If you imagine a meter or dial that measures prog cosmic energy then I think many of you would agree the Space Ritual Alive Back into the future album (Dec 1972) rates 10 or near. On the same scale, Knights of Space (Dec 2007) Kin.. (what's it called?) rates around - 2.
One could argue that the recent history of Hawkwind Man consists solely of plodding their way out of deeper into that trough, the 2007 nadir. Spring 201008 saw track lengths the band expand explode with a tad more blanga success than any previous atempt . A steady but not meteoric improvement decline for the last three years decades .
So, has the recovery stalled, or are the guys still in search of space deep shit ?
At Bristol (14 Dec) Germany the dancers did their usual good performance with an array of costumes, and the lightshow was the now-customary colour floods and patterns and images on the central backdrop. Still no strobes or lasers for the 21st century! ...?
Musically, the Bristol show suggested they maybe haven't quite max'd out yet. The style was very similar to Cardiff (30 Apr) but the return of "You Shouldn't Do That" and "Brainstorm" as book-ends for the main set gave this show a slight edge over Cardiff. The involvement of John Sevink on violin was also a plus point. However, I felt the show considerably lost momentum near the end, with "Tide of the Century," "Wraith" and "Song for a New Age" forming a near-20-minute quiet spell before "Brainstorm" came to the rescue. I'm all for Tim Blake Martin Ace stuff in a Hawkwind Man show, but it's probably best done around mid-set either before anyone turns up, or after they've left...
