Hawkwind
Benefit for the Homeless
Blackheath Concert Hall, Blackheath, London.
07.June.1997
01 intro
02 assault & battery
03 golden void
04 blue skin
05 steppenwolf
06 raptoid vision
07 hassan i sahba / space is their
Original tape flip
08 wastelands
09 alchemy
10 love in space
11 aerospaceage inferno
12 sonic attac
13 wheels
14 chat from ron
15 brainstorm /
camera that could lie
brainstorm
Original tape stop / start
16 ejection
17 needle gun
Another tape received in trade many years ago
Audience recording (originaly rated 7 out of 10, I would give it 6)
The tape seems to be made on a machine that auto adjusted the recording levels, whenever something is loud the levels are reduced and then work they way back up again.
Audience recording (equipement unknown) > MAXELL XLII C90 > Technics HX Pro deck > soundblaster > EAC > Flac.
No filters used just track markers put on by EAC.
BR Dave Brock
CH Richard Chadwick
TR Ron Tree
RI Jerry Richards
LL Huw Lloyd Langton
Coments on the gig (as found at http://www.starfarer.net/blkhth97.html)
Previously, with Hawkwind gigs you had a pretty good idea of what to expect – an excellent light show, a blend of ambient and hard-core space rock, with a few dancers, fire-breathers etc. thrown in for good measure. However, this one was different. With the shock announcement that Alan Davey, a Hawkwind veteran since the Chronicles Of The Black Sword days, had left the band, we ventured down to Blackheath with some trepidation.
This gig marked the end of a charity tour for the homeless by Huw Lloyd Langton. With Huw performing an acoustic set, Captain Rizz opening the charity performance and Hawkwind ending the gig, it promised to be an interesting evening.
The gig got off to a good start with Captain Rizz having a new line up as well. Their performance was good, and the sound definitely more rock-based than reggae –an improvement in my mind- the only problem being that the sound was deafening – even at the back of the hall.
The acoustic set by Huw was quieter. Accompanied only by a flutist and a bongo / bass player, he performed some great Hawkwind classics from the Chronicles and Sonic Attack era such as Moonglum, Rocky Paths, Dreaming Cities, Arioch and some of his recent solo stuff
such as Shine The Light and Outside The Law – all of which went down well with the crowd. Having seen a similar [but] more rock-orientated set by Huw at Bradford a few weeks previous, I was surprised as to how well his stuff adapted to the acoustic style.
Finally, the revamped Hawkwind came on stage and what a surprise!!! Of course, with Ron Tree now on bass, it made his on stage Calvertesque style difficult to perform, severely cutting the stage action. Combined with no light show, there was very little to watch on stage except for the dancers and fire breathers that periodically danced.
Surprisingly, most of the Alien stuff had been dropped retaining only Love In Space and Blue Skin from the last tour (I think). The opening had completely changed to Assault and battery and was (for me anyway) completely mind-blowing – all it needed was to be followed by The Golden Void – and it was!!! With Hawkwind classics like Ejection, Aerospaceage Inferno, Assassins, Steppenwolf and Sonic Attack being performed, the crowd were going frantic.
There were some surprises, however. Hawkwind included some new material in their set, one of which was called Reptoid. This was a real turn up. Unlike the more ambient stuff, this really showed off Richard’s drumming skills, sounding more like something from the Turner punk-influenced years than from the spacey Hawkwind of recent years. I thought it was great (I love punk anyway) and the promised new album looks like it will be a completely different style and sound from what we are used to.
[The actual set list was: Intro; Assault & Battery; Golden Void; Blue Skin; Steppenwolf; Reptoid Vision; Hassan-i-Sahba; Space Is Their; Hassan-i-Sahba; Wastelands; Alchemy; Love In Space; Aerospaceage Inferno; Sonic Attac; Wheels; Brainstorm; Camera That Could Lie; Brainstorm; Ejection; Needle Gun]
Of course, the best part had to be the encore. With Huw joining them on stage for the first time in ages, this was what we had all traveled miles to see. Blasting out a rendition of Needle Gun, this was what the crowd wanted. Ron Tree did well on bass – it’s a hard job stepping into Alan Davey’s shoes – his bass set-up was far more basic than Alan’s. Perhaps the real weakness now that Alan has left is with the harmonies on certain tracks. Love In Space and Assassins just did not sound the same.
So – for the future – it looks like Hawkwind have reverted back to a more guitar-based sound, certainly a heavier sound than the Business Trip stuff. The new album promises to be yet another change in sound for Hawkwind judging by Reptoid. I’m glad I was there.