Hawkwind at The Brook (2013)

Somehow it was four years since I last saw Hawkwind at The Book in Southampton, How did that happen?

I missed Hawkwind in London earlier in the year (that is a story I do not want to tell as the memory hurts too much) so I was delighted when The Brook gig popped up unexpectedly. Southampton is a little way away but it is mostly motorway and I know the road well so it is an easy drive of just over an hour to get there.

The timing worked well and I arrived just on 8pm which was when the doors were due to open. I just wanted to see the band and was happy not to queue to get a seat upstairs (not that I would want one of those anyway).

There was a minor hitch over photography but that was soon resolved and we were allowed to take pictures despite the prominent warnings.

Old habits die hard and I found myself right at the very front looking straight up at Tim Blake.

Tim opened the evening with a short solo set which ended with us all singing along to Spirit of the Age. And that was a fine was to start any evening.

What followed was another bravado performance from Hawkwind. This is as good as I have ever heard them. Seriously.

The Hawkwind line-up is a movable feast for both musical and personal reasons (including, sadly, death) and had settled down in recent years to Dave Brock (guitar), Tim Blake (keyboards), Richard Chadwick (drums), Mr Dibs (bass), Niall Hone (guitar) and Dead Fred (keyboards). Adding to this some exotic instruments like a theremin and electric cello, and the capabilities of a few Apple Macs produced a sound that was rich in its variety and still authentically Hawkwind.

The highlight of the set, and the theme of the tour, was a complete performance of Warrior on the Edge of Time, which is possibly my favourite Hawkwind album against stiff competition. I still remember clearly walking along Radipole Park Drive in Weymouth listening to Radio 1 on my tranny when John Peel played the tracks Assault and Battery and The Golden Void. They are still magic to me.

Other highlights for me, as they are when Space Ritual play them (they play them differently), were Steppenwolf and Assassins of Allah. It is a testament to Hawkwind's back catalogue and confidence that they could leave out things like Brainstorm.

The Brook had no space for dancers, they tried in the past and it did not work too well, but there were the usual spacey projections to complement the spacey sounds.

Hawkwind played non-stop for a couple of hours never missing a beat and never delivering a dull song. It was high-energy intoxicating and majestic. I loved every single minute of it.

I was so happy at the end of the evening that I bought a Hawkwind t-shirt. Just like I did last time.

Wishbone Ash at The Brook

I quite like Wishbone Ash and I quite like The Brook (in Southampton) so this gig always had its attractions.

Add to that the opportunity to spend the evening with my eldest son who is at university there and the earlier part of the day with Dad in Weymouth then the deal was done.

It must be a symptom of the average age of Wishbone Ash fans but as soon as the doors opened there was a rush for the few seats upstairs. I prefer to stand so that I can move a little (I cannot call it dancing due to the Trades Description Acts) and to be closer to the band so I ambled in to the main downstairs area.

Breaking with tradition (I seem to be doing a lot of that recently) I did not go for the very front, despite the easy opportunity to do so, but instead chose to be half-way back in the centre to get a better sound balance and to see more of the stage.

There are two Wishbone Ashes these days, this one features two original members, Andy Powell (lead guitar) and Bob Skeat (bass), and carries the original name. The other is called Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash. I've seen them both.

The two "new" members of Wishbone Ash are Muddy Manninen (guitar) who joined in 2004 and youngster Joe Crabtree (drums) who is the newest new boy having only been in the band for four years.

You know what to expect with Wishbone Ash and they know that's what you are expecting too so that's what they do.

It's the familiar and much loved bluesy rock tinged at times with touches of the progressive.

They opened with Blowing Free and for the next couple of hours we had many more songs like that. Some were equally well known, even to fair-weather fans like myself, such as Throw Down the Sword.

Others were introduced as being more recent, were completely new to me, and sounded refreshingly like the old songs.

And that is the heart of what Wishbone Ash are about, a familiar and comfortable sound that varies little. Whether that's a strength or a weakness rather depends on how you feel about that sound. I like it!

A highlight of the evening came towards the end when Andy Powell introduced another classic, Phoenix, with a story about Japan with the hope and expectation that it too would rise like a phoenix from the aftermath of its natural disasters. That got a good round of applause.

A good, solid, professional, uplifting and bouncy performance that helps to explain why Wishbone Ash has been going strong for forty years.

Hawkwind at The Brook

As they did last year, Hawkwind included The Brook in Southampton in their short Winter tour and also as last year I was there to savour the experience of seeing them up close in a smaller venue than those they play in in London.

Opening the evening was ex-Hawk Huw Lloyd-Langton who played solo acoustic guitar. The songs were long, slow, dramatic and held your attention. Then came a lively blues number for which Huw was joined by Dave Brock on harmonica, Tim Blake on keytar and Richard Chadwick on drums.

And finally we had Hurry on Sundown where Mr Dibs and Niall Hone added their guitars so we had Hawkwind playing a Hawkwind song with Huw joining in. A great transition into the Hawkwind set.

