Review | Hawkwind at Portsmouth Guildhall: 'On astounding form'
About three songs into the set, my friend leans over and says: “I'm glad we’re not playing a drinking game where you take a shot every time Dave Brock says ‘space’ or ‘time’.”
And it's true, it would be easy to mock these space-rock warriors as artefacts of a hippified, tripped-out, bygone age.
But it is said in jest, as quite frankly, Hawkwind are on astounding form.
Aside from a low-key date at The Wedgewood Rooms under a pseudonym in 2013, this is the only time Hawkwind have played Portsmouth in the best part of 40 years, and on this evidence, it's long overdue.
Led by sole original member Dave Brock, there can't be many bands this far into their sixth decade who can lean so heavily on their recent output – and get away with not alienating their audience.
They open with a one-two from current album There Is No Space For Us, which cleave true to form – sci-fi influenced, proggy, grooving beasts that rock hard and go down a treat with the faithful.
Always renowned for the visual aspect of their gigs, lasers strafe above the audience’s heads throughout.
And the already epic Assault and Battery/Golden Void from the classic 1975 album, Warrior on The Edge of Time becomes a 15 minute wig-out accompanied by a full-on mini-movie about a robot war. It's a tour de force.
But it’s not all lengthy workouts – the sole encore at the end of the two-hour set is a shredding version of 1972’s Urban Guerilla, demonstrating why they have been as beloved by punks as hippies.
For this current lineup, Brock (looking very good for 83) has surrounded himself with a crack team of musicians. Bassist Doug MacKinnon’s fingers are a constant blur, and keys player Thighpaulsandra (who’s worked with everyone from Julian Cope to The Waterboys and Spiritualized) provides plenty of texture while unleashing his inner-Rick Wakeman.
As for Silver Machine, by far their biggest commercial hit, there is no sign, and honestly, it’s not even missed.