The famous space rock pioneers blew the doors off Rock City showing their capability of attracting large audiences after 50 years of music.
Before the band arrived on stage, they showed a series of missing dogs in the area with contact numbers underneath. Which is a nice philanthropic gesture to start a tour before blasting the crowdās minds (and ears) into the universe and back again.
After a few brief introductions and reminisces of past Nottingham performances, we begin on the new journey through āspace and timeā. The gig started with strong heavy numbers such as āLast Man on Earthā and āMotorway Cityā. Accompanying these drudging riffs and whisking sci-fi synths were an incredible multicoloured light show that was hypnotic to look at throughout.
This show was topically themed around extinction. The screen in the back flitted between psychedelic colours and patterns to dystopian landscapes that were inspired by the music performed. Nevertheless, through no fault of the visuals, no one could take their eyes off the musical geniuses that we were witnessing on stage.
Having never seen a band perform with synthesisers live before I was very confused when Dave Brock started systematically shaking and waving his hands in the air. After working out that it was an instrument, it became a spectacle to see Brock tearing up the synths in the middle of the stage, especially during the heaviest sequences in a song. The concentration in his face whilst he slowly increased the tune of the synth to the background of the drums and consistently catchy riffs was equally impressive as it was humorous. It was a truly unique space rock sound that became the cherry on the cake of a classic prog-rock climax.
Every member of the band showed off how they were masters of each instrument. By the end of songs like Hurry on Sundown (which is a song from their first album that we were very lucky to hear), there were so many layers it was baffling to see that it fitted together so well, for so long. The sound production on the streaming services I have been using do no justice to the synthesis of rock music I heard live.
It was also touching to see the tribute the band gave to Lemmy (late vocalist of Motorhead and previous bass player for Hawkwind) when performing hit song Silver Machine. No band member sang over his verses and only joined in vocally for the chorus. It is clear that a big part of Hawkwind’s long-lasting success has been the good nature and respect of the band members. However, producing belters since the late 60s also helps.
The halfway mark of the performance was signified by the sing-along hit Spirit of the Age, in which everyone in the crowd could be heard singing in time to the catchy chorus. Despite this moment, the crowd remained quite still for the large portion of the performance. This could be explained by the high median age of the attendees, or that no one wanted to miss any of the act. However, this all changed when the band came on for the encore. By the time Master of the Universe came on, the crowd had jumped into life and gave the travelling band an ending they deserved.
In review, Hawkwind gave a complete, near-perfect performance using such a variety of instruments. Every member played a part in vocals alongside their own instrument plus they even included maracas, keyboard guitars and synthesisers. Hawkwind proved to me that they are one of the most technically talented bands I have ever seen live, they were truly a pleasure to watch and I hope they perform for many more years to come.
Hereās to the 60th tour!
Words and photos by Harvey Clitheroe