spring tour 2004

Another year another Hawkwind tour, and so the cycle continues and as ever the museum is hoping to bring you a large number of insights from fans across the land, so why don't you join in, it doesn't matter how much or little you've got to say we'd love you to 'say' it here, so why not get your thoughts down and then promptly
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Huw was looking very healthy and on great form for his acoustic set. He opened with Pure Country(think that's the title, heard him play it many times), then Solitary Mind Games, Rocky Paths and Hurry On Sundown (good to hear, but it did seem to signal the HW wouldn't be playing it). Hopefully we'll see him put an appearance in with the Hawks before the tour's out.

A pretty quick turnaround saw HW take the stage. Stripped down to a three-piece tonight with Dave playing his Les Paul for those that are interested in such things. Alan is again doubling up keyboards and had a pc hooked up in his equipment. Angela Android was the opener with strong vocals from Rich and the addition of a live drumming end section rounded it off nicely. The Assault & Battery/Golden Void/Where Are They Now sequence followed next which was just strong as ever. Alan's Out Here We Are instrumental came next and worked much better than at the Astoria where it didn't flow too well and many thought it was two pieces, a nice mellow number before the band launched into a storming version of Sword Of The East. With Bedouin seemingly defunct (please prove me wrong here, Alan!) I'd wondered whether this may make an appearance in the HW set and a good heavy version it was too. The Right Stuff came next followed by the big surprise of the evening, Psychedelic Warlords. Very strong version, first time its been played since Hawkestra. Wings next followed I think by Spirit Of The Age which featured a lot of very nice lead guitar from Dave. A new techno piece (I guess from the album but wouldn't like to guess which from the titles available) lead us into Assassins of Allah followed by Ejection to close the main set.

6pm-ish and we hit the road for the drive down to Salisbury amidst the Bristol rush-hour traffic and quite foul driving conditions and so arrive at our destination a tad later than we anticipated - just time to grab a quick beer, meet up with Alan's mate Steve, Rob Dreamworker and Nick Lee. I grab a quick chat at the merchandise desk with Pete Pracownik (a true gentleman if ever there was one!) and have a natter with Nick on the many merits of Christopher Eccleston as the new Doctor Who.

Huw's just started his acoustic set when we get into the hall. As other fans have noted, he still looks a little frail but does seem to have got healthier since the Astoria last year. His guitar playing was enjoyable (he stuck to the same three or four numbers that he usually plays in these acoustic sets)but he also tries to do the raconteur bit with a bit less success. But it's terrific to see him on-stage and there is a warm buzz in the audience for his appearances. At the end of Hawkwind's set he's found sitting by the merchandise desk - and, having spent a few hours talking on the phone to him for the HW biography a couple of months or so ago, want to go introduce myself and say hello - but I don't manage to pluck up enough courage!

"Angela Android" I find a strange choice of opener - though I like the song quite a lot (but prefer Sunray which oddly seems to have been dropped from the set at the moment) it doesn't really cut it as a kick-off number and I think goes better later in the set. Assault & Battery/Golden Void has sort of turned into a "cut to the chase and get to "Where Are They Now?" which despite being around the set for a year now is still a thrill to hear. "Sword of the East" was a great choice to bring back but, as noted by others, could do with a lead instrument and so it's a pity that for whatever reason Huw is not yet joining for an electric number or two - but a welcome revisit none-the-less. Working less well so far, but I think will be great by mid-tour, is the new version of Psychedelic Warlords - like others in the set it suffers a bit from the amount of sequencing needed to sustain the trio. I sort of feel, though the Brock/Davey/Chadwick line-up is probably my favourite HW era, they now need an extra head on stage - probably on keyboards - the US tour with the trio + Bainbridge I think points to this as the most effective combination, though of course a renewed interest from Simon House would be nice if it could happen again.

Overall, well I preferred the three gigs I saw last year but that might have been me on the night rather than the performance - and the trio are certainly cooking and as tight as you'd expect from the three longest serving members of Hawkwind playing together. Somebody noted the set-list from Norwich looking a tad short - the set was the same here but whereas on paper it looked truncated, in reality it was a very full set, though when Brock asks the audience at the start of the encore whether they want a "slow or fast" number the real answer, is, well, "Both Please"! I think the encore could do with a second number to round things out but other than that no complaints - if only the damn stress headache would go away!

