Not Fade Away (Steve Hillage Band, Shepherd's Bush Empire, Saturday 8th June 2019)
The last time I saw Steve Hillage play live it was in December, the 4th December to be precise. This wasn't in London, though, it was in Leeds, and it wasn't six months ago, it was almost 43 years ago. Back then, in the winter of 1976, Steve was touring to promote his then new album 'L', produced by some bloke called Todd Rundgren and I was a wide-eyed student amazed by all the bands that played within 5 minutes walk from where I was living.
During that intervening forty-two and a half years a lot has changed in both our lives: Steve's cut his hair shorter, and, mostly, ditched the guitar-based rock in favour of a mix of ambient / techno in the band he formed with his partner, Miquette Giraudy, System 7. System 7 have been big on the Ibiza club scene and also in Japan, but they are not such a far cry from Steve's roots as you might imagine: a common vibe to both is peace and love, the main difference being one crowd trips out on Ecstasy the other on weed or maybe something a little more hallucinogenic. Like Steve I have adopted a shorter trim, though mine out of necessity rather than a change of aesthetic, and sadly the signposts to my closer crop were already becoming evident back then. Thanks, Steve. (see footnote)
Support on the night was provided by The Egg. The Egg bear no relation to the Canterbury-scene band called Egg, of which, Steve Hillage was briefly a member. (There's a complicated story there, but I'll not recount it here as it's pretty well documented - but as a starting clue, check out the album 'Arzachel' by the band of the same name)
I'm not going to write much about The Egg other than that they seemed to be a consistent electronic funk / dance band. Their stuff was not unpleasant but equally I didn't feel there was anything unique or intriguing about their sound and - something I hate saying about any music, because it such a lazy thing to write, but I felt the songs were all on a similar level with little variety: any song could have been any other song. They also relied way too much on the vocoder - even the introduction of a female lead singer, sparkly outfit aside, didn't add much excitement. Maybe this was a bad night? I don't know, but I really won't be seeking them out again in a hurry, but equally I might watch and dance if they were on the bill.
On to the main event. As I'm sure you know 😛, Steve Hillage was a member of the band Gong, during what some might argue was the height of the band's creative power and success, so it was rather fitting that on the night Steve's backing band was essentially Miquette (who, incidentally, was also in that version of Gong - I assume that's how / when she and Steve hooked up), plus the current (re-)incarnation of Gong. Another story I'm not going to tell here - save that for a review of Gong - but the Kavus Torabi led Gong, has had a renaissance this year with the release of their excellent, true-to-the-spirit-of-Gong album 'The Universe Also Collapses'. (Steve and Kavus in full-flight below)
The lighting and projections worked well with the music and set highlights included the songs 'Palm Trees (Love Guitar)', 'The Fire Inside', and 'The Golden Vibe', but most wonderful were the encores, especially 'Light In The Sky' and the hypnotic 'The Glorious Om Riff'.
Kavus Torabi is an amazing stage-presence and a great foil to Steve's guitar playing -he brings a great sense of joy to the stage and he dances and prowls the stage like he is the front man, which, to be fair, he is in both Gong and Knifeworld. I cannot wait to see Gong play their set later in the year.
The photo below was taken during the first encore, 'Light in the Sky', with Miquette holding the mike to the audience to sing the refrain 'Oh me, Oh my, there's a light in the sky'...
The second song in the first encore was the one that really had the audience excited - 'The Glorious Om Riff', which in this live version includes the mantra from the Gong tune, 'Master Builder' (from the album 'You', the third in the 'Radio Gnome Invisible' trilogy). The mantra and the riff are so hypnotic that one could easily be carried off in a trance-like state, building, as it does, to a heart-stopping climax.
(If you want to chant along, the mantra goes like this:
Iaow za-ii za-ow
Ma-ii ma-ow
Ta-ii ta-ow now )
Here's a shot or two from the performance of the song...
After another goodbye...
...there was one more, final, encore which was both fittingly and movingly dedicated to the wonderful spirit of Gong, Daevid Allen, and Steve remarked this year was the 50th anniversary of Gong, formed by Daevid Allen in 1969. In honour of Daevid, the backdrop images were some of his artwork, featuring the flying teapots, and, of course, the Pot Head Pixies (PHP)...the final song, appropriately was, 'Not Fade Away', something Kavus and the new Gong are ensuring will not happen...
In time-honoured tradition here's a set playlist, though you should note that only parts of two long tracks were played. In the case of 'Aftaglid' only part 7 'The Golden Vibe' was played and in the case of 'Solar Musick Suite', only part 2, 'Canterbury Sunrise', was played. Enjoy!
In time-honoured tradition here's a set playlist, though you should note that only parts of two long tracks were played. In the case of 'Aftaglid' only part 7 'The Golden Vibe' was played and in the case of 'Solar Musick Suite', only part 2, 'Canterbury Sunrise', was played. Enjoy!
...and in Spotify form...
[Please note, despite my earlier comment, Steve Hillage had no effect or influence on my hair loss. This was entirely a genetic present bestowed on me by my forebears]
Comments
Post a Comment