After a ground-breaking tour of Ukraine, Carlisle band Hardwicke Circus shared their experiences and memories from the frontline with an invitation-only gig at the very chic Karma Sanctum Hotel in Soho. Not being familiar with Hardwicke Circus this reviewer was lured by the prospect of hearing Joe “King” Carrasco, purveyor of tex-mex rock and roll. Joe had joined them on the Ukraine tour and was playing with the band tonight.
First off, the music. For starters they blasted us (it was loud) with ‘Man of the Town’, a swaggering, Springsteen-like anthem with a vintage rock sensibility. This was followed by an adrenaline-fuelling ‘It’s Not Over Till It’s Over’. Then it was Carrasco’s turn to sing with a version of his post-punk ‘Kicks on You’ and while later on he did a great version of “96 Tears” he played guitar throughout and his songs effortlessly blended into the Hardwicke Circus style. The pace didn’t drop for the next song from Hardwicke Circus, ‘Night Train to London’ with the lilt of Madness married to the characteristic intensity of their own sound. In solidarity with Ukraine they have repurposed and enlivened one of their songs, originally about Tyson Fury, now called ‘The Ballad of Oleksandr Usyk”’- great for audience participation. Their final original was ‘Walking on Broken Glass’ with an apposite life-affirming chorus of “Oh there must be more to life than this, walking on broken glass.” Their encore was a raucous version of ‘Highway 61 Revisited’.
They didn’t perform their new single ‘Hollow’ (released on 8th August), but played the video. More poppier than the songs they gigged, it was produced by Alan Winstanley (Elvis Costello, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, Madness) and John McFee of the Doobie Brothers.
Amidst the music we learned that the tour was facilitated by Mission Aid to Ukraine and they were helped and supported by the Ukrainian band Okazia. There’s no denying that the band members were at risk in Ukraine. They played in cities like Kyiv, Lviv and Kharkiv and were sometimes close to the front line, experiencing drones flying overhead, artillery fire and constant air-raid sirens. You can read about what it’s like touring in a war zone in a blog by drummer Tom Foster on Hot Press. Understandably some of the band didn’t want to go, so they recruited some local musicians and their long-standing music buddy Joe “King” Carrasco.
Despite the scary and distressing circumstances of the war, the band members were impressed about how most things still work well in Ukraine – the hotels, the supermarkets, public transport. The joy of live music is especially welcome in a society where many people live for the moment, and Ukrainians they met really appreciate solidarity from other countries through the arts, as well as armaments and sanctions. The publicity generated by the tour (they were on breakfast TV) has apparently resulted in enquiries from bands in the USA and Japan wanting to go there.
Hardwicke Circus continue to support Mission Aid to Ukraine which raises money for casualty evacuation vehicles, and will be returning to Ukraine to perform at the end of October.