I shall gloss briefly over Glasgow and not linger too long there. Not the fault of the band who were playing well - I hasten to say - but the venue turned out to be something markedly similar to one of the smaller circles of purgatory - the one where everyone is crammed into a tiny room the size of someone's back bedroom - there is a good band playing good music you want to hear but it's so totally mashed by bad acoustics you can't bear to listen to it - you know that Hawkwind are up there somewhere but you can't see diddly squat through the mass of heaving humanity between you and the stage and every time you try and ease into a better position you get stepped on, squashed, poked, walked in front of, behind of, jostled - and when you fall back to try and draw breath a drunken Glasgow accent you can barely hear above the rest of the noise starts telling you his life history and asking for yours. There's only a minimal light show because there's only a single 13amp plug available and, worst, the black painted ceiling is so low that even I standing upright could almost touch it.

That one.

The band were on good form though it can't have been easy but the slower instrumental numbers produced chanting of "Hawkwind" rather than an appreciative silence.

However - another night, another venue, and after the purgatory of Glasgow, Aberdeen was paradise! My hotel was rather old-fashioned, very posh and surprisingly cheap, I found a fantastic place to eat and then met up with Alan Taylor, Alan Linsley, Andy Garibaldi and others. The venue was lovely - a splendid high-ceilinged ex-cinema adorned with plaster sculptures and painted walls with a tall stage, a small balcony for the full light show and a non-reflective screen (so I was told by Marie!) at the back so the colours showed in their full intensity instead of being muted by white ultra-violet glow. And Keith Barton was there and Kris and they both came to say hi - which was really nice - before disappearing back into the complexities of stage equipment setting up (that sounded mightily complicated with all the sequencing and other electronic stuff) and tour sorting out (and there's loads of complicated organising involved there - such hard work is being done on these tours!).

There was room to move around and, though Huw's solo set was a bit sparsely attended, the crowd steadily built up until there was a solid atmosphere and Hawkwind were - fantastic. The set seemed to start a bit lightweight - Angela Android is a strong, fast, vocal track but without great depths of instrumentation underlying it and the drumming seemed surprisingly loud and brash but after that the tracks just got stronger and stronger. "Quality" I heard someone say behind me when the band paused for breath after Where Are They Now - "that's real quality". And it just got better. The Chaos light show was in full flow - brilliantly colourful abstract sequences (my favourite were the spiked circles with a multicoloured spiral infilling) with some images - the fighter shots in The Right Stuff were spectacular. The band were playing really well together - and the mixing was so good that I didn't, at all, feel that another instrument was needed. Between them they managed to create all the layers and depth and quality of sound necessary. They finished the set with Assassins of Allah (rather than Ejection) which was an excellent decision because everyone was still bouncing around and on a high and then came back for a two-track encore starting with Brainbox Pollution before sliding into Brainstorm. Very satisfactory.

The only track I didn't quite come to terms with was the new techno/industrial one "Trip?" probably because I couldn't make out the words spoken by the ?vocoder? - I'm sure I remember Dave introducing it as "Ode to a Timeflower" and indeed it could have been Calvert's poem enunciated by computer (or, then again, I could just be imagining it - it was that sort of an evening!).

And now I'm wondering about Wolverhampton.

okay......so I have just driven back from the Manchester gig to Wolverhampton, and was it worth it?

Well yes and no. I started off the gig leaning on the stage and enjoying what was a short, but exceptional stint from Huw - beware! Do not miss this man - he is coming into form again (if not into the band)

At one point he muttered 'What key am I in again???' Which just goes to show what a genius the guy is, because there were points he seemed to be ducking in and out of brilliance without him even knowing.........

Then came Hawkwind. Now I have seen the hawks countless times, but never really from the front of the stage. I watched most of the gig (more or less the same set list as the previous gigs on this tour) from the front, and I have to say that I just wasn't really 'getting it'. It doesn't help when they stumble into the opening with 'Angela Android', which is a personal no no for me

Alan seemed preoccupied with his PC for much of the time, and he spent too much time with half an eye on the screen - never seemed to relax. He clearly doesn't look comfortable with the sequencing etc...

Dave at one point drew a large breath and mouthed that he was knackered.....gestured a tired pose at Richard and sat down....... are the Hawklords losing their power I wondered?

