VdGG Withdrawal symptoms

I was at the VDGG gig at Shepherds Bush, and I thought it was the best gig I've ever seen... all four of them are completely bonkers, which is a bonus.
This is coming from someone who's seen Muse several times, and I still think that it was incredible.

I'm so glad that I got into VDGG and have seen them live... they were the band i'd least expected to reform... but it was a dream come true that they did!

For anyone who doesn't know (is there really someone?), this was the setlist of the RFH gig:

Undercover Man 8:28 (from "Godbluff")
Scorched Earth 10:07 (from "Godbluff")
Refugees 6:01 (from "The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other")
Every Bloody Emperor 7:36 (from "Present")
Lemmings 13:23 (from "Pawn Hearts")
(In the) Black Room 11:14 (from Hammill solo album "Chamaeleon in the Shadow of the Night")
Nutter Alert 6:10 (from "Present")
Darkness (11/11) 7:28 (from "The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other")
Masks 7:00 (from "World Record")
Childlike Faith in Childhood's End 12:34 (from "Still Life")
Sleepwalkers 10:44 (from "Godbluff")
Man-Erg 14:23 (from "Pawn Hearts")
Killer 9:20 (from "H to He, Who Am the Only One")
Wondering 8:03 (from "World Record")

Total running time (not counting any possible applause that may appear on the release): 132:31. A good time for a double CD.

"(In the) Black Room" had always been more like a VdGG song and had indeed featured the whole band on the studio album of PH. "Killer" and "Wondering" had been the encores. The last words of "Wondering", "wondering if it's all been true", were a fitting end to what was probably the best concert I ever witnessed.

Indeed, I hope it will be ready very soon.  I also hope the Leverkusen Jazztage performance gets put on DVD.  Will this likely just be what was shown on German Television, or the whole concert?  Any ideas anyone?

Good news there then BaldJean.  I have a bootleg copy of R.F.H., but would still like the official release nevertheless, as I always prefer an official release.  It will from the mixing desk for starters, so the sound quality will be much better.

Any ideas who will be responsible for the mixing of this CD?  pH?

I hope to see some good liner notes and photos also.

I'm looking forward to seeing Hatfield and the North at the end of September, should be interesting... oh and Gov't Mule at The Astoria on 9th September (my other favourite band who I saw earlier this year and blew me away).  As Gov't Mule are introduced on a couple of their concerts... "prepare to be assimilated".

James.

Unluckilly they didn't visit Finland, and I already had my summer vacations, so I could "take a trip" at Amsterdam to watch them...

Looking from the 1st post, I must admit they had extraordinary selections of songs on their setlists!

Edited by Eetu Pellonpää

Hammill wrote: Borealis wrote: Hammill wrote: i can't wait to watch them in Greece on the 21st of July....they will play with porcupine tree ()...and the case is that vdgg will open for PT!!!!!!!! That would be a great show! Porcupine Tree are a great band (although they should open Van der Graaf ) I saw PT live yesterday and it was a very good show! Well maybe you are right...i am just too furious because vdgg will open for them...and i know that the 90% of the audience will be there for PT......i can't stand their comments ...young greek prog fans only care about what is popular in our days(DT, TOOL, PORCUPINE TREE etc)......i won't accept a bad comment for vdgg or peter hammill (for example look the old man he can't sing etc)...there will be a massacre LoL

Heh, I understand that. But, still, you're gonna see the hell of a good show while I'll be in my house in Québec doing nothing...

Borealis wrote: Hammill wrote: i can't wait to watch them in Greece on the 21st of July....they will play with porcupine tree ()...and the case is that vdgg will open for PT!!!!!!!! That would be a great show! Porcupine Tree are a great band (although they should open Van der Graaf ) I saw PT live yesterday and it was a very good show!

Well maybe you are right...i am just too furious because vdgg will open for them...and i know that the 90% of the audience will be there for PT......i can't stand their comments ...young greek prog fans only care about what is popular in our days(DT, TOOL, PORCUPINE TREE etc)......i won't accept a bad comment for vdgg or peter hammill (for example look the old man he can't sing etc)...there will be a massacre LoL

 

Edited by Wrath_of_Ninian

 

The Leicester gig was even better than the RFH gig  - granted I was only three rows from the front this time (rather than much farther back in London), but there was a sense of relaxation and confidence about the band that energised their playing.  They talked and laughed on stage, making mistakes, fooling around, and they seemed so much more natural than their nervous entrance at London.  I was also amazed that they did material NOT played at RFH, as I'd just been on a big diatribe to my friend about how they'd probably play the same set note-for-note.  When they started Still Life, I had to pinch myself, and was utterly gripped throughout until Hammil's final gasp at the end. 

I also preferred the set order this time around - encoring with Lemmings was just a marvellous way to end the evening and left the crowd in raptures of applause.  I thought the choice of 'Wondering' in London, whilst apt, was a bit of an anti-climax.  Lemmings left us drooling at the mouth.  I cannot believe I've SEEN the great VDGG AT ALL, never mind twice in the same year, but Leicester really cemented my love for the band - looking back the RFH show reminds me more of a public appearance - a circus act - rather than a real gig.  Leicester, for me anyway, got much closer to how I imagine they sounded and acted in the 70s.  This was a truly GREAT show - great sound, great songs, great performances...

...it was nice to see the REAL Van Der Graaf Generator - Hammil IS a genius... 

Too right Nutter Alert!

I was lucky enough to catch the gig at the Liverpool Phil and it quite frankly blew me away. I agree it was a little slow to start but it looked like they were enjoying themselves so much and they knew just how appreciative we all were of the chance to finally get to see them. Highlights for me in the main set were Scorched Earth and Sleepwalkers (I'll admit to being a huge fan of 'Godbluff') though all of the other numbers were extremely enjoyable and I was particularly impressed with the seamless way the new material (Every Bloody Emperor and Nutter Alert) fit in with the rest of the show. Unbelievable when you consider the time-gap.

However, when they came back on stage for the encore it was clear what people wanted (me included) and boy did they deliver. 'Killer' was belted out with such a verve and force, even PH himself commented how 'energising' it was to play it again, that it blew my socks off. It was staggering! I was listening to 'H to He' earlier and found myself a tad disappointed that the studio version, brilliant though it is, didn't quite bowl me over the way I had been on Sunday. Still, I'll never forget it and for that I've got to be thankful.

Let's hope it's not another three decades before they choose to once again grace the stage with their magnificence but even so there's enough in the piggy bank to purchase the live recording from the RFH which I'm praying has a killer rendition of 'Killer' like the one I witnessed on Sunday.