Review by Gary Spiller for MPM
The rock spectrum has never been wider. From, 24 hours previously, at the opening day of Download – where the powered kinetics of Halestorm more than ably demonstrated that they were the day’s true headliners – through to this evening and the evergreen aura of the original space warriors Hawkwind the altar is broader than ever. Tonight, in the hallowed environs of Bristol’s Beacon, the youthful veteran, and sole remaining founder member, Dave Brock and his charges gather for a spiritual awakening and celebration of the forthcoming Solstice.
From the rugged coastlines and untamed moorlands of my Cornish homelands comes this evening’s special guests Hanterhir. Their occultic genre-fluidity weaves its own cogent tapestry with a uniqueness unparalleled. Celtic pagan alloys psychedelia with an anarchic blend of folk and rock that lurches delightfully in the direction of the likes of The Levellers and New Model Army whilst inhabiting a parallel furrow to that belonging to Julian Cope.
Spending 45 minutes in their company this evening one can immediately appreciate why tonight’s headliners brought them out on tour last year and how they have worked with the diverse ilk of Big Country and Gwenno. Much like the latter there is a Celtic cadence with lyrics proudly sung in Kernewek – Cornwall’s native tongue – as well as English. Hailing from the heart of the Redruth / Camborne area – from small villages such as Lanner, Caharrack and Gwennap – Hanterhir’s colourful persona shines as brightly as the tin and copper ores once mined in that area.
From the moment they take to the Beacon’s stage they’re clearly at home with their salubrious environment. Bassist Grant spots what must be a familiar face jokingly noting “Hope you paid for that t-shirt John and didn’t steal it!” before the band launch into the opening crescendo of the swirling hypnosis of ‘Hello Sunshine’. Its entrancing cogence, a contagion of spacey folk-rock, is warmly received by the gathering ensemble already within the cavernous spaces of the Beacon.
Rolling right into the tranquillity of ‘Lovelight’, the opening number of 2018’s ‘Saving of Cadan’ album, the six members of Hanterhir maintain a steady hand, collectively, upon the tiller before steering their vessel into stormier waters with a mid-track acceleration. There’s a nod towards Pink Floyd herein, especially with Mike’s saxophone. Delving further into that release Hanterhir unleash ‘Song of the Lady’, a stomping song of love that sways and shimmies in the evening airs.
Folk-rock finery in psych drapes ‘Arloedhes an Lydn’ is introduced by Grant as a song about a misunderstood female who lives in a lake. At track ending frontman Ben quips “We got through that together ladies and gents!” From memory it’s merely an average day down in the extremities of Cornwall. The bright stirring intro of ‘Honey Bees’ sees the meeting of Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd with an arbitration of Fairport Convention.
The marauding resonance of ‘Tekka Ha Hwekka’ follows with the six-piece summoning spirits of their homeland duchy and leads into the coruscant radiance of latest single ‘An Lyver Agan Tavas’. Released just a couple of weeks prior there’s stabbing, probing riffs amidst the spacey prog that enshrouds a slight New Model Army / Julian Cope jagged fringe.
Blazing as fiercely as an unchecked gorse-fire the galloping modern-day folk-rock of the set-closing ‘The Carn Marth Song’ embraces elements of The Levellers and NMA along its way. It’s a befitting finale to a soaring three quarters of an hour that has passed in the blink of an eye proving that they’re more than a decent foil for our headliners.
If there was ever a band formed in the late 60s more ready for the digital age than Hawkwind then I’ve not made their acquaintance as of yet. Led by the sole constant drive of Dave Brock, at the ultra-sprightly age of 84 years young, this evening’s headliners cannot have been born more ready for the present-day technological tsunami. Blending, for over 55 years, space and science fiction with a progressive, psychedelic rock Hawkwind have been at the forefront of innovation. A hefty thirty-seven studio albums later and there’s no apparent let up in their intensity.
What follows from the moment Hawkwind slip on to the Beacon’s stage, and let fire with the jangly astrality of ‘Right to Decide’, is a nigh-on two hour career spanning performance that sets markers from the 1970’s eponymous debut right through to last year’s ‘There Is No Space For Us’ and a good deal of poignant points in between. The track’s exploration of subjects like digital isolation and the loss of autonomy make it hard to reckon with the fact that it was recorded back in 1992; a rock n’ roll ‘Animal Farm’ perhaps.
‘Silver Machine’, although once upon a time a signature track, has been relegated, via the realms of washing machinery, to the rock equivalent of room 101; no-one cries aloud nowadays for it such is the breadth and depth of Hawkwind’s legacy. The current day music slips in seamlessly with ‘Changes (Burning Suns and Frozen Waste)’ a galactic rhapsody with keyboardist Thighpaulsandra taking a slant towards Jean Michel Jarre. Tearing the cosmos asunder it’s all rather glorious with meandering bass courtesy of Doug MacKinnon and sharp six-string incisiveness from Brock and Magnus Martin.
Long-time drummer Richard Chadwick although on light duties in the centre of stage is having an absolute ball on percussion and vocals whilst his 18-year-old deputy Dylan (I think) is going great guns behind the kit. Outer space energies are untethered in ‘Levitation’ as atomical structures are split apart deeply etching a comet trail across undiscovered skies.
With an acoustic undercurrent ‘Traveller of Time & Space’ pulses with the heartbeat of the nebula; Bristol is guided into the beckoning wyrm hole by its gentle ambiance. One recent track is paired with another as ‘There is Still Danger There’ remains, to the core, true to the never diminishing spirit of Hawkwind. Brock quips, at track ending, “Cheer up, cheer up! There’s hope for us all!” before we’re taken across dystopian soundscapes by the Cimmerian ‘Mask of the Morning’.
Ominous in its foretelling ‘Underwater City’ is sleekly partnered with the totally immersive ‘Assault & Battery’ and ‘The Golden Void’. Three tracks, three different decades and yet they happily swim unified as one. The up-tempo ‘Rocky Paths’, a blinking eye of the space-storm, follows as the dragon unfurls leathery wings as Norse raiders sail into the cataclysm.
The focus for the last two songs of the night’s main body switches to the seventies with the flames rising ever higher for the slightly funky ‘Steppenwolf’ and spacey juggernauting of the cosmic exploration of ‘Born to Go’. Neither Bristol nor band are done yet and following the obligatory pause before the encore dawns the laser show flickers into iridescent life once more for the anthemic pairing of ‘Spirit of the Age’ and ‘Hurry On Sundown’ send ripples across the space-time continuum. One last cosmic fireworks display and Hawkwind take their bows and absorb the genuine, and thoroughly deserved, appreciation of a comfortably packed Beacon.
Photography by Kelly Spiller for MPM