I started to worry - I have finally convinced my brother that it was time to see the greatest band that ever lived, at Wolverhampton in a weeks time, he was gonna wonder what the hell I have been going on about for the last 15 years!

Don't get me wrong, they were not bad, they were good - but just didn't seem to sparkle.

Then I move away to the middle of the audience. And suddenly my perception changed. As they belted out spirit of the age, assassins and brainstorm, I realised that I need not worry anymore. I had found the sweetspot. From a distance, they looked like a tighter unit, the lights and sound took on a power that simply wasn't evident when I was staring up Alan Davey's nose. The gig seemed to go into lift off (albeit a little late for me)

I'm going to the Roadmenders and my hometown Wolvo so I will reserve full judgement until then - but, whilst they were good, I feel that they are missing a little something on this tour (Arthur? Keith? Simon house?.........maybe).

One little point that made me smile....I'm in the programme! I'm the Hawkwind tattoo in the centre pages of the hawkfest pics......it shows my back, which is my best side :-)

As thunder crashed and lightening flashed around Portsmouth, and the star warrior took time out from throwing shapes against the horizon to bring his washing in and close the sunroof, it looked like it was going to be a good night.

Not put off by the barman at the Pyramids ("Pint of Bitter, please." "Sorry, sir. But we've got John Smith's." Close enough,) I could just about hear Huw through the chatter of quite a lot of people who didn't about hear Huw through the chatter of quite a lot of people who didn't know who he was. He is looking better, as others have said and his version of Hurry on Sundown was actually the best I've heard in a while, even though the Dr Brown guys turned down the opportunity to join him on stage.

The Hawkset was as previously advertised on the list, with all the previously advertised "dodgy bits." Angela Android is not a set opener IMHO. It takes Richard too long to get his voice going for this to be a kick start to the night. By the end of Assault and Battery the "Aahs" had more or less converged on a key and from then on the smoked. I have to say that this was about the tightest I have ever seen the Hawks. Maybe that is partly due to having so much pre-sequenced material it was impossible to jam, but for whatever reason, they were more together than I have seen for a long time.

Glossing over the techno bit, and the comment from the Hawkwind virgin we went with ("Are they miming?") the trio incarnation seems to be working, maybe I need to go to the fest in Germany...

Myself, and two companions (HW live newbies) arrived at Southsea about 6.45 and headed to the pub in front of the venue for a beverage or three. Worryingly the pub was pretty empty but I reasoned from past experiences that this didn't really mean anything. After a relaxing chin wag we moved up to the venue proper. Sure enough it was pretty full so that was sorted. I went in without a hitch but my companion was stopped and sent away for the heinous crime of having a camera about his person. Good job we'd driven as the security wouldn't let him in with it so back to the car it went. This pissed off said companion a great deal but such is life. Strangely they didn't even search me and I had a camera in my pocket as well. What is HW`s policy on amateur cameras?

I thought the venue itself was pretty cool and there was some food available which was handy as we'd been on the road since about 3pm doing various pickups and stuff. About 5 minutes after arriving Huw took the stage and worked his way around some of his HW tracks with good humour. We took up a place to stage right in front of Dave's gear and against the barrier with the plan to move more central if the sound proved to be poor. We never moved which is a good sign. Before "..Sundown" Huw asked for the Dr Brown bloke to join him on Harmonica "as he always has a few on him". Said Brown appeared near us trying to signal Huw that he in fact didn't have said instrumentation but to no avail as Huw couldn't see him. Oh well.

Quick run to the loo/bar and the Hawks appear one by one and head into "Angela Android". Why donut people like this? I thought on first listen it was great and female newbie with us was rocking back and forth contentedly. All was cool. Would certainly rather have this on the new album then yet another "Silver Machine" with or without Lemmy.

The set continued as has been listed before. "Hassan.." aside (time for quick beer run in the middle!) I enjoyed the mix of new/old/rare choices in general although I'm not convinced about the synth-based "Spirit Of The Age". It didn't seem to have the power of previous versions. The set seemed to sometimes really take off (Right stuff, encores) before coming back down to merely great. Dave and Alan seemed to be enjoying themselves although Dave, from our angle, was hidden a lot of the time, as usual. Shame.

