Almost Joined-Up Words from Our Old Gonzo Author Friend, Alan Dearling
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Hawkeaster: You wished you were there! Almost joined-up words from our old Gonzo author friend, Alan Dearling ‘So, who are Hawk-friends?’ someone asked during one of the two Q&A sessions with members of Hawkwind during the two day Hawkfest. ‘It’s you – all of you,’ was the loud and clear answer from Dave Brock and his merry band of musical mates. And the whole weekend was akin to a private party, held this year in the somewhat unlikely venue of Seaton in Devon’s old town hall, now run as the Gateway by a bunch of local worthies under the guise of Seaton’s Voice. Throughout the weekend Dave wandered around affably beaming at all his acolytes who had made their myriad ways from as far afield as Australia to join the party. But then there was a logic in this location - Seaton is the town closest to the farm where Dave lives. I set up my little tent at the Manor Farm camp site up on the hillside overlooking Seaton and Lyme Bay. Magnificent views. A bit of a clamber back after a long day of sonic space rock, but a friendly site and for those who could afford it, there was accommodation in Eve’s tipis, shipped over specially from the Isle of Wight. Hawkfests are eagerly looked forward to by the loyal fans, many of whom are now well into being bus pass delinquents. But there were some younger space cadets along for the cosmic adventures too. And lots of friendly local volunteers like my mate Phil, who mostly ‘stewarded’ the stage-right exit door against any would-be, axe or sword wielding warriors on the edge of time who wanted to escape! I think many of the volunteers were both bemused and a little surprised at the ‘niceness’ of the weird hippy invasion that had flooded into their usually rather staid little town. Especially true on the Sunday, when the dress code was ‘psychedelic Easter bunny’. And so, who are Hawkwind? Over the weekend, I quickly realised that although I have seen Hawkwind a fair few times in my life since first experiencing the mind-bending barrage of sound and strobes that was an everyday gig from them in the late ‘60s at my original uni at Kent, in Seaton I was surrounded by the hardcore, walking, talking (and probably talking in their sleep) manic faithful. Most everyone seemed just soooo knowledgeable about every song and band members, and there have been dozens in the band, with many more ex-members in the various offshoot enterprises, which Dave refers to with a sneer, as ‘the Hawkwind tribute or copy bands’. Here we have to whisper quietly, since the very mention of Space Ritual, Hawklords, and especially don’t even think of mentioning Nik Turner or Alan Davey, which causes instant apoplexy in the ‘official’ Hawkwind fraternity. Also, I quickly realised over the two day fest, that this becomes doubly complicated by the fact that Tim Blake (left), theremin and keyboard maestro, also plays solo sets and most of the members are also ‘present and correct’ and back on stage as TOSH (Technicians of Spaceship Hawkwind) and Krel. There’s also overlap with the band Krankschaft who opened the proceedings with a lively and enjoyable set, which was well received by the early afternoon audience. Confused? Well, it really didn’t matter – indeed for me, the TOSH sets were a highlight, as the boys seemed to let loose and really enjoy experimenting in their playing, with lots of larking about and impish abandon. As we had been told in advance, this Hawkfest was to be the first live performance by the current band of the entire ‘Warrior on the edge of time’ album, which is about to be re- released in a new CD version mixed from the original master tapes on Cherry Red records. After Seaton, Hawkwind are taking the set on tour around the UK (but not exactly to the more northern areas of the country). Highs, lows and some of the bits in between I’m definitely not even going to try and give any sort of song by song account of the proceedings. And at the end of the day - we all like what we like. It’s in the meeting up with old and new friends that makes a festival different from a gig. I was also using the occasion to pass out flyers and show folk my latest book, ‘Travelling Daze’, which has many stories and pics from the free and small festival world that Hawkwind helped to create ‘back in the day’. I’ve already mentioned how much I enjoyed Tim Blake’s excursions into stratospheres of sound – his personal New Jerusalem. Watching him bend the soundscape with his hands around the theremin is simply jaw- dropping awesome. Here and Now (left) reminded us how mesmerising and off-the-wall psychedelic rock can be. They are quirky and to my ears a bit uneven, but good to see them again after many years for yours truly. Krel were actually only a scratch version of the band but had so much fun on stage that it was infectious. Girlschool didn’t show. Syren were’t quite my cup of chai, though sweet enough in their sound and looks. Mugstar went down well. Theirs is a wall of instrumental, psychedelic riffing that is almost hypnotic. Intense and popular with the Hawkfest audience. I saw them selling lots of vinyl and CDs after their Sunday set. From Poland, hipiersonik are supporting Hawkwind on the current tour and their sax player joined the Hawks on stage both nights. Again, I was a bit underwhelmed – but we can’t fall in love with every band we see. Same for me with Maria Daines, who is more than competent, and has a nice voice, but seemed more like a good pub performer, than a festival act. The two Q&A sessions were fun, relaxed and informative. One of Hawkwind, maybe it was drummer Richard Chadwick, reported that he’d gone in search of provisions on Sunday morning only to find everything closed. ’Bloody Zombie Jesus Sunday!’, he muttered to much laughter. Then there was a humorous charity auction of Hawkwind memorabilia, and the audience judging of the fancy-dressed, Sunday Psychedelic Bunnies. Before getting on to the two Hawkwind sets from Saturday and Sunday nights, that leaves the support band for the Sunday night: Electric Wizard. I’d never heard of them, but coming on stage, their image is one of a biker club, cranking out heavy thrash metal at the Bulldog Bash. Loud and a bit in yerr face. And with a light show to match, featuring grainy film of naked women and bondage. A number of Seaton’s Vision denizens were not amused by the non-PC nature of Electric Wizard. The band were asked to lower the volume. They declined. I actually have to say I didn’t think they were any louder than many other acts over the two days, but then the lights went on, the power was turned off and they were booted off stage. There were some boos, but no large scale confrontation. But it happened and left a bit of an unpleasant aftertaste, and will, no doubt, occupy the future meetings and minds of the hall organisers as they consider whether to host future Hawkfests in Seaton – which was proposed by His Brockness (left). I enjoyed the Saturday Hawkwind set. The entire ‘Warrior’ album was the feature, bookended by some of their other favourites. The set was nicely staged with dancers in suitably arcane mythical costumes and some evocative back projections. Not perhaps quite like the old days of cannabis filled rooms, stuffed full of completely off their head hippies, strobed and mind- numbed into a stoner oblivion, but a good show none the less. My problem was with the decision to again include the whole of the ‘Warrior’ set again on the Sunday night. It felt like the band were using the festival as a rehearsal for their tour. I have to admit that I left after three-quarters of an hour. In the foyer and outside, there was a fair amount of muttering and mumbling. I contributed, saying that I’d come down from Scotland and didn’t expect virtually the same set repeated on both nights. Others joined me in a bit of good old British moaning and a groaning. But consolation lay a few hundred yards up the road in a packed local pub, the Kings Arms, where not only was the Traditional scrumpy cider absolutely drop- dead gorgeous, but there was a packed bar with live music, and actually it was really good old school Peter Green-style blues from young guitar maestro, Adam Sweet. All in all, a memorable Hawkfest. Well done to Dave, Kris and friends and the Seaton residents, even though they are probably still uncertain as to what happened to their ‘usual’ Easter! We’ll now leave them in peace to once more enjoy the Mikado and the tea dances at the old town hall. ________________________________________________________________________ Pics by Alan Dearling, except the Sunrise over the tipis, copyright Ian Barradale (you can see more of his work on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/seatonbay/ ). Alan’s website is at: www.enablerpublications.co.uk .