Hawkfest 2007 - Part 3

Hawkfest 2007 - Part 3

But that (T.O.S.H.'s set) was still some hours away when Sunday rolled around, with the promise of better weather to dry things out. The morning passed with innumerable cups of tea under the gazebo, though there was one brief exciting moment when I could have sworn I heard something that was in the event probably only what I wanted to hear. A car with a tannoy system seemed to be being driven around the camp site. I never saw it, but I thought I heard an announcement that went "Attention! Motorhead are going to be playing on the main stage at twelve o'clock!" There had of course been plenty of rumours that Lemmy was going to put in an appearance at some time over the weekend, rumours which weren't entirely scotched by the announcement of his illness-related cancellation. So this seemed to be possible, if too much to hope for. So we all listened for it to be repeated, and it subsequently came across as "Attention! Sleepyhead are going to be playing on the main stage at

Did you say Motorhead?

twelve o'clock!". And that of course was who it really was. I made a point of not going to see them, since I still think they really did say Motorhead the first time, to try and con people into going.

In fact I saw no bands at all on the Sunday, until late on, because the big event of the day was Dave & Kris's wedding, in the barn (Stangeness stage) at 2pm, I think it was. Having missed the Hawkwind Q&A session through not being together enough, I made sure I was in the offing for this one, and placed myself in the bar just beyond the door into the barn, wedged in amongst an increasing plethora of costumed fans. Someone asked me why I wasn't in costume and I replied that the ridiculous get-up I had been sporting all weekend was in itself a costume. I mean, I’d really rather have short hair and wear a suit and tie, but being a Hawkwind fan and in a band myself, I have to play it differently. But some people were actually dressed that way, being bona fide

wedding guests as opposed to mere fans such as we. They were all ushered into the barn, and then about 100 fans were allowed in to stand at the back and watch what was going on, if they could. I was one of the lucky few and couldn't see much of the actual ceremony, though all of us could hear it perfectly. It was a pretty traditional registry office service, albeit the only one I've ever seen with a lightshow going throughout. Best man duties were performed by Danny Faulkner and Martin Griffin, and before long the newly wedded couple were filing out through the barn and the bar, into the courtyard beyond, where they were essentially mobbed by the curious assemblage of humanity that is the Hawkwind fanbase. (Interspersed with some more normal people who were presumably friends and family.)

Left: this is very nearly where Dave & Kris got married! The actual venue was the Strangeness stage barn, above, and this is how much of a view there was at the back ot it! Below: outside in the courtyard immediately afterward

A trad jazz group, who I think were the Ken Colyer Legacy Band, were rolling away as everyone took photos, cheered Mr & Mrs Brock and chatted amiably. This all seemed to go on for a couple of hours, though I think the actual wedding party and guests had a private area to which they retired for a slightly more conventional reception. Still, there was cake and champagne, and various persons milling around, such as Matthew Wright entertaining the bridesmaids, and Mr.Dibs in jovial spirits (I chatted with him...first time ever!) - all in all, a very cheerful mood prevailed, helped by the fact that it stayed dry. Hooray!

Must have been too much, er, champagne...yeah, that's right...that sent me back to my tent for a couple of hours. I did go and watch some ghastly band for a while, but was really only interested in seeing the Technicians Of Spaceship Hawkwind as this promised to be what Hawkwind hadn't been the night before: relaxed, informal,

with a fluid line-up of guests coming and going. And so it turned out. One particular treat was that it started off with a short acoustic set from Huw Lloyd Langton - not joined by Dave, contrary to rumour, and Huwie's first appearance at the festival, despite the fact that he's been on site since the Saturday afternoon. Quite touching it was that Marion had to go on and tell him to start.

As T.O.S.H. proper got going, Dave was centre-stage almost throughout, leading from the front, and so it felt more like Hawkwind than T.O.S.H. I think the entire Hawkwind line-up was on stage - Richard was manning a bank of electronics, though I can't swear that Jason was there. Mr.Dibs certainly was, with drum tech Billy Fleming behind the kit and a couple of blokes I didn't recognize on synths, keyboards or whatever. Keef Barton

also played a prominent part in proceedings. He'd been brilliant with Spacehead on the Friday evening, and did the business again here: he's really an excellent guitarist, with a more straight-ahead rock style than most of the musicians who'd played throughout the weekend: such as

Dumpy, who came on and guested with T.O.S.H., perhaps on Brainstorm, which was a surprise to hear played.. We even had a new go-go dancer in the shapely form of Marion Lloyd-Langton :-) Later on a guest bass

player and a Joey Ramone-lookalike guitarist came on too, but to be honest (sorry chaps) I didn't hear anything that they added to the proceedings and didn't know who they were. I also didn't keep track of the set list,

though as far as I can recall it was made up entirely of Hawkwind numbers. The only one I can quote for sure was Ten Seconds Of Forever narrated by the hero of the hour, Hawklord Of Shields, who had even (scandalously!) rewritten some of the lyrics specially. I did wonder if he was subbing for the by-now absent Matthew Wright, who'd had to depart some hours earlier because it was all too much fun, I was told!

So the details are sketchy because it was a good-time performance and almost the end of the fest, which I wanted to enjoy and not worry about remembering for posterity. After the close of T.O.S.H.'s two hour set, I wandered over to the barn to see Tarantism, the last act of the weekend to play. They did their festie / folkie psych thing, and I stayed with it for about 25 minutes before deciding, excellent though they were, that my feet had had it and that I needed to crawl into my sleeping bag.

Left: T.O.S.H. featuring (L-R) Mr. Dibs, Dumpy, Dave
Below: Dave and the mystery guest bassist

All good things come to an end and on Monday morning, still-soggy tents were being rolled up and stuffed in car boots everywhere. When not doing likewise, we were saying goodbye to all those we met, and there were a lot of

them this time around. Maybe I should have kept a note of everyone, but I didn't and won't start spieling off names in case I forget someone and inadvertently offend them. It was so nearly a brilliant occasion but I keep coming back to the weather as the reason why it was merely good and not great. The fact that it wasn't a disaster must be down to all those who pitched in and volunteered their time and efforts. My heartfelt thanks to all of them even though I don't know the names of more than a handful of the people responsible (I did hear they numbered 400!). And of course thanks to Hawkwind, their crew, and to Kris for making it happen. I'll be at the next one, but no doubt some Aussie or Kiwi will be too, ensuring I still don't win the prize for furthest travelled!