All in all a cool gig. Not the greatest but far from the worse and I really enjoyed it but in the end I have to agree with others that they need a lead guitar or Sax or frontman or something. Doesn't matter which and any of these would have possibly added the right element. Oh, and a real keyboardist to release Alan and Dave a bit.

Anyway, end result was that newbies thought it was, quote: "excellent" though were surprised at no "Silver Machine". I explained most of us were sick of it and they understood. Should have told them before but as I never expect it I didn't think about it!!

Picked up a programme (which Ill check in a minute before bed), and the "Spaced.." CD that I had planned to pick up (£14 in Southsea) and am listening to it now. Very nice, although limited packaging is a bit disappointing as someone has mentioned earlier. Such a shame when the front, back and music is so good! over. Sorry for typos.

Well, I've been back a little over an hour so thought I'd get my thoughts down ASAP. so here goes.

Having picked up my co-pilot for the day, Tony from nearby Benfleet I set course for Brighton and in just under two hours of relatively hassle free driving we arrived in the south coast resort and soon found the venue and after parking less than 100 yards from it's entrance we decided to see what was "going down!" - at that moment in time, not a lot was the answer although the band were on stage not a lot in the way of music was occurring. What was immediately apparent though was that this would be the smallest venue I'd ever seen the band play in. I'd have happily stayed around the venue but Tony being a tad impatient and easily bored suggested a stroll which we duly undertook, however on return about 20 minutes later there was the distinctive sound of the Hawks emanating from the building as they ran through Brainbox Pollution as part of their soundcheck. It sounded pretty good from out there but even better when the door opened and Neil from Chaos illumination beckoned us in. Hey this is cool I thought, maybe running this little 'Olli web site of mine does have it's perks as myself, Tony and maybe another 20 or so "invited" guests and crew watched the band go through it's paces with the aforementioned "Pollution" as well as the new Angela Android. I feel privileged to have experienced this, but it has to be said not quite as privileged as I did at the time as it turns out that a public lift runs down through the venue from the promenade above and by order of some local by law there has to be a public right of way up until 7 o'clock in the evening so apparently as Dave and the rest of the crew were getting their s**t together several groups including families trooped across the venues floor as they boarded or alighted from the lift. All the same, thanks Neil you didn't have to, but I'm glad that you did! Should also mention at this point that the set up of the band on stage was a new one to me at least. Looking at the stage from the front, you had Dave and his gear stage left, Alan to his right and Rich was literally wedged in at the back behind Davey!

So on to the music, I won't say too much about Huw as I feel it's mostly been said already. I noticed that he stood all the way through tonight's performance which I don't think has been the case with all the shows. His set is short but sweet and unlike so many other Hawkwind supports over the years it sets up a nice laid back and relaxed vibe for the evening, mind you, all that said to me there's only one place for Huw at a Hawkwind gig and that's up there with the band themselves, still all parties appear to be happy with the arrangement so I doubt the position will change, for this tour at least.

And then after a relatively quick change over, a definite plus point to having a solo acoustic artist as your warm up, came Hawkwind, who I have say were in my view brilliant tonight. Like the rest of the tour they kicked of Anglia Android, a song that really seems to be dividing the fans, especially in it's position of set opened. Personally, I like it, not a classic by any means but it certainly pushes all the right buttons for me and in many ways is the track that marries the bands traditional rock roots with it's more recent fascination with the dance culture. And whilst on this subject some of the other new material aired tonight did have quite a chilled feel to it, this will no doubt alarm some folks out there but from tonight's performance I wouldn't worry. It seems that they've finally been able to nail the whole ambient vibe that (in my opinion) they tried somewhat unsuccessfully on It Is The Future...... (and before the more traditional of you out there start panicking too much this "mellow" stuff takes up 10 minutes of the set, tops!)