What follower was a rumbustious show that, as usual, dipped in and out of the huge Hawkwind back catalogue, added a few new songs, left out some expected classics but included some others.

Overall the set seemed slightly less rocky and ever so slightly more melodic than last year's, probably thanks to an increased influence from Tim Blake.

Tim contributed at least two songs to the show, the opener was the familiar Lighthouse and this was joined by a new song with an Indian feel. Tim was also the most energetic and involved of the band but that is no surprise given the almost complete lack of movement from the three guitarists.

Richard Chadwick bounced around behind the drums (only a couple of metres in front of me) but was so skilfully hidden by the kit that his undoubted energy was spent largely unnoticed.

I did not try to compile a set list (I might do next time) but some of the other songs that I can remember are Levitation, Silver Machine (unexpectedly played mid-set), Magnu and Angels of Death. There were some very early songs too but I forget which ones!

The set ended with a personal favourite of mine, Hassan-i Sabbah, which started and ended familiarly enough but which was treated to an extended jam in the middle. Wonderful stuff!

The bad news was that took us to 11pm and The Brook's strict curfew and so we were denied an encore but, to be honest, what we had heard was so good that that little disappointment did nothing to hurt the mood.

I mentioned earlier that I might try and get a set list next time; well, that's on Sunday when Hawkwind come to London to weave their magic, this time with Arthur Brown in support.

Hawkwind at The Brook

For the last few years I have been going to the annual Christmas Concert at the Astoria and London, and I am going this year too, but I could not miss the opportunity to see them at The Brook in Southampton as well.

I've been to The Book a couple of times to see the Sensational Alex Harvey Band play and I like the intimate feel to the place.

It is quite a small venue, I believe that it holds just 450 people, and there are no crash barriers so you can get right to the front of the stage - as I always try to do.

The stage is rather high so when you do get to the front it is like lying on the floor at the feet of the band - an unusual and interesting perspective.

Hawkwind's line up changes fairly regularly, sadly most recently due to the sudden death of one of the band.

Dave Brock is at the helm, obviously, and is now joined by Tim Blake on keyboards and theremin, Mr Dibs on bass and vocals, new guitarist Niall Honeand and long serving drummer Richard Chadwick.

Dance and mime is provided by Matt and Laura, here performing during Who's Gonna Win the War; the highlight of the show for me.

The show was a trawl through the extensive Hawkwind back catalogue which picked out some expected gems (Master of the Universe) and some unexpected ones (Silver Machine), while leaving out some that were expected (Brainstorm). They also played two brand new tracks.

But expected or not and familiar or not, they all worked well individually and well together to make an impressive set that had a few high points but no low ones.

The Brook has a small stage so while that meant that I was fairly close to all of the band it also curtailed some of the visual aspects of the show.

The band was not able to move very much (not that Hawkwind are a particularly vigorous band, unlike, say, SAHB) and there was limited room for the two dancers.

This also had a positive side as when the dancers came on stage they had little option but to go right to the front in the middle, i.e. just by me. I got a close radiation scan during Damnation Alley!

But I did not go to The Brook for the dancers or to see the band move around the stage, I went to hear and see Hawkwind close up and that was a great success.

Hail Vibrania!!

I made what is becoming a regular trek down to The Brook in Southampton to see the Sensational Alex Harvey Band in concert on their Hail Vibramia tour and even though I have seen them several times in the last three years they still managed to surprise me in delightful ways.

The first surprise was the change in formation from 1-1-3 to 0-0-5 with Ted McKenna on drums moving from centre back to right wing and cousin Hugh McKenna moving from right midfield to the the left wing to join Chris Glen, Max Maxwell and Zal Cleminson in an attacking formation. And attack they do.

The set still starts with the crowd pleaser Faith Healer but now this begins with the dance mix that was played pre-show last year before bursting into its full-blown bombastic familiar form. Also in the set are another five absolute hard-core classics, Isobel Goudie, Chef, Tomahawk Kid, St Anthony and Dolphins, the last of which is new this year. There are lighter, but not that much quieter, moments with songs like Dance to your Daddy, Framed and Delilah.

The music was fantastic, but other things made the night good too, like getting nods of recognition from the band, meeting up with other SAHBsters (e.g. Bob, Chris and Ian) and buying the new tour t-shirt. I'll be wearing that at Islington on Wednesday!

Zaligator

I went to see the Sensational Alex Harvey Band play at The Brook in Southampton and they were sensational!

The set had quite a few changes from the "greatest hits" sets of the last two years. Out were Isobel Goudie, Tomahawk Kid, Next, Framed and the usual encore, Delilah and in came Tale of the Giant Stoneater, Amos Moses, Jungle Jenny and Runaway.

"Zaligator" was Max's description of Zal Cleminson after playing Amos Moses. Could this be the title of the next album following on from "Zalvation", another of Max's inventions?

As seems to be normal these days the band were really up for it with lots of broad grins and audience interaction. I'm still not sure how I managed to avoid getting a mike stand in my face thanks to Max's extravagant use of it!

The gig left me gagging for more, which is OK as I am seeing them again on Tuesday at the Electric Ballroom in Camden.