appeared to pull out a week before the event *did* come to
play.  Chris Karrer himself came anyway and played a solo set, and I
had a chance to talk to him briefly about what the hell was (not) going
on.  (BTW, don't be surprised if a cancellation announcement about AD2
playing at ProgDay '04, or anywhere else in the US this year, comes soon.)

Related to HW, Bevis Frond did headline Friday night, playing after
Bari Watts' Outskirts of Infinity and Denmark's On Trial, and Adrian
Shaw was outstanding on bass (as to be expected).  A second guitarist
now, and a new drummer (from what I remember in the US four or five
years ago).  And Jethro Tull was pretty darn good too, but it seemed
weird for them to be there, all this big money and 'professionalism'
(if you will) amidst a festival without any sense of 'sh*ttogetherness.'

Oh, and it rained every day there too (HGW won the mud battle even!),
and even on two of the days in between while I 'herumgelungert' in Kassel
(the Staatspark Karlsaue is the most peaceful 'civilized' place on the
planet, I think).

Grakkl (FAA)