HAWKLORDS - LIVERPOOL 02 ACADEMY, THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2013 I generally look forward to this time of year as it means the mighty Hawklords will be paying a visit, these fleeting mothership landings are always welcomed round these parts by people with exceptional taste in space rock themed anthems, of which Liverpool has long been under the cosmic spell of. Aside from the recording of a fair chunk of the seminal Space Ritual album at Liverpool Stadium back in December 1972, Hawkind themselves have played this fair city religiously almost on a yearly basis since. Admittedly the heady days of packing out the Liverpool Empire are now sadly gone, but that is not particularly a reflection on either the band or genre, more a case of everything changes eventually. Anyway, this is the third year in a row that Hawklords (ex-members of Hawkwind generally) have toured the UK and indeed played Liverpool, people in the know are very happy to have them here and it is always a celebratory occasion. The relaunch of Hawklords a couple of years ago included Nik Turner, Alan Davey and Steve Swindells, but aside from slightly bumping the punter count up at gigs that phase was looking firmly into the past, whereas the streamlined version of Hawklords has very much one foot into the future and is much more cohesive. The release of the We Are One album last year (last Hawklords album was in 1977!) was very welcome, although like the live shows of the same period still a work in progress in my humble opinion, a good album that hinted of future greatness, in the main a solid listen with some fresh ideas. A new album entitled Dream was released at the end of September but as yet I havent heard it, heres hoping its a good one/ But I digress people, onto tonights show itself! The core of the band now being Harvey Bainbridge on synths, Ron Tree on vocals, Jerry Richards on guitar and vocals, Adrian Shaw on bass and Dave Pearce on drums, it has taken a while for everyone to bed in and to find their place, but tonights show ably demonstrated that a plateau has been reached and that this is now a fully functioning band with a helluva lot to offer. From the off tonight everything clicked, Ron Tree came out the traps like a shamanic prize fighter, ive never seen him so focused and together and a real joy to behold and hear. Harvey Bainbidge at his best, layers of warped noise crashing together to transport you elsewhere. Jerry Richards is a quality musician with a real feel for his craft, I very much enjoy his guitar playing and his vibe in general, he is perfectly suited for his role in the band. Adrian Shaw is a monster bassist, melodic and huge at the same time and a huge anchor for the band. Dave Pearce was just everywhere on drums, between him and Adrian Shaw they lay the claim of possibly the best Hawkwind themed backline since the early 90s, no mean feat let me tell you. Songs tonight showed the depth of material the band has to offer, all time classic Master of the Universe just belted along and felt as comfortable as a nice pair of warm slippers, then we went straight into Time Split Vision from We Are One which worked very well together. I believe the next track is on the new album and may be entitled Elemental Mind (thanks Gus!), I really enjoyed it and it hints at a great new album folks, buy it to be sure! From there we visited such stalwarts as Uncle Sams on Mars, Ejection, Robot and a stonking 25 Years, culminating in a furious Brainstorm that even the folks at Liverpool Stadium would have approved of. A great gig all in all, certainly the best of the 3 I have seen and one that anyone present will cherish. Special mention to the lighting folks who have worked very hard indeed to provide a visual treat and also the sonic architects as the sound was fantastic. I cannot emphasise just how much progress the band have made since their last visit, a real band doing it for the fans and for the love of the music and it really shows. Glen Bridge
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 01:43:14 +0000
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