Two weeks after the tragic overhead railway accident, the spaceship from the planet Gong landed in Wuppertal. On board were the pot head pixie Daevid Allen (G. Voc.), Gilli Smyth (Spacewhisper and remarkable fancy dress), Mike Howlett (Bass and funny announcements), Mark Hewins (G and a beaming face), Theo Travis (Sax, Flt) and on drums, who? The advertised Pierre Moerlen? Wrong! He was having an enema in the cosmos. At least that is how Daevid Allen explained the expected drummers absence a day later in Karlsruhe. For us the last minute deputy drummer was Keith Missile, yes really; the bassist from Here and Now and Planet Gong.

As a foretaste of the Gong concert we heard over the loudspeakers fantastic Music from the Gong/Soft machine realm played by a vinyl-loving DJ. And suddenly, we heard a Saxophone coming not from the speakers but from within the audience. In fact Hewins and Travis stood between the beer stand and the GAS stall and began to improvise. Theo blew expressive variations on a Gong theme and Mark accompanied him on his Electric Guitar. Hewins produced sounds in unusual ways; for example he moistened his right hand, rubbed it over the body of the Guitar while the left hand formed a chord. In addition he even carried a small amplifier around with him by means of a strap over his shoulder. It was really great! The two Musicians made their way through the crowd improvising enthusiastically, stopping for a while here and there so that people could experience them up close. I could have listened to the Hewins/Travis Duo for hours, so much was I held under their spell. They must make a CD of this I thought. After about 15 minutes Mark and Theo went up on stage and the concert proper began. (They didn't play this intro in Belgium or Karlsruhe. It could be we were privy to a unique show event).

I nearly fell over laughing when I saw Daevid Allen in the flesh - what a weird guy! The show began with the 'YOU' - intro 'thoughts for naughts, which merged into the spacey instrumental themes of the 'Flying Teapot Trilogy', and it was followed by; "… Would you like some tea? This was the obligatory moment when the audience should have shouted out "YEAHH" at the top of their voices. As the response to this question didn't exactly push the levels on the mixing desk into the red, we were teased something along the lines that there was no-one in the hall who was interested in having a cup of tea. After the second request we got to hear "I think there was a noise but I'm really not sure". After the fourth time that the audience shouted out the Alien Australian interlude was over. I didn't miss Tim Blakes synthesiser as Dingo Virgin (Hewins) created the Spacesound with MIDI. Gilli wasn't often on stage as she regularly needed a lot of time to change her clothes. As a cat she sang, "I am your pussy" (the same pun exists in German as well), even though you couldn't hear the first two lines as her microphone was not on. Her Spacewhisper was I feel too quiet for the whole concert. But this woman has, at her age, a fantastic radiance which in her costumes she flirtaciously exploits on stage. I enjoyed the penultimate song from Camembert Electrique 'Tropical fish; Selene' in which there was a reprise of the classic "You can't kill me". That I'd never heard on a live disc (except for the BBC sessions)

In any case it's worth mentioning the outstanding interplay between Travis, Hewins and Howlett. You could really see the three Musicians enthusiasm. All three seemed to be in good spirits even though it was the first concert without Moelen. Hewins and Travis had two days to reheatrse with the band before embarking on the little world tour. Travis who in places was playing from Music, played so superbly that it was no wonder that the following day he was taken for Didier Malherbe (this inly happens however if you don't look too closely at the faces on the covers) And since I learned later from Travis, he didn't know most of the pieces beforehand and had got them on tapes from Christopher Longcock (alias Daevid Allen), I must heartily congratulate him. Hewins was likewise able to fit in very well with the band. Allen decided in his favour without hearing him. Without even rehearsing together with Mark, the Potheadpixe-Leader was able to say, "You're exactly the right Guitarist for Gong". Something at any rate I agree with. The drummer was awkward and was no longer behind the drums in Karlsruhe. Who knows how little time he had to learn the songs (especially as, already mentioned, he is not a drummer at all). Hewins moreover could learn from the internet that he isn't Steve Hillage - something he also certainly doesn't want to be. Not once during the whole concert did he try, even approximately, to play like Steve Hillage. I see it as a positive quality not to imitate other Musicians but rather to develop your own style of playing. After the concert, which unfortunately ended without an encore, I suggested to Travis that he really should make a CD with Hewins. In fact he told me that he and Hewins had just been discussing the idea. I'm eager to know if they translate this idea into reality. Best of luck Mark and Theo.

Thomas Däbritz - Canterbury Nachrichten 2000