HW : Edinburgh gig

[Dave Berry]

On 20 Oct 13:06, M Holmes wrote:
> Hawkwind came on
> at just after 8pm ensuring that some fans missed a lot of the gig.

That included me.  I turned up as they went into Love In Space, which
was good, with a lively fast middle section.  Then came a superb version
of Aerospaceage Inferno, and I enjoyed Sonic Attack too.

Blue Skin and Brainstorm were next, and they weren't as good.  They
seemed flabby, somehow, as if the band weren't quite tight enough.
But the reggae section in the middle of Brainstorm was better than
usual, helped by the extra guitar and a real reggae singer (Capt. Rizz).

> Reptoid Vision seems too much like the weaker Alien tracks too.

I really liked most of Reptoid Vision, and thought it boded well for
the new album.  It was better than the old stuff before and after it.
The middle section was taken from Alien (perhaps Reject Your Human Touch?),
and I wonder if that is part of the new song or just a segue they did live?

They finished with Ejection, which was better than Brainstorm, and
then Song Of The Gremlin, which I'd never heard live before.

Overall I had a lot of fun.  It was noisy and bouncy.  I'm glad
the strobes are back, although the light show needs more focus; how
about some slides?  Or dancers/fire eaters?  (Not that there was room
for anyone else on stage at this venue).  The new line has a fuller
sound, somehow, although they need to work on keeping it clear and tight.
Capt. Rizz was good during Brainstorm, but didn't add much to Reptoid
Vision, IMO.

On the other hand, although it was good, it wasn't great.
I didn't even go over to Glasgow to catch the first half of the set
that I missed at Edinburgh.  It wasn't a patch on Brixton in '93,
which was one of the best gigs I've ever seen; or the '93 Business
Trip tour, with its mingling of rarely heard oldies into a 90s sound;
or last year's Brixton gig with its storming performance of SteppenWolf
and the trapeze artist.  At all of those gigs, I was certain that
I'd seen one of the best rock bands in the world.  This time they
seemed more like a good up-and-coming band (which I guess to an extent
is what they are).

But we've been here before.  I enjoyed Friday night more than I
enjoyed their first gig as a three-piece in 1990, and more than
the Alien tour.  If this is a new start, its a promising one, provided
they continue to develop from here.

Dave.
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