So what you really want to know is what the rest of the set sounded like, don't you?, one word "rocking", particular highlights this time around have to be The Right Stuff, extra enhanced with some stunning aviation related footage from Chaos illumination, although at this point I must make one small criticism - from my vantage point the film seemed to be of the Bell X1 attempting and breaking the sound barrier, now without being picky ;-) The Right Stuff as everyone knows concerns itself with the F-104G Straighter so in future could we have a bit more attention to detail! (yes I am taking the p**s), Psychedelic warlords seems to have taken on a new life and these days barely resembles the song that appeared back in 1974 on the Mountain Grill album, Spirit Of the Age was stunning, probably the best I've heard it even though it now sees ver y stripped back and bare, what further impressed me and surprised me was that for this track Dave seemed to become "Dave Brock the performer", true you wouldn't put him in the league of say Alice Cooper or for that matter closer to Home Arthur or the late great Mr Culvert but he did seem to come across as wanting to be seem to be playing this number, something at times that doesn't always come over from him in my opinion. I was also taken aback by how much I enjoyed Assassins Of Allah, like many I have to admit to having grown tired of this one but tonight it seemed to have been reinvigorated, I particularly enjoyed the Space Is There... mid section when Dave was doing things with one of his synchs, I guess it was my close proximity to the stage (I was on the crash barrier by this time) but as he stood there, both arms outstretched presumably fiddling with some knobs (see I can even get a carry on style double entendre in a gig review) he seemed to morph into "Dave Brock superstar DJ", a moment that I must admit gave me a chuckle! Needless to say the encore of Brainbox Pollution and Brainstorm rocked like the proverbial b**tarred and before you knew it Dave and the other two were wishing us all a fond farewell

What else is there to mention, the sound was pretty much spot on down the front although further back where I witnessed the encore from it could have done with a bit more clout but in doing so I guess it would have been more distorted the closer the front you got so no complaints there. The band seemed to be enjoying the gig for the most part, well Alan and Dave did, I couldn't speak for Rich as I don't think I saw him all night due to the positioning of his kit. At this point I would like to bring to folks attention just how hard the three of them are working on this tour and whilst it does have it's drawbacks - Alan seems for the most part to be so pre occupied with this "non bass activities" to have no time for any interaction with the audience, but they really are earning their keep this time around and I get the impression that it takes real team work to make a show such of this possible. A lot of people are making the point that they could do with a lead instrument - frontperson on this tour and I have to say I was sceptical before ;last nights gig but personally I can't say I really missed either they do make an incredibly big sound for a three piece, that aside though as I mentioned previously to have the mighty Huw Lloyd Llangollen on tour with you but to not at least utilise him on a couple of tracks is to me at least, a mystery!

Finally a big thank you to everyone who made it possible, the band and crew, some of who I met and some I did intend to but for various reasons was unable to, you know who you are and hopefully, who knows maybe Friday at Northampton we'll put that right!

I have to say I really like the Coal Exchange. Although I wish HW had the support to warrant a larger venue I think the CE is just right for the level the band are at now. HW played a blinder there in 2001, with Alan & Huw sparring with each other on Monogram for ages. Huwey played his standard support set, but this was easily my favourite of the tour so far. He did the same numbers, but he really does seem to be playing better. He was seated all the way through again, which is a shame because he stood at Salisbury and that got me thinking his strength must be returning. Highlights were Wars Are The Hobby There, where he gave some stick to a kid at the front (who he obviously knew) changing the lyrics to "They don't like Matthew". During Wind of Change, Richard took to his drumkit for some fairly gentle jazzy fills, a nice gesture of support there I thought. Huw threw in a rife from a Cream number at one point in the set but I can't remember which one it is. He had a lot of us singing along with Hurry On Sundown (Huwey On Sundown anyone?). Dedicating the song to Mr D B Rock, he repeated his claim that Dave had promised to duet on harmonica and had failed to do so every night of the tour so far. As Huw left the stage several people made a point of going to the side barriers to lean over and shake his hand. Look after yourself Huw. Hawkwind were augmented by Crumb on synchs, tucked away at the back behind Alan. The main set was the same as the more recent gigs, except that it started with an aggressive reading of Adjust Me by Richard as the band fired up. The encore was Ejection & Brainstorm (no Brainbox Pollution tonight). Pete Pracownik joined the band on guitar for the encore. On the whole I thought they looked more relaxed than the last gig I saw. Alan didn't seem to be having the troubles with his computer that he was having at Portsmouth. Dave fluffed an intro at one point and literally slapped his own hand, but other than that it all seemed pretty smooth. A few quick points on each song then - Adjust Me - It's nice to see that in this heavily sequenced version of HW there's still some room for spontaneity. At an earlier gig, Portsmouth I think, Richard was chanting "I am alone" at this point for some reason. Angela Android - Getting better and better. I may even start to like it ;-) Assault & Battery/Golden Void/Where are you now -

