Hawkwind review: ‘Space rock at its finest’

Since Hawkwind formed in 1969, Brock has been the one constant. Thanks to Brock’s vision, Hawkwind became a pioneering figure in the space rock scene, which blended electronics with elements of psychedelia and hard-rock to create an atmospheric and cosmic sound that has brought with it close to 40 studio albums.

In addition, Brock has performed with legends such as Lemmy Kilmister and Ginger Baker, who were members of the band in the 70s and 80s and the band has delivered hits such as ‘Urban Guerrilla’, ‘Shot Down in the Night’ and ‘Silver Machine’ - the latter two surprisingly absent from the set list in Liverpool. However, it mattered not as the band delivered a performance that was space rock at its finest.

With a stunning bit of spoken-word narration, the band launched into life with an extended introduction of ‘There Is Still Danger Here’ laden with reverb-soaked guitars, lush harmonies and duelling solos to leave the audience fully immersed in a wave of cosmic energy as they were transported through visuals of a Doctor Who-esque time vortex. A rendition of ‘Changes (Burning Suns and Frozen Waste)’ quickly followed, bringing with it a powerful driving bass line from Doug MacKinnon and visuals that resembled the bifrost from the Thor movies.

Brock’s jokes about the tragedy of divorce when reminiscing about Michael Moorcock offered a touch of light-hearted humour before the hypnotising rhythms, immersive synths and bright guitars of ‘Last Chances’ delivered one of the highlights from the evening before a distorted guitar-driven performance of ‘Wastelands of Sleep’ set the stage for an exciting second-half of the set.

The soaring harmonies on ‘PSI Power’ with rhythm guitarist Magnus Martin on lead vocals left the audience firmly entrenched before ‘Assault and Battery’ serves as the perfect introduction to the hypnotising bass line and psychedelic soundscapes of ‘The Golden Void’. As the night came to a close, The uptempo ‘Spirit of the Age’ served as a shot of adrenaline to the audience before the Hawkwind classic ‘Urban Guerrilla’ closed out the night in style.