It's been long overdue but VV Brown is back and sounding better than ever. I went down to her single launch party to witness her comeback for Live Magazine.
"This is the single launch party!" VV Brown roared in response to rapturous applause "I've missed you." And by the sounds of it, the legion of VV lovers crammed into Madame Jojo's had certainly missed her too. VV was all chatter and giggles between songs, but as soon as the music dropped, shit got real. Channelling a young Yoko Ono and the drama of Grace Jones, she opened with Substitute For Love, and her change was instantly apparent. As she bellowed into the mic, each word articulate and enunciated, every long and drawn out breath reassured the crowd that her music grown up.
There were flashes of Tina Turner in her performance, with bolts of electric energy rippling throughout her and permeating the crowd. It was contagious. With every head bang and thrust of her arms, you couldn't help but feel you were in the presence of somebody who truly loved what they were doing. This didn't look like somebody working; it was someone rocking out with a group of old friends after a much-awaited return. This was art; her lyrics wetting a canvas blank for four years.
Fairy lights littered the back of the stage and mood lighting accompanied every tune, a small but appreciated detail. These little things would be a theme that would spread throughout the show; she approached each track differently but deliberately, paying close attention to every detail of her performance. Different energies were constantly channelled; some gothic, some dreamy, all otherworldly and ethereal.
Co-written Faith lightened the mood with uplifting lyrics, while Apple encouraged audience participation. We let loose as VV instructed us to repeat after her: 'Don't testify me...Don't bring me down...Don't hold me captive...You're the apple of my eye'. A mass exorcism of sorts occurred, as the crowd screeched at proverbial ice-hearted ex's and long gone lost loves. The mass whooped with excitement when VV's promised a super sexy version of fan favourite Shark In The Water. The intimacy of the gig helped reinforce her hot and heavy rendition of the classic.
Samson and Delilah triumphantly closed the show and opened a new chapter in VV's musical career. She has gone in a very new direction indeed; and it's one I (and more importantly crowd) absolutely adore.