Hawkwind - Dec 2010 Blood of the Earth tour
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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Live Performance Reviews
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URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=74714
Printed Date: November 30 2024 at 08:36
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Topic: Hawkwind - Dec 2010 Blood of the Earth tour
Posted By: sonic_assassin
Subject: Hawkwind - Dec 2010 Blood of the Earth tour
Date Posted: January 04 2011 at 08:07
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The http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiY7-Wb5ilg" rel="nofollow - start of the show (youtube). -- If you imagine a meter or dial that measures prog cosmic energy then I think many of you would agree the Space Ritual Alive album (Dec 1972) rates 10 or near. On the same scale, Knights of Space (Dec 2007) rates 2 or less. One could argue that the recent history of Hawkwind consists solely of plodding their way out of that trough, the 2007 nadir. So, 2008 had a bit more punch but was still perfunctory; the 40th anniversary shows in mid-2009 incrementally improved on the last tour; Dec 2009 saw a somewhat tougher rock edge; and Spring 2010 saw track lengths expand with a tad more blanga. A steady but certainly not meteoric improvement for the last three years. So, has the recovery stalled, or are the guys still in search of space? At Bristol O2 Academy (14 Dec) the dancers did their usual good performance with an array of costumes, and the lightshow was the now-customary colour floods and patterns and images on the central backdrop. Still no strobes or lasers for the 21st century! Musically, the Bristol show suggested they maybe haven't quite max'd out yet. The style was very similar to Cardiff (30 Apr) but the return of "You Shouldn't Do That" and "Brainstorm" as book-ends for the main set gave this show a slight edge over Cardiff. The involvement of John Sevink (Levellers) on violin was also a plus point. However, I felt the show considerably lost momentum near the end, with "Tide of the Century," "Wraith" and "Song for a New Age" forming a near-20-minute lull before "Brainstorm" came to the rescue. I'm all for Tim Blake stuff in a Hawkwind show, but it's probably best done around mid-set, while "Wraith," one of the newer Hawkwind numbers, isn't a particularly quiet one, but I do find it pretty ill-defined and shapeless. After the gig, my feeling was they're still on the upward path but might have have paused to check their oxygen cylinders. London, three days later... Forum (Town & Country Club) in the Camden / Kentish Town area, and fans gathering at the Bull & Gate for pre-gig drinkies had an unusual experience: a Hawkwind tribute band were playing there! Called Hoaxwind, they raided the earlier catalog and did a pretty good job. I videoed some of it for youtube - here's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuIxJ-_-HTk" rel="nofollow - Angels of Death , for instance. Inside the Forum, and Hawkwind eventually kicked off. The set was much the same as Bristol, but louder, which pleased me. Nial Hone on guitar has given them quite a rock edge, and tracks are longer than in 2009. They've shuffled another notch or two back to the blanga days, but I didn't hear much in the way of spacey sounds. Maybe it was the hall mix to blame, though. I've seen them around 40 times in the last 36 years and these two shows, while they don't rank as the best ever, were (imo) the best since Treworgey 1989. That's pretty good. |
Replies:
Posted By: Baggra
Date Posted: January 04 2011 at 08:24
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Thanks.
Excellent report.
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Posted By: topographicbroadways
Date Posted: January 04 2011 at 08:37
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i saw them back in august and it was fantastic i would definitely go and see them again if the opportunity arose from the video you posted it definitely wouldn't dissapoint -------------  
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Posted By: AtomicCrimsonRush
Date Posted: January 04 2011 at 10:10
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Great! Any more clips available? ------------- 
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Posted By: Mellotron Storm
Date Posted: January 04 2011 at 21:55
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Thanks for that.I've been enjoying their new album. ------------- "The wind is slowly tearing her apart" "Sad Rain" ANEKDOTEN |
Posted By: Hawkwise
Date Posted: January 05 2011 at 07:20
ahhhhhhhhhh Treworgey now that was one damn fine festival Mighty Hawkwind Ozrics , Here and Now Shhhrooooooooms = Bliss ------------- 
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sonic_assassin wrote:Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: January 05 2011 at 12:49
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I think that Dave Brock is going to outlive the universe. Never saw them but have everything.
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Posted By: sonic_assassin
Date Posted: January 07 2011 at 10:03
Pleased you like the review... it's my 8th Hawkwind review in 5 years on this site, so kind of a tradition!
Not from me, no. Others have put bits of the show on youtube, but mostly with poor sound. In rough tracklist order, they are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0Xh0-mOD0A - Spirit of the Age http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW5xVUZ9m1k - Angels of Death http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cD4QkSTOME - Prometheus http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U09hd8j9ISA - Brainstorm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJKdZMYDK80 - You'd Better Believe It |
Posted By: sonic_assassin
Date Posted: January 11 2011 at 10:01
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Addendum: In fact, a video with decent audio, of Brainstorm, is now on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYs5x6I5DwY" rel="nofollow - youtube.com/watch?v=eYs5x6I5DwY The visuals were shot by "ItsTheHiggsBoson" (youtube.com/watch?v=U09hd8j9ISA) and he's now said I can use his footage with my audio. (edited to clarify that it's a video) |