They mucked up the start of this, the taped keyboard sound just kind of stumbled in, sounding just a little too much like a tape for my liking. I've found A&B a little lacking on this tour, I wish the number was expanded a little rather than just a quick dash through the verses to get on to GOV. Dave's vocals on GOV were excellent as ever, how does he do it? GOV was the first number where I can actually say I could hear Crumb, there was a definite extra keyboard sound in the mix there. Where... was stunning as usual, what a classic it's become after only a score of live performances. I've noticed that people always respond very positively to this number, and all around me people started cheering and whistling as the rhythm section kicked in. Out Here We Are - I think this has become as much a showcase for the short attention span of your average gig-gore as it has for Alan Davey. Every time it's performed the chattering starts, and what seemed like half the blokes in the CE chose this number for their toilet break. Am I the only one who wants to just stand there and get quietly lost in this one? (Having said all that, the taped sax break is a pretty lame idea!) Sword of the East - I want to stick up for this track a bit. It may be a bit of a plodder but it has a real majesty that gets me every time. That keyboard rife is awesome, and who says Dave Brock doesn't play lead, he was soloing like a demon on this one. The nodding midsection seems to be about right as well - I'm not fond of noodle breaks but on this tour they seem to have tightened them up a bit (if nodding can be tightened up without losing it's noodlyness that is). Love that stop/start ending too, with Richard clattering around his kit. I think this one is a minor classic and a more than adequate replacement for The Watcher. One point it did highlight though was that with the main keyboard rife already sequenced there didn't seem much for Crumb to add. The Right Stuff - Another favourite of mine. A classic Dave Brock vocal, has everybody else spotted how he has subtly changed the inflections on this one over the years? Crumb definitely added a few Dik Mik style flutters and swizzles here and there. I could also hear keyboards that sounded just like what Harvey was doing on the ETC TV version, and as I don't remember hearing that before on this tour I'll give Crumb the credit for that too. Go Crumb! Finished with the Paranoia rife as usual. Psychedelic Warlords - Like other gigs on this tour, it's when they powered into this track almost straight after Right Stuff that I remember they've sorted out the "get on with it" problem. More keyboards in the mix again from Crumb. I'm glad they're keeping this one simple and brief, a noodle-free track really, very effective. Alan continues to imitate Lemma's bass soloing in the mid-section. Go Alan! Wings - This one started a little hurriedly, as if they'd sort of lost track of where they were for a moment, other than that it was as good as ever. I *do* miss Keith Barton on this one though, which is even more annoying when you see him standing to the side of stage...so near and yet not on guitar. And has anybody noticed how the swirling circular blue-green pattern in the Lightshow is reminiscent of a peacock's feathers? Trip - I really like this, but unfortunately it wasn't the strongest version, didn't come across quite as well as, say, Aberdeen, and it did represent another toilet break for a lot of the Cardiff faithful. The rhythms remind me of Why Is A Raven... from Memos & Demos, and I think Alan's little one-handed keyboard rife is classic simple-but-effective HW. Spirit of the Age - I'm reminded of that interview some US fans did with Dave Brock years ago where he described a HW gig as having three peaks - well when Spirit starts up you know you're on the way up Mountain #3. This got some of the audience jumping about a bit. I still wish he'd get the lyrics right though. Assassins - As Spirit... finished all the instruments and sequencers temporarily stopped and for a few seconds there was total silence - Dave said "at last we have silence!". Then Alan plugged a certain Bisector-based outfit with "...from the Assassins of Silence to the Assassins of Allah!" and we were off again. Several women near me decided to try their hand at belly dancing during the Palestine bit. I'm glad the mid-section has got more percussive now, and I think it really is time to drop the Palestine tape and go further down the percussion route. But I'm just being picky, it was superb. After a lot of shouting and stomping of boots, the encore was Ejection & Brainstorm. The band seemed to be having fun. Dave introduced Pete P as a "well known artist in his own right" but I'm sure many in the audience were wondering who the hell he was (as indeed I did when I saw him with Simon House & Astralasia last year). Pete P mainly followed Dave on the main rife but occasionally went into HM widely widely mode, which is probably compulsory given the shiny red "axe" he was wielding, but it didn't sound too bad at all from where I was standing. And that was it. A good gig, probably the second best of the five I've done so far. Huge thanks to Chaos Illuminations for such a good Lightshow at this gig and all the others (except Glasgow...), there's so much going on I sometimes get totally "lost" when I'm watching it. That's all folks

So it came to pass my second and final date of the currant tour is now nothing more than a memory, albeit a pleasant one.

