HW: Brixton & Guildford

[Dr Pepper (they call me Mister Pibb)]

Dear Chumleys

Here is my version of events, with Brixton being the happier and more
blurred Blanga extravaganza.

Firstly good to see everyone and have a chat - it is good to have faces to
names now, and maybe by the next time we meet I will actually be able to
remember names. (So here goes with my recollections of who was there;
Carl, Jazza, Mike, Jill, Rob, Andy, Dave, Jon, Bill, Ron & SOs)

Finding that no-one of interest was playing until 11 was a bit of a blow
seeing as we had got in at 9ish. However it was not too packed and it was
easy to get down the front and get as close to the reclusive Brock as
possible. As for the psi power start, well I was a bit disappointed
with this, I thought the mix was poor and couldn't hear Ron's vocals at all
followed by Blue skin which was so average that I forgot about it all
over the weekend until I saw it again last night. Then on came Ron with
his sheep in wolf's clothing look, and it became better, and when they
got to the bit 'Ich weiss nicht was ich sagen solle' it was as if the mix
suddenly came into focus, I could hear everything, and it was a huge
moment of complete and utter blanga, hurrah. The acrobat dancers at this
point were doing an excellent interpretation, with blue and red dresses
looking very elegant, with cups and saucers being very sophisticated and
then whirling away in a mad dance. All in all I was impressed with these
2 dancers. When the belly dancer came on I thought she was OK, but had
less variety in what she did - although the costume changes helped and
the white chiffon number for Silver Machine  was a good choice.

Then we were treated to Assassins (which is more concise to type than
Hassan I Sahba/Space is their Palestine and as it was petty much like the
version from love in space I'll use it) which was brill, as ever, with
Ron and the sword and the belly dancer. I just love the bit at the end of
the drum bit where I'm getting around to think well this has been good
but it is almost techno *and then* Dave's guitar thunders in and suddenly
I remember why I like HW.

Sputnik Stan was marvellously heavy - I remember thinking if only this was
a bit faster it could be motorhead. Then they did Xenomorph, which had a
fast bit in and lo indeed it was like motorhead. There was a slow bit in
the middle (I don't know what it was), which was good to be able to breathe
for a bit, then back to dancing (or rather joggling around a bit, pointing
at the ceiling and all that). Love in Space was very brill, and impressive
trapeze artistry. In fact there was a fast bit in love in space, just adding
to the blanga quotient. I wasn't sure about Aerospaceage Inferno (well that
isn't entirely true - at Brixton I thought it was most excellent, but at
Guildford I wasn't so blown away with it), but the rope artist fitted in
quite well. Elfin filled up the time between AI and Ag Machine, which is as
good as it has been recently - very fast and furious. Finishing with
Welcome is a brilliant end to the concert, and I will be sorry if it ever
gets dropped - OK so there isn't much more they can do with it and it
hasn't changed much since they brought it back - but hey it is about as
perfect as you can get so leave it alone. Oh yes, the firebreathers were
dead good for the show, I was most impressed with them during Assassins.

The secret agent was a pleasant surprise, with Ron in his overcoat and
shades and hat pulled down low. I was a bit bored by Abducted, it isn't
as good as Welcome (but then very few things are) and would be OK if it
led into something, but to finish on is a poor choice, although it does
mean that the crowd is calmed down.

Overall it was marvellous, so I then managed to catch 40 mins sleep
during the Ozrics, woke up in time for Minty, and watch it from a
respectable distance with Carl and Jazza (well any closer I was afraid we
would either be accused of being perverts, or an errant pubic hair would
leap out into someones eye and blind them - I mean do these art jazznoise
merchants have any health considerations in mind when they divest
themselves of their clothes? Do they undergo rigorous safety procedures?
I think not). I want to know are minty crap, or does the fact they have
naked people on stage in some way atone for the terrible noises they produce?

I then saw bits of the DJs, but mainly ended up walking to Covent garden
for breakfast at 8am - it was a great morning to be walking through
London, isn't it amazing what a Solstice can do to a chap's sensibilities?

As for Guildford, well I was a lot more sober which maybe meant that I
didn't get into it as much. I turned up to catch the last 2 songs of
Captain Rizz which seem more spacey than I've heard them do before.

For Hawkwind the set was the same as at Brixton (I think), but I
was closer to the band, so was warmed by the fire eaters, got to see dave
more, and see him smile. I thought the band were a little more talkative,
and the dancers were still being hugely active. Kris managed to set fire
to the stage (or rather a towel on the stage) but a bucket of sand saved
everyone's life. The photographer who took the photos for the cover of
love in space was there. Ron seemed quieter than at Brixton. I think the
set lasted exactly the same time (pre-encore set 1h36). I saw Ron Jennings,
as he was down the front for the first couple of songs, but missed Bill. It
was quite a quiet crowd, and not too lively down the front. Is it just that
everyone is getting old?

Jolly good all round.

Mike w