NIK: HW: Burg Herzberg etc.

[Keith Henderson]

I wrote:
>Space Ritual I think are really terrible, sorry to say....The style of the music was >ALL WRONG.

Oh...I can't believe I totally forgot to mention the 'dancer.'  Another thing that Space Ritual has TOTALLY gotten wrong.  I mean, we all know that Stacia was famous for dancing onstage with Hawkwind in a little less than nothing, but (not having ever seen any video footage...only photos) I always imagined that it was rather in the guise of being some kind of 'Earth Goddess' - or something that wasn't about being a sex object as much as being in the state that we were all brought to this earth.  But maybe those who were actually there in those days could expound more.

But irregardless, the dancer Nik has hired rated a big fat ZERO on the scale of originality and artistry.  I mean, how hard was it for her to watch Showgirls one or two times, then go out and buy a handful of cheap, vinyl plastic fetish outfits at the local Beate Uhse (or whatever they have in the UK for such purposes) and then practice slipping them on and off in a short time.  I mean, you could almost predict the next outfit to appear.  OK, there's the slutty nurses outfit, next will be the French Maid uniform (yep, there it is!)...then, no joke, it's the Catholic Nun habit!  Woo...I'm soooo turned on, I forgot how horrible the music was there for a second.

Give me a break, Nik...that was just beneath you.  You're making a mockery of the HW name now.  "Please stop, Nik...Nik, will you stop?  My brain is going, I can feel it.  Stop, Nik.  Will you please stop, Nik?"

I'm sorry to be so hyperbolic about someone who I had long since forgiven for the nonsense of the '83-'84 years ('Shove it in at the front, shit it out at the back'), since although he had hardly created enough new music to fill a single CD in twenty years, he was still performing around the world (including the US, where little HW can be heard on stage these days) and doing some justice to the HW name and his own legacy.  But now he's gone and thrown it all away again in an instant (in my mind) with this new ridiculous scheme that has virtually no (musical) legitimacy and is also downright embarrassing with the selling of a tactless 'sex kitten' dancer as eye candy.

The current two Hawkwind dancers are phenomenal IMHO, and do really well-choreographed routines that show a lot of artistry, creativity and linkages with the music.  And at Middlesbrough, Nottingham, and Loreley, they had *new* routines each and every time.  And were excellent at Loreley despite the fact that somebody forgot to bring all their costumes along.  The Spirit of the Age routine with them hanging from the rafters beginning from a cocoon-like state at the outset was really excellent.  I hope they stay around for the next few years at least.  In any case, what a huge difference between those two and this classless girl that Nik has hired.

I should say that the audience for Space Ritual was about the same as for Hawkwind last year, even though their stage time was 1:30-3:30 and Hawkwind played at something like 11:45-1:15 last year.  But that was mainly due to the fact that the overall crowd at BH'05 was much larger, so *all* the bands had more spectators this year relative to the same time slots as at '04.  And yes, there were plenty of German fans that obviously very much enjoyed Space Ritual, and quite a few men obviously weren't so put off by the dancer as I was.  But you should note that quite a few in the audience were also incredibly drunk.  :)

Well, enough of my soapbox...I am not happy to be here writing such diatribe...I would always prefer to write well of all the artists I pay to see, but I have to be honest and say what I feel.

I'm also sorry that I use this awful Yahoo email software, that seems to have a very hard time putting in linebreaks for some people.  I apologize for that, and would be very happy if someone could tell me how to avoid that, so people don't have to scroll off to the right six or seven miles per paragraph.  (Can't we go back to using simple DOS-ASCII email systems, like we had in 1990?...they were so much better, I'm not kidding.  No attachment files, but we don't use those for mailing lists and USENET anyway.  I don't use USENET anymore, 'cause it's all rubbish, but...)

Ciao...Grakkl (FAA)

P.S.  Steve Y...permission granted...use any name you like.

P.P.S.  Denis...are those your planes flying over my head here in Bavaria every morning?  Or are they Ami's?


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