It is, staggeringly, 16 months since MV last saw Oli Brown and the Dead Collective.
This, though, isn’t going to be a clichéd piece about how quickly time passes. Instead, it’s about how quickly things have evolved.
Brown, Sam Wood (it must be a week since we saw him, so we were due), and Wayne Proctor are here with a load of brand-new songs.
They’re magnificent too — full disclosure, as they aren’t introduced, these titles could be wrong — but in typical TDC style, they’re driven by feel and atmosphere anyway.
They live in the shadows, they lurk, then they burst and strike. Lethal blows, too — as with the opener “Goliath” and a brilliant “Cracked” and “Haunted.”
The couple of older ones — particularly “Heard It All Before” — just sound different now. You don’t want to say “better,” because they were superb before, but they’ve changed. They’ve evolved. Together, they prove that Oli Brown and the Dead Collective are one of the most intriguing bands around.
Their 40 minutes here end with “Home Sweet Home,” and while it might be too on-the-nose to say their home is these stages, it is nonetheless true.
The Von Hertzen Brothers have just finished “Kiss A Wish.” It’s the first time they’ve ever played the song in Nottingham, and Mikko von Hertzen (one of the three brothers at the heart of the band) says, “…and that is why we get called a prog band.” And they do. And they sort of are. But they aren’t. No one quite sounds like them.
They’d emerged, smiling, about 90 minutes earlier to play “The Relapse” — one of a clutch they play from last year’s album (“it’s a masterpiece,” jokes Mikko). Straight away, you are in their world: a world of colour, of welcome, but crucially, of fun.
They play “Jerusalem” — weighted with meaning now more than ever — and “Ascension Day.” They are exquisite. Kie von Hertzen weaves patterns on his guitar, and the way they use brass gives Markus Pajakkala the chance to shine spectacularly.
“Freedom Fighter” is full of beautiful harmonies, but the textures are central to the slow-building “All Of A Sudden You’re Gone.”
One of the best things on the aforementioned “In Murmuration” is “Snowstorms,” and if that is perhaps the heaviest thing they’ve ever done (according to their singer), then “New Day Rising” is the rockiest.
“Flowers And Rust” follows, and the three brothers are all sensational.
“Sunday Child” soars, primarily because they turn it into a huge singalong with the sizeable and enthusiastic crowd.
“Let Thy Will Be Done” ends the set, but when they return, it’s with a grin and the comment: “We don’t usually come back, as we don’t like to play.” It’s said with a smile, but it doesn’t need one — few bands seem to love playing as much as they do.
2025 needs more peace, and to underline that, it’s “Peace Patrol” that closes the night — a quite wonderful 10 minutes which encapsulates everything that makes VHB special. Amongst that is drummer Mikko Sirén, a new addition who has fitted in seamlessly.
It’s their 25th anniversary next year, and Mikko reckons the Von Hertzen Brothers will only come back if they play Rock City around the corner. Mate, that’s fine — but if there were any justice, they’d be in the arena up the road.
