The Moshville Times - Gig Review: The Answer / Oli Brown & the Dead Collective – O2 Institute 2, Birmingham (17th March 2023)

It’s a busy night at Birmingham’s O2 Institute with a colossal queue stretching along its street and whilst there’s a lot of excitement for the return of The Answer, there seems to be far more than the Institute 2 can hold. And they don’t exactly look the type. Thankfully, walking past the entrance finds another queue and there’s more familiar faces – people who clearly love a bit of classic rock. Of course, people wearing The Answer shirts helps, too.

Into the slightly smaller room for tonight, Institute 2 is cosier than the upstairs room and in no short time, the place is already packed. So when Oli Brown & the Dead Collective hit the stage, they’ve got a well-deserved captive audience. Having been blown away by the Prelude EP at the start of the year and seeing Brown countless times before, I knew we’d be in for something special. And for just shy of forty minutes, that’s what they deliver. From a quiet welcome from those of us in the know, vocalist and guitarist Brown, drummer Wayne Proctor and Wayward Son/Black Star Rider Sam Wood (also guitar) to hearing the applause and cheers increase after every song, it’s a masterclass in how to win over an audience.

It’s all about creating an atmosphere and there’s so much going on within the music as Brown’s older endeavours combine in a melting pot here – there’s blues, hard rock with a good helping of grungy tones at moments to create something truly unique: something which is all-too rare nowadays. From the opener with its big, boomy sound to the bluesy stomp of its follow-up, this is a different beast. Whilst the songs from the EP are featured here, all back to back in the middle of the set and faithfully recreated, it’s the new, unknown songs which are even more captivating, they’re more complex and demand your attention. Meanwhile, the final two songs are where the band truly shine, the bright, clean tones on the sixth open up into a bombastic monster of a song meanwhile, the finale has a soft, quiet intro before it explodes into life, full of introspection and vulnerability. And if this is what we can expect to hear on future Dead Collective releases, sign me up.

There’s little talking from the band (as Brown promised when we spoke to him a few weeks ago), other than to say hi, sell their merch and introduce the band, letting the music speak on their behalf. And it works. The twin guitars of Brown and Wood each show off their own prowess, Brown somehow having only gotten better since Camden Rocks 2018, more self-assured and comfortable in his skin along with his vocals more measured and controlled. Meanwhile, the depth and texture Wood brings to the table (with his ever-present smile) is full of finesse, going harder where needed and a lighter touch when called for. Wayne Proctor’s approach to drums is similar. He never attacks the kit but knows how to get the most out of it, using a couple of less common cymbals, creating a richness and boldness, without over-using them for the sake of it. It’s reflective of the trio – serving the songs best. By the time the final song ends, the band leave to a much louder response than they started with. Indeed, watching this band is an experience. The music majestic and loaded with emotion which translates to an emotional performance from the polished band, well-rehearsed without being a recital, blurring genre lines. It would be trite to call it “special” yet there’s not a more appropriate word for it.

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There’s some choice songs on the PA as the stage is cleared and everything given another soundcheck. Playing The Wonder Stuff’s “Welcome to the Cheap Seats” in their quasi-hometown seems lost on this crowd but it’s appreciated by me. And before long, the lights dim and each member of the quartet show their faces in turn as they kick into “Something”. The Answer are back. It’s not with a vengeance, it’s not to prove anything, it’s simply to put on a great rock show. Which they do. Despite having been away for some time, they play exactly as you remember – as if their lives depended on it, solid without any weak links and tighter than Justin Hawkins’ catsuits to enable him to hit those high notes.

With the band having only played Blackpool’s Waterloo the previous night and Sundowners released on the very day the play Birmingham, there’s a sense of merriment and celebration. The kind you get from your favourite local band celebrating their last single or EP release. Its youthful exuberance without immaturity. It’s about a band going out and showing they’re having fun and enjoying it.

Keeping that in mind, they don’t just play a handful of Sundowners’ songs and then fill us up with an artery-clogging helping of the older favourites. No, they get ballsy and fire out a mammoth eight tracks from the album and pepper in some of the hits, the bulk of which comes from debut album, Rise, with the early appearance of “Under the Sky” allowing the volume to turn it up a notch with the raucous number. However, the following three albums each get a nod in with a single track cherry-picked as the fairly standard obvious ones you’d go for with “Tonight” (Everyday Demons), “Nowhere Freeway” (Revival) and “Spectacular” (New Horizon). Naturally, it’s the familiar songs which get the loudest cheers and applause down to sheer familiarity. However, there’s still a warm welcome for the new songs, too.

Vocalist Cormac Neeson remarks early on about being on the receiving end of a telling-off due to not mentioning the names of the new songs, apologising if he forgets but makes a concerted effort to do so either before or after each Sundowners track. There’s also a remark about the album looking forward rather than back and, combined with the setlist and the album they’ve released, everything about their comeback feels a little more deliberate. The album in the live environment is forward-facing and already, they’ve worked in ways to have fun with it – “Oh, Cherry” brings in some harmonica to sound like a comeback-era Aerosmith song or even a more recent Quireboys song with its gypsy stylings. The band’s last visit is also addressed when they had their gear stolen last month but it seems they’ve already forgiven the perpetrators, believing that karma will catch up to them. They use this to usher in the good karma and shake off the bad vibes people have in the crowd with “Sundowners”.

With the encore of the upbeat “Livin’ on the Line” sounding like it could have come from their early albums, the band leave us with “Preachin’”. Powered by resonator guitar and Neeson mingling with the crowd, the sludgy blues number is a reminder of how powerful this band’s live performances can be. The one-two of old and new material together as a parting shot is also powerful. It’s an indicator of where this band appear to be heading. Playing to the faithful but toying with the formula to keep it fresh for everyone involved and challenging the boundaries of rock music. Now that they’re back in the game, it’s great to see The Answer pushing forward. The landscape may be a bit different nowadays but unsurprisingly, they’ll meet the challenge.

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Photos by Paul Hutchings