By DJ Astrocreep
Sixties psych legend vs ’60s space rock overlords, it’s a night promising to be full of good old-fashioned fun as the mighty Hawkwind are supported by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. A little different from the Cannibal Corpse carnage I took in a mere week before in the same room. With two artists who have headlined shows years before I was even conceived, a night of psychedelia and chilled rock awaits me.
Arthur Brown and friends take to the stage and Arthur lives up to his name quite quickly, as we get his major hit quite early in the set. While I am quite familiar with a lot of Arthur’s earlier works, in their various forms, I wasn’t ready for quite how much he ventures towards post-rock with some of his tracks. Blending eerie, haunting soundscapes into his renowned brand of acid psych hits a lot harder than I would have thought previously.
We get the frequent costume changes, with what feels like a new outfit pretty much per song by the end of the set, each adding an extra visual layer to the performance, with a camera showing Arthur on the projector screen behind him, complete with psychedelic effects. The crowd seems fairly subdued through a lot of his set, a major hit or two excepted, though there is some good applause – much deserved – at the end of his set. An excellent set, showcasing just how relevant The Crazy World of Arthur Brown remains in the psychedelia world.
Time for the mighty Space lords and man, do Hawkwind not disappoint, as usual. While not every song in the set is an instant crowd pleaser, bar the to the more diehard fans such as myself, they have their usual air about them, despite an often flat audience during the first half of the set. The set is played with aplomb, the band are absolutely tight and the entire vibe is just one of affable fun. Dave Brock may now be into his eighth decade on the planet, but he is still a highly capable musician and is more than ably supported by a strong backing cast. The requirements have always been high – in many ways – to play alongside Space Lord Brock and co and this still shines to this day.
While the set may not immediately be to everyone’s liking, I know almost every word to everything played and absolutely revel in some of the song choices. The inclusion of the likes of ‘The Psychedelic Warlords’ is something I hadn’t seen previously done live, so majorly piqued my interest, while the second half of the main set was a Hawkwind A-Z in fan favourites, with the likes of ‘Spirit Of The Age’ and ‘Assault And Battery’ featuring heavily on there. We end with a single song encore, albeit one that doesn’t rank among their shorter, but it’s a fitting end to a night of true space rock and psychedelia euphoria.
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