First set: Ground Control to Pilot/The Right Stuff/Uncle Sam's On Mars - Sword of the East - Assault & Battery/Golden Void - Right to Decide - Fifth Second of Forever/Dreaming City - Demented Man - Children of the Sun
Second set: Reefer Madness - Moonglum - The Watcher - High Rise - Spirit of the Age - Brainstorm - You're Only Dreaming/Motorway City - Master of the Universe/Where Are They Now? - Silver Machine
The last gig of 2004 saw the Assassins descend on the sleepy country town of Arncott and inflict 2 hours of space-rock on it. With new back projections and the light-show covering the whole of the bar with spacey and trippy images, the Assassins previewed some new songs (Sword of the East) and new arrangements of familiar numbers, giving an idea of what's going to be happening in the New Year.
First set: Assault & Battery/Golden Void - Moonglum - Right to Decide - Uncle Sam's On Mars - Magnu - High Rise - Fifth Second of Forever/Dreaming City - Demented Man - Children of the Sun
Second set: Reefer Madness - Down through the Night - Who's Gonna Win the War? - The Watcher - Spirit of the Age - Brainstorm - Utopia - Master of the Universe/Where Are They Now? - Silver Machine
When you have a gig starting at 9:30, having a power cut at 8:15 is pretty worrying...but power was restored just in time to allow the Assassins to do two sets. Down to a 4-piece for the evening and sadly with no dancer, the band compensated with the expected spacey lightshow (courtesy of Mr O. Kinetics), a reappearance in the set of Who's Gonna Win the War? (with added jazz chord, no less!), an extended Children of the Sun and an impromptu Silver Machine (although I think we're all beginning to understand just how Dave Brock and co felt about always being asked to play it).
Thanks to the Flowing Well for making the evening go - and sound - so well, and to the enthusiastic crowd who make it all worthwhile. We should be back early in 2005.
Set list: Assault & Battery/Golden Void - Paranoia/Shouldn't Do That - Moonglum - Utopia - The Right Stuff/Camera That Could Lie - High Rise - Demented Man - The Watcher - Spirit of the Age - Brainstorm - You're Only Dreaming/Motorway City - Reefer Madness
Almost a year exactly since the last visit to this venue, not even a bizarre (non-gardening, for Spinal Tap fans) accident during set-up could mar a shorter than normal, but nevertheless powerful, set from the Assassins. Highlights have to include The Watcher and the first appearance of Reefer Madness. Great to see a good crowd here, some of whom had come all the way from London for the evening!
Set list: Motorway City - Paranoia/Shouldn't Do That - Moonglum - Ground Control to Pilot/The Right Stuff/The Camera That Could Lie - High Rise - Demented Man - The Watcher - Spirit of the Age - Brainstorm - Right to Decide - Psychedelic Warlords - Master of the Universe/Where Are They Now?
Encore: Down Through the Night - Children of the Sun
Braving torrential rain, a very loud fair in Buckingham town centre and near concussion from a vicious Litmus bass amplifier, this was the second space rock double bill of the week and a much better time was had by all: Litmus delivered a blinding set (not forgetting the fantastic lightshow put on by the Assassins and Lighthouse), possibly the best performance they've ever given, and the Assassins followed up with 90 minutes of classic Hawkwind material (including the now obligatory omission of a couple of lines from Spirit of the Age!).
Terry Hawke wrote: Seldom do one's actual and metaphysical senses evoke such a three-dimensional experience! Pax-paradus lux!
Set list: Paranoia/Shouldn't Do That - Moonglum - Ground Control to Pilot/The Right Stuff/The Camera That Could Lie - High Rise - Demented Man - The Watcher - Spirit of the Age - Brainstorm - Right to Decide - Master of the Universe/Where Are They Now?
Unfortunately, even though the Assassins debuted a few new songs (Moonglum and The Watcher) and the return of an old favourite (Demented Man, with Simon the drummer's first vocal appearance), the overall evening was marred by technical problems and complaints from neighbours over volume levels (and that was during the soundcheck!).
Set list: Motorway City - Assault & Battery/Golden Void - Magnu - Right to Decide - Paranoia/Shouldn't Do That - Lord of Light - Ground Control to Pilot/The Right Stuff/The Camera That Could Lie - High Rise - Spirit of the Age - Brainstorm - Utopia - Psychedelic Warlords - Master of the Universe/Where Are They Now?
Encore: Dreaming City - Children of the Sun - Silver Machine
Anomie, who were unfrotunately playing their last ever gig, opened with their usual assault on the senses, with awesome projected backdrops and complex soundscapes. Hopefully both Stu and Colin will reappear in other musical endeavours in the near future...all the best to them.
