Van der Graaf Generator, Manchester, 13-Nov-2005

I think it’s a sign of a good concert if the music’s still playing in your head not just first thing the following morning, but well into the day.

Once described as ‘a blend of poetry, jazz and rock’, Van der Graaf Generator stood at the avant-garde end of progressive rock before splitting in 1978. I only discovered their music in the 1980s, so I’d never had the chance to see them live. But with the reforming at the beginning of this year, this was about to change. Having continually met up at the funerals of members of the road crew, they decided that if they were going to reform, it had better be while the four of them were all still alive.

The venue was Bridgewater Hall, Manchester’s premier classical concert hall. It’s a place more used to playing host to symphony orchestras than rock bands, which explains the unusual timing. VDGG were on stage just after 7:30, and finished their two hour set just after half-past nine, a time when a typical headliner is just about hitting the stage. Naturally for a symphony hall the acoustics were excellent, a far cry from the dreadful sound of far too many club gigs.

The set started deceptively quietly, with the gentle intro to “The Undercover Man” from 1975′s “Godbluff” album, before exploding into full-blown sound and fury. This was not your typical rock band. Lacking a bass player, their instrumental sound revolves around Hugh Banton’s sinister swirling organ and David Jackson’s furious saxes and flutes. Peter Hammill’s distinctive ‘Hendrix of the voice’ vocals were on fine form. Unlike too many 70s veterans, the voice that influenced artists as diverse as Fish and Johnny Rotten has lost none of it’s power. During some instrumental sections he prowled the stage like David Byrne’s sinister uncle, pacing back to the microphone at exactly the point where the vocals come back in. At other times he contributed towards the instrumental sound mostly on electric piano, but also occasionally on guitar.

I can’t remember the full setlist; my CD collection doesn’t include their whole back catalogue, and I didn’t recognise about a third of the setlist. I know they played most of “Godbluff”, included the two strongest numbers, “Every Bloody Emperor” and “Nutter Alert” from the new album, and closed with “Man-Erg” from “Pawn Hearts”.

This sort of dark and intense stuff can hardly be described as easy listening, with songs often exceeding ten minutes in length, frequent tempo changes, dramatic contrasts between quiet church organ and flute interludes followed by cacophonous walls of sound, plenty of minor keys, and some howling solos from David Jackson, sometimes playing two saxes as once. Peter Hammill’s theatrical vocals are definitely an acquired taste. I can easily forgive anyone for not liking their music; this stuff is not for the faint-hearted. But it’s rewarding for those prepared to make the effort to listen. And even reforming after 25 years, they’re very much a live force to be reckoned with.