Tonight's venue, the Roadmenders is shall we say more conventional than Brighton and came complete with a stage that would not only allow the three members to take up their normal position but also be gifted with enough space that Richard could once more return to centre stage but also be afforded the luxury of a drum riser, blimey! it don't get much better than that.

So on to the show and as for the previous date support was from the legend that is Huw Lloyd Llangollen. A nice full room for him tonight which he seemed to feed off of that as he knocked out his short but sweet solo set, and add to that the bonus of him being joined by Mr Dibs and Richard Chadwick for a gentle but effective run through a bluesey number which if memory serves me right at the very least owed a lot to the Creedence Clearwater Revival track Suzy Q. Finishing (solo once more) with the obligatory "Hurry on Sundown" he left the stage to rapturous applause and as ever having the last laugh as he proceeded to show folks his A4 sized access all area pass, ones to assume that he's lost a few of the smaller numbers on this tour. Having now seen him twice as support I tried to reflect to see whether I though it had been a success. Personally I feel that whilst he put in great performances both nights I saw him (incidentally for the record, he stood at Brighton whilst at Northampton he remained seated) I think it has to be one of the hardest jobs going being a solo acoustic artist opening for a full blown electric act, basically it comes across as too quiet and because of that a lot of people seem to carry on the conversation that they were having previously. That isn't meant of a criticism of those folks in particular because I've seen it before with the late great Elliot Smith (RIP) he was affected by the same problem (he had the task of supporting grungers Sebadoh). That aside I'm sure that I'm not alone in thinking that we might have seen Huw make an appearance with the Hawks by this stage in the tour but I think the simple fact is that physically he's not up to doing the support act bit and then playing the band. You can never be sure with Huw, as the one thing he most certainly hasn't lost is his sense of humour so sometimes it's hard to know when he's taking the mick, and when he's not but certainly in Northampton he was bemoaning how "knackered he was by the end of the set." I'm sure that I speak for most Hawkfans out there when I say that I for one look forward to the day when I see you back up on stage with the rest of the band playing a full role with them, you're one of the family Huwey!!!!!!

And so on to the real reason of this piece, another night, another town, another Hawkwind gig, with Northampton being the lucky recipient of tonight's sonic assault. A quick spoken "Adjust Me" from Richard and before you know it we've lifted off once more and as on the rest of the tour the opening number proper is the new "Angela Android". I've come to the conclusion that this is a real grower as I like it more every time I hear it. I know certain factions amongst the fanbase are less than impressed with this one but personally I'm really starting to appreciate it and am now looking forward to hearing it in it's recorded form. The rest of the set continued as per the other dates so far on the tour so rather than dissect each and every track I thought I'd make a few general comments about this gig.

Firstly it was a very packed hall last night and I'm think I'm right in saying that the gig was a sell out. I'm guessing the capacity was around the 700 mark so as far as attendance's goes another good night for the band. It was also nice to see a venue that had no age restriction policy as such (under 14's admitted with a parent - guardian) which meant my mate Mark could bring his 8 year old son along for his first (and in all likelihood, his last!) Hawkwind experience and I also noted that he was not alone as there were a few kids at last nights show which was nice to see.

From my vantage point which was initially about 4 rows back from the from and in front of Alan's rig the sound was a bit bass heavy, but what else would I expect and although it often dominated "my mix" it never overpowered and I didn't mind really as often I find the bass can get lost with all the rest that's going on so it's nice to be able to clearly hear what Alan is playing and when you do this you can come to only one conclusion - he's one hell of a bassist.

