“We’re not a heritage band,” says Peter Hammill towards the end of tonight’s set. And there is certainly some truth in that statement – Van der Graaf have been making music for more than 50 years now, with five new albums since their reformation in 2005.
However, there is a definite watershed in the legendary prog rockers’ history – a 28-year hiatus which saw the various members embark on their own projects, including the frontman issuing close on an album per year.
The band somewhat determinedly lean towards that modern material in Edinburgh – opening with 2008’s ‘Interference Patterns’ – a typically barnstorming Van der Graaf track which perhaps shows that the band have honed their setlists, selecting material most in keeping with their ‘heritage’ sound. ‘(In The) Black Room’ follows, oddly, a version of an old Hammill solo track, from his ‘Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night’ album but certainly retaining its prog roots, Hugh Banton’s keyboard duelling with the frontman’s piano, and segueing into ‘Every Bloody Emperor’, which “had to be played” – although perhaps curiously, ‘Refugees’ is absent from tonight’s setlist (a rare single from 1970 and one which would have fitted into the evening’s declared theme of “shorter works”).
With the three-piece completed by the ever-creative Guy Evans on drums, there’s no place for sax or violin – ruling out swathes of material including much of ‘Quiet Zone’ – but Hammill takes on the challenge of playing guitar and singing on the first half’s penultimate tune, an aggressively apt version of ‘Gog’ – “Some call me Satan, others have me God / Some laugh and see me laughing down the corridors of power,” bellows the frontman, still in terrific voice at the age of 73. Which contrasts with ‘Go’, as close as we get to a ballad with shimmering guitar to wind down the set perfectly.
Some more ‘heritage’ to open the second half then – 1971’s ‘Lemmings’, its heavier-than-thou riff bookended by some jazzy noodling, contrasting with the modern-sounding ‘Alfa Berlina’, all sampled street sounds, before, driven by soulful Hammond organ, perhaps the pick of the band’s more recent material, ‘Over The Hill’.
It seems to this listener that the band are just getting into their stride on closing number ‘Scorched Earth’ – itself from the same period as another Hammill ‘cover’ ‘A Louse Is Not A Home’, which is rolled out for the encore. It’s all a matter of personal opinion of course, but there’s a sense of anti-climax despite the raucous appreciation for the trio’s 90-minute set(s), with, yes, much of the ‘heritage’ material unplayed (and a jealous peek at setlist.fm reveals that the Birmingham audience a few days before was treated to classics such as ‘Lemmings’, ‘La Rossa’, ‘Still Life’, ‘Sleepwalkers’ and ‘Man-Erg’).
Indeed, Hammill’s opening greeting was “Finally!” – referring to the much-postponed tour (and the band still won’t be signing autographs for fear of more lurgy-spreading).
However, we must hope that there are more live shows from this band, all of whom are, after all, well into their seventies. But there’s definite unfinished business here.