Hawklords at 100 Club (10 Nov 24)

I have absolutely no idea where time goes! I would have sworn blind that I last saw Hawklords in spring 24 but my calendar is pretty convinced that it was in October 23.

It also told me that the first time I saw them was at 100 Club in November 2014 so this was something of a tenth anniversary. It was also my fifth time of seeing them at 100 Club and the eighth time that I have seen them altogether.

I guess that makes me a fan, certainly enough of one to pay £25 to see them play live again.

Travel worked well and I got to 100 Club just before the 7:30 opening time and joined a couple of dozen of similarly aged people, mostly men.

Getting in early got me the place I wanted at the front next to one of the annoying pillars.

The support band, The Galileo 7, entertained mightily with a distinctly British but hard to categorise sound. They describe themselves as "psych-pop", which works.

This Hawklords was the same lineup as last time with Jerry Richards on guitar and vocals, Mr Dibs on bass and twiddly electronics, and Dave Pearce on percussion. Being a three-piece is not ideal for 100 Club which has an extremely wide stage so they were well spaced out and there was a notable gap in the middle where a front man would have been.

That gap was filled for some songs by Capt Rizz, also a former member of Hawkwind, who made quite a difference with his movement, outfit and singing. 

Hawklords had anew album to promote, Relativity (the appropriate sequel to "Time" and "Space") and I assume that most of the songs that I did not recognise, and there were a lot of them, came from this. I did recognise the occasional Hawkwind classic, e.g. Brainstorm, that made it into the set but these did not differ musically,

I enjoyed their previous gig, at The Forge in Camden, even though it seemed to lack something, perhaps the sound was not quite right or perhaps the venue was too bright, and at 100 Club those niggles were absent and the concert was truly excellent throughout. Even the audience, which can be problematic at times, were on top form.

Hawklords have settled into a nice rhythm with the current line-up and songs and I'll remain a fan for as long as that rhythm continues.