A huge roar greeted Huw when he ambled out onto stage, and by the time the band were half-way through Motorway City, they and the crowd were firing on all cylinders: Magnu and Shouldn't Do That saw the dancing get fast and furious (and significantly less embarrassing than the last time the Assassins played here for at least one member of the band) and High Rise had them swaying along in time-honoured fashion. Special mention has to be made of some of Kat's new costumes (hopefully photos soon) including the totally over-the-top Luftwaffe outfit which she wore during The Right Stuff (I saw the cap floating round the room on various heads after that).
After finishing with a well-received Where Are They Now?, the band took a quick break and was back on for the encore: a little tribute to Huw with Dreaming City (2 video extracts can be found at Huw's site: a very short one and a 15 minute one), followed by a somewhat rocked-up version of Children of the Sun that new drummer Simon has definitely given a 21st century lease of life to. And then...how could we not play Silver Machine to such an appreciative audience?
There are a few pictures from the gig along here. The Assassins should be back at the Standard early in 2005 - hope to see some familiar (and new!) faces then.
Steve Litchfield wrote: "To give you some idea of the atmosphere: The first chords from Assault and Battery ring out and the music builds... A coloured light fountain plays over the lead guitar in the middle of the stage - it's Huw! On the next chord change, a fabulous dancer appears...the lights, the music, the solos, it was a MAGICAL gig."
Set list: Assault & Battery/Golden Void - Magnu - The Fifth Second of Forever/Brainstorm - Right to Decide - Motorway City - Paranoia/Shouldn't Do That - Lord of Light - The Right Stuff/The Camera That Could Lie - High Rise - Spirit of the Age - Utopia - Psychedelic Warlords - Master of the Universe/Whare Are They Now?
Encore: Dreaming City - Children of the Sun
After a leisurely set of ambient-electronica from World of Hertz (aka Chris Crosskey, the Assassins' very own pet Harvey!), the Assassins launched into 2 hours' worth of full-on spacerock to a very appreciative crowd (from a band's point of view, seeing the audience dancing and singing along makes it all worthwhile). New and re-arranged tracks (maybe Angels of Death and Silver Machine next time...subtle hint) keeps the regulars (and hopefully new fans) entertained.
Thanks to Alison (as ever) for putting us on (and letting us store our equipment after another car problem - correction: another driver problem :-)) and a fantastic audience.
Nick Lee wrote: And a damn fine gig it was too! Healthy size crowd who seemed to be getting well into it. Dancing, even!
A nice techno support from World of Hertz aka the Assassins' Chris very much in Bainbridge mode.
New drummer Simon seems to have slotted right in now. A couple of new tracks for the Assassins - Where Are They Now (played stand-alone rather than segued from Golden Void), The Right Stuff, alongside family-favourites such as Brainstorm, Master of the Universe, Utopia, Right to Decide, Psychedelic Warlords, Spirit of the Age, High Rise (with some lovely violin work from Ben) to name a few. Good to hear rarer numbers such as Children of the Sun and Lord of Light, the latter not heard from HW since the Alien tour of '95 (and criminally left off the Love in Space live album). All this topped of with some rather nifty lights'n'lasers and the lovely Kat's dancing (with new costumes - the German airforce type one I'm sure both Bob and Lemmy would've approved of!).
Set list: Paranoia/Shouldn't Do That - Right to Decide - Magnu - Utopia - Brainstorm - The Right Stuff - Assault & Battery/Golden Void - Children of the Sun - Dreaming City - High Rise - Master of the Universe/Where Are They Now?
What can we say? Having Huw on stage for the full one-and-a-quarter hour set went down a storm with the crowd, despite the inevitable technical difficulties of a 7 man line-up (not forgetting the lovely Kat of course); playing Dreaming City alongside the man himself was a deeply moving and fantastic experience. You can now see some photos of Huw and the Assassins courtesy of Rik of cy-b.org.
The Assassins should be back at the Ruskin Arms in late 2004/early 2005.
Set list: Paranoia/Shouldn't Do That - Right to Decide - Utopia - Magnu - Brainstorm - The Right Stuff - Assault & Battery/Golden Void - Children of the Sun - Dreaming City - High Rise - Spirit of the Age - Master of the Universe/Where Are They Now?
Encore: Psychedelic Warlords - Motorway City
With a few new toys in the lighting department and a few new songs, the Assassins arrived at the unsuspecting seaside city of Portsmouth to inflict some sonic mayhem, supported by a depleted Driver Brothers and the ambient/dub/electronic outfit Bubbledubble with Kev Ellis. For those who didn't make it, you missed...a fantastic version of Shouldn't Do That; a new arrangement of Children of the Sun with awesome tribal drumming from Simon; 'Spinal Tap' silliness during Spirit of the Age with Ben playing Kevin's guitar with his violin bow; a High Rise that literally entranced some of the audience; and an extended, jam of Psychedelic Warlords.
