HW: Report from NZ

[Sonique]

Hi Folks,

Just got this from Shane Palmer in NZ .....

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From:                   <suppressed>
To:                     <sonique at sonique.net>
Subject:                WOWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Date sent:              Tue, 8 Feb 2000 11:51:45 +1300

Hi Paul,

Far Out!!!  I'm still in a state of  sonic shock after this absolutely
incredible weekend! I was really looking forward to seeing Hawkwind live,
but I didn't realise it would be that great! The band absolutely blew me
away with their sonic attack.

The Waihi Beach show was a great introduction to the live Hawks experience.
The hotel venue was quite small (probably only no more than 10 metres from
stage to back of room), although it filled up well with everyone in there,
and the stage was raised up only at about knee-high level, so it was a
really intimate kinda atmosphere- where I was at the front I was standing
only about 1 1/2 to 2 metres away from Jerry and Steve most of the night!!
Amazing, especially when they're looking right at you! The whole band was
well on form, with Dave joking around a lot, especially with Harvey- those
two make a great pair, obviously really good friends. Harvey was great, with
lots of poetic improvisation thrown in all over the place, especially when
needing to fill in time!! I noticed there were a few technical problems (not
surprising, considering this was their first show in the Southern
Hemisphere), I'm not too sure what they were, but this didn't really matter
as the band covered it up well and provided us with some great moments of
improvisation!! The set list was a wonderful selection, mostly old classics,
many of which I beleive haven't been played live for many years. I also
noticed that they extended many of these songs with long instrumentals/jams
in the middle in a way I have never heard on any of my live albums before-
this was really amazing, and although some of these songs have been around
for years the band still has a way of making them sound fresh.

Because of the size of the venue at Waihi Beach, the light/film show was
unable to be fully utilized, with the film screens to the sides of the
audience rather than behind the band. Also, the ceiling was too low, so Kris
couldn't do here fire-eating/blowing perfomances for fear of burning down
the hotel! These things were rectified in Auckland on Saturday night
however. The Powerstation is a much bigger venue that is actually made to
hold international acts (Steve Vai performed there the weekend beforehand).
The band had a lot more space on stage- at Waihi Beach they were quite close
together due to space restrictions. The light show was in full-flight,
absolutely superb, it blew everyone away, with films and slides running
constantly behind the band. The amazing thing is that this isn't even the
Solar Fire lightshow- Jim doesn't arrive until today, in time for the New
Plymouth and Wellington shows- so I'm looking forward to seeing that. Kris
came out several times with her fire-sticks, and there were many people
there who I'm sure weren't expecting that and who were astounded when she
blew her fire balls!! I was near the front of the stage again so when she
did this the flames were above my head and I could really feel that heat!!
Incredible!

Well, the awesome thing for me now is that tomorrow i am off to New Plymouth
for the show there on Thursday, and then down to Wellington for the two
nights there over the weekend. And now that i now what the band is like
live, I'm looking forward to this even more!


My advice to you (although I know you don't need it) is that YOU MUST SEE
THESE GUYS LIVE!!! I've received your latest newsletter and found out that
you are definately going to a show, so I am very pleased for you!

If you're interested, I'll give you more details about the shows here when I
get back from Wellington, although this won't be until Sunday or Monday (its
just that I dont have much time at the moment!).  I'd give you the set-list
now, but I'm not sure whether you'd rather be surprised when you see them
yourself. If you are going to send out another newsletter to your e-mail
lists, you can tell everyone that your source in NZ says this is an
experience not to be missed! You can pass on what I've said above if you
wish, or post it on the Ozhawks list.

Although I'll be away until Sunday, please fell free to reply to me and
leave your message here, and I will reply again as soon as i get back.

I am collecting various memorabilia of the tour, i.e. newspaper articles and
radio interviews, so if you are interested just let me know and I'll send
some stuff to you. Richard (Stockwell) and i are hoping to get an interview
with the band, so I'll let you know how we get on and I'll send you a copy
of that too if we're successful!

All the best for now, and I hope to hear from you soon. All I have to say
now is that you and all the other Australian fans have got a lot to look
forward to!!

Regards,

Shane.