HW: Morecambe to Leeds (a bit of a ramble)

[Jill Strobridge]

It seems odd not preparing to go to a Hawkwind gig tonight 8-(   Wasn't sure 
until the last minute whether I'd get to Morcambe or not (spending a whole 
day on the phone trying every guest house in the town before getting a room 
cancellation) but got on a train that wandered along the coastline until it 
couldn't go any further and stopped just on the edge of the sea.   Weather 
was foul.  Westerly gale, grey skies, grey sand, grey sea, waves crashing on 
the beach.   The kite surfers loved it - black wetsuited figures in the far 
distance hopping across the wavetops swept along by their kites - but most 
other folk were in hiding.   Small clusters of punks were drinking in bus 
shelters - occasionally one would stagger out shouting abuse but realising 
how awful the weather was would stagger back in again.    The only other 
activity was a car rally involving some beat-up cars accelerating at insane 
speeds along the promenade then skidding a figure of eight round a couple of 
cones with the accompanying smell of burning tyre-rubber and overheated 
engines.

Anyhow - I passed that lot on the way to the Dome which resembles an 
oversized Mongolian yurt but is surprisingly spacious inside and when the 
lightshow was chasing circles round the roof it was awesome!    I enjoyed 
it.   A good size audience considering the weather and from where I was 
(towards the back) the sound quality was absolutely perfect.   It's possible 
the band reduced the level a bit because of the acoustics but it meant there 
was no fuzzy white-noise - you could listen to the layering of sound and 
hear the different themes come and go.   Dave's guitar was really clear 
while bass and keyboards and drums created a wonderful background and had a 
very fast beat right from the start.     Sometimes Hawkwind gigs begin 
slowly and build up later but this time it was instant energy and Orgone 
Acumulator was intensely fast.

There were far more breaks between the songs this show but it seemed to work 
perhaps because there were far fewer drifting fillers.   Introductory themes 
got into gear immediately and even tracks in a different key or a different 
rhythm that sat awkwardly in the past seemed to come across more powerfully 
because of the short break between them.   It really seemed to keep the mood 
of the audience high.    Paradox is gorgeous and the swirling circles of 
colour from the lightshow draw you into the music - brilliant stuff. 
Robot builds steadily to a climax that is all the more intense because the 
whole track gets slower and more deliberate as it approaches the end - it's 
an extraordinary effect that really worked - watching a freak-out dancer 
during this I found myself desperately hoping the track would finish 'cos I 
feared he would explode if it didn't!   I enjoyed the Midsummer Night's 
Dream bit (I'm informed that the title is "Marine Snow" and that the 
introductory track to Psychedelic Warlords is "Dogstar").  I'm not sure why 
that particular passage was chosen but the background of music and lights 
sweeps you up into it.   It reminded me of the Al Stewart song that starts 
"It seems to me that we have stood upon this stage before" - actually I 
think that song involves Infinity as well!      Infinity the track was 
wonderful but, I have to agree with Arin, it's a song that should be filled 
with longing and intense sadness and somehow seemed a bit too upbeat for 
that.   But maybe that was just me.   Images was also nicely done - the 
middle bit had a stunning combination of sound and colour and intensity to 
produce the feeling of loss and menace (I hate to think of the amount of 
rehearsing it must take to create exactly the right effects!).

Anyhow - enough rambling.    Leeds was a fantastic venue 'cos it had tables 
you could sit at and two bars so you didn't have to queue for hours.   Sadly 
however the acoustics were stuffed with high pitched fuzzy whitenoise which 
was quite unpleasant at first but I found that after a couple of beers it 
didn't matter quite so much.   Met up with Arin and Rich - great to see you 
again and have a safe journey back.   Also Nick Lee and Marie and Neil and 
Kris (who caught me taking notes during the show!) and everyone else and a 
special thanks to Nick's friend who navigated his way across Leeds and drove 
us safely home afterwards!   Really enjoyed the trip and missing it now.

jill
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Jill Strobridge <jill.strobridge at blueyonder.co.uk>
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