HW: Derby Rock & Blues

[Jill]

Andreas Stuewe wrote:

> Andreas (a mad German who travelled 1200 miles by car to see a 90 min HW set)


Probably about as far as Hawkwind had to travel to play there
themselves!

I'm just recovering from endless hours in trains including a nightmare
(albeit a mercifully short one) link on a massively overcrowded Virgin
train where the air conditioning system had broken down.  But it was
definitely worth doing and I'm very glad I went.  The set was terrific
and the tracks linked well together.   Motorway City was unexpected and
sounded strangely light and almost tuneful in relation to more recently
done tracks (it is after all written in a different style and a
different time) but it fit in well with the concept of the other songs
and made good sense following on from Wage War.
This was a brave thing to do with a field full of bikers so close to the
start of the set and there were certainly a few who wondered what on
earth they were listening to.    But the vocals were very good and as
people began to listen to what was being recited you could feel the
attention grow.  This was clever. It challenges an audience to listen to
something unexpected and powerful it makes them something less than just
recipients of sound from a stage.  It makes them think - which I guess
is why Calvert did it in the first place. Well, I was impressed anyway!

And the version of Sonic Attack I preferred as well - as did others in
the crowd - certainly the bloke who went into a frenzy of joy and
started doing headstands in the audience did.   By heck it had some
effect did that track!
Amazing stuff.

Oh - and a full moon rose steadily over the tents just as Wage War was
in full flow and a satellite burnt out with a flash in the sky right
over the stage soon after everything started**  just all part of the
atmosphere!    **I do not jest - and yes I was almost completely
sober!   At least it was either a chunk of space debris being consumed
in the atmosphere or it was a meteorite but it's the wrong time of year
for the latter.

It was an excellent evening - and a shame it only happened once but
there you are.   Didn't manage to meet up with anyone from the list
until the Alan Davey gig but thanks Marie for getting us backstage to
meet him - that made the weekend complete!

In all a definitely worthwhile trip.

jill


--
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Jill Strobridge <jill at theta-orionis.freeserve.co.uk> or
J.D.Strobridge at ed.ac.uk
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