A huge thank you has to go to Barking Spider promotions who organised the gig and made us feel so welcome - they were incredibly professional and fun to work with (what a change from certain other promoters!) - and to Kev Ellis for helping arrange the gig.
Set list: Earth Calling/Right to Decide - Utopia - Assault & Battery/Golden Void - Magnu - Uncle Sam's On Mars - High Rise - Spirit of the Age - Brainstorm - Master of the Universe - Silver Machine
Note to any oher bands who are interested: never play a gig in a university town/city on a Tuesday night outside term time. Because you will end up with a near non-existent crowd, a limited amount of time to play in, a lousy sound engineer and very little support from the venue and promoter. Did I mention the distinct lack of punters?
Which is a pity, because the missing crowd didn't hear a very tight set from the Assassins, who are really coming into their own with the current line-up.
Encore: Shouldn't Do That - Silver Machine
Following on from another tight Litmus set is always difficult, but after a rushed soundcheck (Brainstorm, which itself got a great reaction from the crowd...a good sign), the Assassins launched into a 90 minute set in front of a very appreciative audience, consisting of quite a few of the 'usual suspects' as well as a large number of innocent bystanders caught in the sonic crossfire.
This was almost certainly the Assassins' tightest and most powerful performance to date, with new drummer Simon admirably slotting into the band and delivering a genuine Hawkwind percussive punch.
When a chance audience member comes up afterwards and says "I've never heard anything like this before...it's bloody amazing!", you know you've done something right!
Alas, though, it does seem as if this gig has seen the demise of Neil (or Bob) and the Bobettes (some of you will know what I'm on about).
Set list: Utopia - Magnu - Lord of Light - Master of the Universe - Assault & Battery/Golden Void - High Rise - Uncle Sam's On Mars - Spirit of the Age - Brainstorm - Right to Decide
Encore: Earth Calling/Shouldn't Do That - Silver Machine
First date of the 2004 summer tour saw the Assassins hit the East End. Supported by London space rockers Litmus, who played a thunderous set, it was also the first gig for the band's new drummer.
Great to see some familiar faces along, as well as one or two new supporters.
Set list: Utopia - Magnu - Master of the Universe - Psychedelic Warlords - Assault & Battery/Golden Void - Demented Man - Children of the Sun - High Rise - Spirit of the Age - Uncle Sam's On Mars - Right to Decide - Hurry On Sundown - Brainstorm
Encore: Angels of Death - Earth Calling/Shouldn't Do That - Motorway City - Silver Machine
Another Saturday evening show in a favourite Assassins venue, with a great atmosphere as usual and appreciative crowd. Even an impromptu (and totally unrehearsed!!!) Angels of Death by request didn't stop the Assassins from turning in a near 2 hour set of space-rock tunes, once again capturing the spirit of the Space Ritual era with Ben back on sax, flute and violin. New photos now on-line.
We'll be back in late August 2004.
Set list: Utopia - Brainstorm - Assault & Battery/Golden Void - Lord of Light - Master of the Universe - Who's Gonna Win The War? - Uncle Sam's On Mars - High Rise - Children of the Sun - Spirit of the Age - Right To Decide - Hurry On Sundown - Psychedelic Warlords (Disappear In Smoke) - Motorway City
This could easily turn into a rant about the state of live music in the UK at the moment (the vast majority of the crowd at the Elm Tree were there for the DJ that kicked off at 11pm and so the response from the crowd was somewhat muted to say the least), so it'll be a short review: Assassins played well, great new costumes and dancing by Kat.
Set list: Utopia - Brainstorm - Assault & Battery/Golden Void - Lord of Light - Master of the Universe - Who's Gonna Win The War? - Uncle Sam's On Mars - Demented Man - Children of the Sun - Spirit of the Age - Right To Decide - Hurry On Sundown - Psychedelic Warlords (Disappear In Smoke)
Encore: Earth Calling/Shouldn't Do That - Motorway City - Silver Machine
A few teething troubles to start the evening off with (Under-Mind lost a lot of their following due to the ridiculous licensing laws we have, but they played a fine set for only their second gig); Daniel Buckland's trio played a great set and went down very well with the rapidly expanding crowd (that's numbers, not waistlines).
The Assassins kicked off with a blinding version of Utopia (including an ambient section with full screwdriver activity) and then ploughed through a selection of up tempo classics before slowing things down with the acoustic Demented Man and Children of the Sun. Right To Decide saw the crowd really beginning to loosen up and dance, Hurry On Sundown satisfied the people who'd been asking for it all evening, and Psychedelic Warlords (not from Basingstoke - we lied) got an extended outro treatment that brought the main set to a close.