So what else is there to tell you, well have to say I felt Dave let himself down a bit in the fashion department tonight - A pair of old jogging bottoms tucked into a pair of boots that'd look more at home on a building site is not where it's at, you looked far more dapper at Brighton. On a more serious note I feel I must also single out the Lightshow on this tour as being particularly fine, the jungle telegraph being what it is, my somewhat tongue in cheek comments regarding the film footage that accompanied "The Right Stuff" has already got back to Neil and Marie (Chaos Illumination) who took it in the manner it was meant (I think!) but as a counter balance to my comments I should also point out the stunning piece of footage of a jet fighter taking off that accompanies the beginning of Brainstorm, for me one of the best film segments I've seen the band use! A shout out is also more than deserved for the rest of the crew, who whilst I'm sure working very hard they seem to be keeping it all together whilst for the most part seemingly holding on to their sanity at the same time - you're the unsung heroes of the operation, take a bow!

And so there we have it, that's my fix of Hawkwind 'till the next time, good to see some of you out there, amongst those I met this time around included Nick Lee, Ian and Stuart, Bagsy and his mate, Dave Adams and Kev Smith amongst others, it was good to see you all and here's to the next time. Can I just finish up by saying that I think that few would argue that this tour has been an unmitigated success on all levels, the band are on top form and attendance's have for the most part been very impressive, you're fast running out of time to catch them as they Play Wolverhampton today 02.05.04 and then it's off to Ireland for a couple more , I'd like to hope (and think) that by the next time most of us get the chance to see them the profile of the band will be a lot higher as all going to plan we should have seen the release of the "Spirit Of the Age" single, the new album "Take Me To Your Leader" and lets not forget Ian Abrahams book, Sonic Assassins which also looks like being a real treat for Hawkfans, who knows with the right promotion they might even be "Pop Stars" once more (probably wishful thinking!)

Upon arrival at just after 9 there was already quite a crowd in. Steve Hibbert was on the door selling SIGNED Spirit of The Age Tour programmes. I was a bit pissed off with this having bought one earlier at the Ritz gig but you win some, lose some I guess. Unusually, the stage was not central but stuck away at the back in a corner just behind the bar. Unless you got in to the small space between the stage and the mixing desk you were not going to get a central viewing angle of the band. Regardless of the small stage, the lights and back projections still looked good and made an impression from wherever you were.

Opening with ADJUST ME they launched into ANGELA ANDROID which does grow on me the more I hear it but I'd prefer a stronger opening track where Richard is pounding the skins rather than singing and fiddling with some electronics. Next up was ASSAULT/GOLDEN VOID, a pair of tunes that I never tire of hearing. The instant when Assault becomes Golden Void is one of my favourite HW moments. Anyway a competent rendition if nothing too exceptional. WHERE ARE THEY NOW sounded sharp and focused and was followed with OUT HERE WE ARE at which point Dave sat back in his chair Val Doonican style (thankfully no hand knitted cardi) and let Alan do most of the work. A nice instrumental to wind down too. SWORD OF THE EAST then made an appearance, not a personal favourite of mine. It's just a bit to plodding to my ears. No bother as that was swiftly followed by RIGHT STUFF one of the great live songs which really got the place bouncing! Ending it with PARANOIA up came Psychedelic Warlords which got a big roar from those fans who haven't heard it in a long time (and that included me who heard it just 10 days before). Come the end of the song everyone was cheering. Great to see this back. WINGS followed this but I can't remember how good it was right now. Then a bit of techno with ODE TO A TIMEFLOWER. I really like this and would love to see it as one of the additional tracks on the Spirit of The Age single. It probably only took about 10 mins to put together but it sounds fantastic. Then we get to SPIRIT OF THE AGE itself which has had a great makeover and sounded fantastic even though I had relocated to the bar for further refreshment. Finally we get to the inevitable ASSASSINS OF ALLAH which I would have had enough of a long time ago but I do like the mid section of SPACE IS THEIR and there's no denying that it is a crowd pleaser and a great way to end a set.

A quick word about Huw. A pretty average set from him. It was unfortunately hindered somewhat by many people talking over his playing which was a shame. I got the impression that a number of people didn't know who he was. Still he did raise it up at the end with a great Hurry On Sundown (although sadly Dave didn't join him with his harmonica).

Finally I have to add that the Belfast crowd were a great bunch. Some had travelled some distance across the region to get there. Many hadn't seen them before and were seriously impressed by them and had a fantastic time. It was also the youngest crowd I've seen at a HW gig for years. There were plenty of people under 30, not something you usually see.