By DJ Astrocreep
Catching Hawkwind live is pretty much a yearly thing for me now. Sitting amongst my favourite bands, the veteran space rockers may only boast Dave Brock from the heady early days of a band that brought the likes of Lemmy to public attention, but a 50th anniversary is absolutely nothing to sneeze at, quite an achievement. After last year’s orchestral tour was a resounding triumph, they’ve moved from the Lowry to the Albert Hall, another venue known for its acoustics, which should suit them down to the ground.
In a mirror of last year’s orchestral tour, our support for the evening are the rather delectable The Blackheart Orchestra, fresh from releasing their latest album ‘Mesmeranto’. The Mancunian duo seem to be going from strength to strength and it’s no wonder why on yet another very strong showing. The inclusion of a couple of songs from their latest release alongside favourites like ‘Sebastian’ from their previous release is good to hear, with nothing sounding out of place with the newer works compared to the earlier. The stripped back nature of Chrissy and Rick live suits their melodies and fantastic musical abilities down to the ground, with nothing lost without the extras that they add in the studio, with everything being performed completely live, adding both to the pressure on them both yet coming across as being with backing, such is the smoothness and level of performance from them both. Another excellent set from the synth Prog act, boding well for their career.
Somehow, Hawkwind are not only still going but are also still producing top quality new material and losing very little of that live verve and performance that they’ve been known for over such a long period time. They may not have the nudity – full or otherwise – from dancers that they once did, but the other aspects still remain in place. Whether it’s chosing a venue with high quality acoustics to allow for full clarity of their music, the music itself, the light show or the projected visuals, Hawkwind still have the full live production values absolutely nailed down. Everyone knows their part and plays it perfectly, with even a slight technical issue with the bass halfway through the set not putting the band off their stride, even if a brief glance over the shoulder happened to check what was happening as a roadie changes the cable during a brief gap in the song.
The set consists heavily of the new album ‘All Aboard The Skylark’, a third of it to be precise, which is fairly obvious when it comes to the crowd, as the gasps and cheers as they start are nothing like as long as more established favourites such as ‘Spirit Of The Age’, which almost deafens me as the crowd – admittedly including myself – shout loudly along to the chorus. ‘The Song Of The Gremlin’ – one of Robert Calvert’s tracks – is a great addition to the set, while other long standing fan favourites such as ‘Assault and Battery’ and ‘The Golden Void’ feature towards the end of the main part of the set. We have time for two encores, in ‘Hurry On Sundown’ and ‘Master Of The Universe’, which is admittedly a personal favourite, drawing the evening to a close in the best possible way.
An all-round fantastic evening of top-quality performances and more than able musicianship from both acts on the bill.
- Hawkwind’s 50th anniversary tour continues:
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