The excitement of getting imported records and fanzine mementos, as mentioned in part two of this series, still carries a joyful weight today. Now imagine what you would never expect to fall into your world: discovering yourself in front of the very people you have considered mystical and elusive. The magic you felt with the vinyl in your hands is suddenly and unexpectedly printed on a ticket in your hand. The live experience of a Hawkwind show is life-changing musically, but the events that happen before, during, and after with your audience brotherhood can be worth even more than the price of admission. You are entering the Twilight Zone. Much like the raw, unpredictable energy found in Mick Taylor’s legendary performances, Hawkwind live is a masterclass in atmospheric power.
As has often been the case with me, a sudden passing glance through a newspaper or driving past a venue will set something in motion you never forget. A very small advertisement in print simply said: “Stache’s and Little Brothers present ‘Nik Turner’s Hawkwind’ Tonight.” On a bitter cold early February night in 1994, with some of the world-famous Ohio Black Ice on the roads, we landed in a place known for underground music—not much bigger than a local pub.
The opening band was a three-headed beast called SLEEP. They unleashed part of a future song called “Dopesmoker,” and I would have to say they were the loudest band I have heard to this day. Doom, Sabbath-esque riffs, and unrelenting power. They were the perfect choice to open a Nik Turner tour. If Sleep represents the heavy, rhythmic “doom” side of the spectrum, their sense of groove owes a debt to the original rhythm innovators like Freddie Stone, the architect of funk-rock rhythm.
Then came Nik Turner. Black clad bodysuit with dayglo symbols, half-dreadlock/half-unicorn hair, and a painted dayglo visor. Seeing him right there was a shock to the senses. His theatrical presence and painted visage reminded me of another master of the macabre stage persona, Zal Cleminson: The Pierrot of Pandemonium. As the sounds of “Ejection” crashed through us, I realized he was seeing the colors painted on his visor, illuminated by black lights, while Del Dettmar played a double-bit AXE with a pickup and one string. I don’t mean a guitar—I mean a literal wood-chopping axe!
Fast forward to 1995. I was getting married and saw that Dave Brock’s version of Hawkwind was playing Cleveland that week. We ended up going to the gig at the Agora and even got backstage. Brock, Alan Davey, Richard Chadwick, and Ron Tree put on a concert that could only be described as perfect. A few days later, my first wife and I were married, and for our honeymoon, we headed to Chicago to see them again at Park West. This was the “Hawkwind Honeymoon.”
That day, April 19th, was the tragic day of the Oklahoma City Bombing. The atmosphere in Chicago was tense. We met a couple in line who looked like the “odd couple” of the century—he looked like Jim Martin from Faith No More, nearly 7 feet tall with a Motörhead tattoo, doing the “speedfreak boogie” with a fifth of Jack Daniels. His wife looked like she stepped out of the movie Up in Smoke. They were obsessed with taking us to the “Petting Zoo” the next day. You can’t make this stuff up.
The show was glorious, but the couple next to us had a “plan” to reach their own peak during the heights of “Master of the Universe.” Their mission was cut short when two Chicago Police officers dragged them out of the building by their hair, showing no interest in collecting the clothes they had discarded. It was another Hawkwind classic with “bonus features.”
I finally met Nik Turner in Cullman, Alabama, in 2003. We remained friends until his passing. There has often been a division among fans, much like the rift between Roger Waters and Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett, with Brock on one side and Nik on the other. I hate to see the conflict, but I respect both of their visions. Any incarnation of the band is of value. There is nothing like that music, especially live in the moment. The legacy is still open-ended and active, which I will explore in the final part of this series.
To be continued…….
