Hawkwind (Elves of Silbury Hill) - Portsmouth

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Five members of Hawkwind (all except Tim Blake) and one member of TOSH or Technicians of Spaceship Hawkwind (Steve Bemand) turned the space rock blanga control up towards 10 at this Sea Shepherd fund-raiser event in Portsmouth. Right from the grungy chugging riffs of "You Shouldn't Do That" they were in the groove and entertaining the crowd at this fund-raiser for the Sea Shepherd eco-warriors.

Friday 3rd May was the date , and this fund-raiser was because ramming whaling trawlers on the high seas can get a bit expensive at times.

Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms was the venue and lots of stuff on sale as I wandered around. T-shirts and alternative-type stuff, and even organic "cup-cakes with a conscience" as the stall leaflet described them! However, after buying a nice Sea Shepherd long-sleeve I headed off to the bar. With the result that I was having a pee when Hawkwind started! Dammit.

They sounded more like 70s Hawkwind than they have since - er - the 70s, and it's an interesting question how much this is connected to Dave Brock only being a late addition to the event, and his only appearing with them for the centre part of the set.

Thus, Brock missed playing quite a few Brock tracks, such as PXR5, Brainbox Pollution and It's so Easy, but he appeared after Valium 10, holding an acoustic guitar. So, what's the next track going to be? Hurry on Sundown? We took the Wrong Step? No, Uncle Sam's on Mars!

He stuck around for the next few, including Psi Power, which of course works well in strummity-strum mode. And Green Finned Demon, which was done as a fund-raising download for Sea Shepherd a couple of years back.

The lightshow was somewhat different to recent years... well, not so much the lights as the absense of backdrop projections and all those swirly patterns and pulsating concentric circles. However, we did have some strobe effects, which I've really missed, this century.

This was my 48th Hawkwind gig and I'd say the best I've heard for literally decades.

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sonic_assassin Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: February 29 2004 Location: Devon, UK Status: Offline Points: 157	Topic: Hawkwind (Elves of Silbury Hill) - Portsmouth Posted: May 05 2013 at 12:14
	Five members of Hawkwind (all except Tim Blake) and one member of TOSH or Technicians of Spaceship Hawkwind (Steve Bemand) turned the space rock blanga control up towards 10 at this Sea Shepherd fund-raiser event in Portsmouth. Right from the grungy chugging riffs of "You Shouldn't Do That" they were in the groove and entertaining the crowd at this fund-raiser for the Sea Shepherd eco-warriors. Friday 3rd May was the date , and this fund-raiser was because ramming whaling trawlers on the high seas can get a bit expensive at times. Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms was the venue and lots of stuff on sale as I wandered around. T-shirts and alternative-type stuff, and even organic "cup-cakes with a conscience" as the stall leaflet described them! However, after buying a nice Sea Shepherd long-sleeve I headed off to the bar. With the result that I was having a pee when Hawkwind started! Dammit. They sounded more like 70s Hawkwind than they have since - er - the 70s, and it's an interesting question how much this is connected to Dave Brock only being a late addition to the event, and his only appearing with them for the centre part of the set. Thus, Brock missed playing quite a few Brock tracks, such as PXR5, Brainbox Pollution and It's so Easy, but he appeared after Valium 10, holding an acoustic guitar. So, what's the next track going to be? Hurry on Sundown? We took the Wrong Step? No, Uncle Sam's on Mars! He stuck around for the next few, including Psi Power, which of course works well in strummity-strum mode. And Green Finned Demon, which was done as a fund-raising download for Sea Shepherd a couple of years back. The lightshow was somewhat different to recent years... well, not so much the lights as the absense of backdrop projections and all those swirly patterns and pulsating concentric circles. However, we did have some strobe effects, which I've really missed, this century. This was my 48th Hawkwind gig and I'd say the best I've heard for literally decades.

Cornelius Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: May 10 2013 Location: Out There Status: Offline Points: 23	Posted: May 11 2013 at 08:54
	Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself "Sonic Assassin" The set list looks great, A few songs I wish (the real) Hawkwind would play from time to time, Seen the "Elves" before at Porchester Hall, London, On the 40th Anniversary. (have we spoke before somewhere?) All the best....Cornelius.....
	I Like To Drink Cough Medicine..!

sonic_assassin Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: February 29 2004 Location: Devon, UK Status: Offline Points: 157	Posted: May 14 2013 at 15:53
	I wonder - you're a new sign-up here so maybe our paths crossed some place else. Anyway, some sites I never admit to even knowing - let alone admitting that I post there! For the benefit of those who saw the Elves at Porchester Hall in 2009, this recent gig was much more like TOSH [Technicians of Spaceship Hawkwind] that played around teatime that weekend. The 2009 Elves thing was Tim Blake-driven and included such things as "Saint Dolay," "Tide of the Century" and "Song for a New Age". The 2013 Elves thing saw Tim absent and the rest of the band grunging it up a tad... Not that there was any classic Brock riffing but it still had some blanga, and sounded rather good in places. Full set-list: Shouldn't do That / Seeing It, Waiting for Tomorrow, Web Weaver, Brainbox Pollution, Valium 10, [Brock arrival on stage for mid-set], Uncle Sam's on Mars, Green Finned Demon, Mind Cut, Prometheus, Psi Power, Ejection, Mirror of Illusion, Steppenwolf, It's so Easy, and Brainstorm.