[Hawkwind] mini tour

Mon Mar 31 15:22:55 EDT 2008

Blimey - give us a chance!   Just struggled back this afternoon and am falling asleep over the keyboard (combination of late nights - early B&B departures - losing an hour's sleep when the clocks went forward - a certain amount of alcohol - and some rather convoluted, delayed and rather tedious train journeys).  

ok - this is wot I have for Manchester and Sheffield (I didn't make it to Preston) - and someone please correct me where I've gone wrong.  Faint pencil scrawls on scraps of paper while jigging around and trying to hold a drink do not make for accurate note-taking!   But it seems to be pretty much the December tour (which I missed) with some additional tracks towards the end:

Black Corridor / Aerospaceage Inferno / Space Love / beautiful instrumental intro <Splashfin I think?> to / The Awakening / Orgone Accumulator - Only Dreaming - Orgone Accumulator / Paradox / Robot / Abducted / Alien I Am / Master of the Universe / Time We Left / (Age of the) Micro Man / Magnu / Brainbox Pollution / Lighthouse / Arrival in Utopia / Sonic Attack / Damnation Alley     <encore:> Flying Doctor / Silver Machine

It was great fun.  The sound at Manchester was not IMO particularly good where I was standing - probably too close - and I had to use earplugs to cut out the whitenoise fizz when things got really loud but then I lost the fullness of the sound.  Still I thoroughly enjoyed the set and Sheffield was terrific.   The sound there was really good (except when Dave's amp suddenly blew up) and though the hall was packed it was still possible to move around.  The stage was a bit like a post-box slit which restricted the lightshow a bit but it was high so you could see the band.     

Aerospaceage Inferno is a splendid start to the set.  Space Love doesn't move me quite as it should but the dancers were lithe, acrobatic and very watchable.   The Awakening is great and Orgone Accumulator has a solid rhythmic start and slides nicely into Only Dreaming.  I particularly enjoyed the variation in intensity as it built up steadily to a ferocious climax with a lovely jazzy coloured spikey lightshow.   I always enjoy the emotion of Paradox - and I like the intro to it as well but it was just getting underway in Sheffield when Dave's on-stage amp (I think) went pop and (so I understand) they had to replug it into some other bit of the soundboard <I'm afraid the tech bits escape me here....> but the rest of the band continued without pause and everything came back better than ever and the track ended perfectly.   Robot is much improved - the dancers wore boiler suits and welding masks and the Three Laws were chanted with a great deal more intensity merged with some ?vocoder? effects to sound suitably machine/alien/threatening-like and this was combined with such an intense white spiked lightshow I found I was being held almost spellbound.    

During Abducted / Alien I Am (a very long track) I started trying to listen to the individual instruments a bit more.   I thought Dibs was excellent on bass.   There are wonderful moments when everyone - drums, bass, guitar, all play the same riff creating a huge forward-building momentum and then individual instruments start playing extra layering over the top - I love that and it seemed to be happening all the time at Sheffield.    Is this a result of not having a computer generated background?   If so then I am entirely happy.    It was wonderful to see Tim Blake back with his keyboard (not sure what you call it actually!) and I was fascinated by the theramin though I suspect it needs to be used subtly - it could become intrusive!    Master of the Universe was good.  Time We Left was - strange - it starts very well and the audience loved it, chanting back the words - brilliant - but then it goes odd, though that may just be me.   I can't read my notes on Magnu but I was being enthusiastic about something and Brainbox Pollution was matched with the lovely sepia video of commuters hurrying along the street.  Lighthouse worked extremely well with everyone doing the vocals giving it a depth of sound it lacked before.   Arrival in Utopia was another chance for audience participation - which everyone did with enthusiasm - and there is a lovely chord shift in the middle of the track which is brilliant when it works.   Sonic Attack had the dancers in white with large notices saying Don't Panic while Damnation Alley finished off the set with a frenzy - an excellent dramatic conclusion.   Flying Doctor was fine (I've never really taken to this track but everyone around me seemed delighted) and Silver Machine had absolutely everything thrown at it - instruments at full intensity - demented strobe lighting - the lot.  It was impressive.   

And I was exhausted by the end - I can only imagine how they must have felt on stage!   But it was thoroughly entertaining and a good weekend all round.   Thank you to all.

jill

==============================================
Jill Strobridge <jill.strobridge at blueyonder.co.uk>
==============================================
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: bernhard.pospiech 
  To: Hawkwind, BOC-L ; Hawkwind, Neo Quark ; Hawkwind, Yahoo 
  Sent: Monday, March 31, 2008 6:04 PM
  Subject: [Hawkwind] hawkwind minit tour

  Hello folks

  I am a little bit disappointed

  If I would live in the UK and I would have the chance to see my favorite band 
  at least 5-10 times a year I would go to every gig that is not to far away from my home

  And after each show the 1st thing I would do is to switch on my PC and write a short review
  and at least the full set list to the Hawkwind mailing lists.

  Because I know that there are many many fans outside the UK who are not so lucky to be so close to my favorite band.
  And all these fans are VERY interested to know what happened at the shows !!

  Is it really so difficult to keep us (the fans outside the UK) informed ??

  Bernhard

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