The first noticeable thing was that the overall sound levels were considerably lower than I expected. The red latex headed Mr.Turner seemed totally unchanged in his approach. True, older and greyer but musically everything that I expected; still the same great sax and flute player (played with gloved hands throughout I might add), vocally unchanged, visually probably weirder than in the early Hawkwind days.
With the two drum kits of Sam and father Terry Ollis, plus all the usual cabs and amps the wasn't enough room for the keyboards. So, John Greves played from behind the PA stack and most people tonight wouldn't even have been aware of his existence if it hadn't been for the continuous barrage of eerie, spacey sounds looping around the arena. Dave Anderson's brilliant bass playing combined with Terry Ollis' superb drumming to provide a perfect backdrop to the saxes and guitars. Mick Slattery put in some great lead guitar work against the rhythm guitar of Thomas Crimble. Then there was the multi-costumed dancer, Angel providing some great visuals against the continuous light show brilliantly lighting up the white stage drapes. Added to that was the non-stop bubble machine gently casting its soapy globes through the streaming light show adding softness and lovely hues in front of the band and onto the 'idiot' dancers below.
Musically, this was an interesting evening; just about what I'd expected although I have to admit to feeling a little let down by the dynamics of the set. Somehow it often felt a little flat, as though something was missing. Can't put my finger on what that something was, or wasn't but I was still suitably impressed. Perhaps I just expected too much from the enigmatic and charismatic Nik Turner - perhaps something heavier, even more spacey. Certainly, the audience seemed to go away contented after the unbroken two hour set. And I went away, amazingly, with hearing intact thanks to the controlled mix and relatively low decibel levels.
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