Motorway City went down a storm (and was possibly one of the best versions the Assassins have played) and then, by audience demand, the band went into an unplanned rendition of Silver Machine...that somehow got a bit of a jazz treatment towards the end, not that this stopped the crowd from going wild and eating (I kid you not) Bob, one of the band's inflatable alien visitors!
There should be photos available soon, including some of the new psychedelic fluorescent backdrops, which looked awesome under the UV lights.
Set list: Utopia - Brainstorm - Assault & Battery/Golden Void - Lord of Light - Master of the Universe - Who's Gonna Win The War? - Uncle Sam's On Mars - Demented Man - Children of the Sun - Spirit of the Age - Right To Decide - Hurry On Sundown - Motorway City
Encore: Psychedelic Warlords (Disappear In Smoke) - Silver Machine
A St George's Day stravaganza saw an appreciative crowd (including the token raver who "found nothing offensive" - we'll try harder next time!) welcome back the Assassins to a refurbished Hop Pole, with a couple of new songs making their first appearance (Utopia and Psychedelic Warlords, both of which went down a storm). For those of you who were there, you'll have heard the first leak of just who CelebrationFest's special guest will be...
Set List: The Fifth Second of Forever - Right To Decide - Master of the Universe - Lord of Light - Uncle Sam's On Mars - Magnu - High Rise - Demented Man - Children of the Sun - Assault & Battery/Golden Void - Motorway City - Brainstorm - Spirit of the Age
Encore: Shouldn't Do That - Silver Machine
Note to self: never play a gig on the same evening as a major sporting event. Yes, the Six Nations clash meant a poor turn-out, but with colds and flu behind them, the Assassins (and a storming support slot from Valium) tried to put a smile back on English faces with one and a half hours of solid space rock. And, at last, some photos of Des (and the rest of the band of course!).
Set list: Earth Calling/Right To Decide - Master of the Universe - Lord of Light - Uncle Sam's On Mars - Magnu - Demented Man - Children of the Sun - High Rise - Assault & Battery/Golden Voide - Motorway City - Brainstorm - Spirit of the Age
Encore: Shouldn't Do That - Silver Machine
After a very progressive set from Bruce's Spider, the Assassins took to the stage with the sickness demons hovering around them (Kat absent through flu, Rob drumming albeit with flu and Kevin dosed up to the eyeballs on cough sweets and throat pastilles). And then proceeded to play for a solid hour and forty minutes with a storming set that got the crowd dancing and singing along.
The Assassins will be back on June 19th, hopefully basking in post-festival glory (or at least sunshine).
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Set List: Earth Calling/Shouldn't Do That - Master of the Universe - Right To Decide - Demented Man - Uncle Sam's On Mars - Who's Gonna Win The War? - Hurry On Sundown - Assault & Battery/Golden Void
Encore: Motorway City - High Rise - Children of the Sun - Brainstorm - Silver Machine
Some familiar faces returned to the Grand Junction for a healthy does of Assassins' spacerock at the 'Granary Bar' (apologies for the pun).
A few technical hitches (how ironic that Kevin's guitar lead should break in Right To Decide..."I'm a plugged in person"!) and the odd head-cold in the band didn't stop a (very!) fast and furious performance from the Assassins, including the first public showing of Kat's new cheerleader's costume for Uncle Sam (control yourselves gentlemen, please) together with some old favourites. Thanks once again to the organisers for a fine evening's music and being made to feel so incredibly welcome.
Set list: Earth Calling - Shouldn't Do That - Master of the Universe - Right To Decide - Demented Man - Uncle Sam's On Mars - Silver Machine
A full-house turned up to see...for the very first time on stage...Des, who kicked off the set with a 'classic' Earth Calling/Shouldn't Do That/Master of the Universe blanga combination. Right To Decide, a new addition to the Assassins' set sent the crowd wild (they're young, OK?).
Another new addition, Uncle Sam's On Mars, provided a cynical and topical angle, and Silver Machine (with Des back on stage on backing vocals) rounded off a fast and furious performance.
Some great photos from the gig now available.
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Set List: Assault & Battery/Golden Void - High Rise - Master of the Universe - Demented Man - Who's Gonna Win The War? - Motorway City
Encore: Magnu - Children of the Sun - Hurry On Sundown - Silver Machine - Brainstorm
First gig of the New Year saw the Assassins in a new venue (for them). With a few dedicated Hawkwind fans present (good to see Tom and Nick there) plus a very appreciative crowd made it one of the best Assassins' gigs to date: a full-on Assassins Saturday extravaganza is due here in a few weeks' time, with full light show and extended set.