The Braindead Collective – The Ultimate Picture Palace, Oxford 17/09/09

Arriving at the gig tonight we’re somewhat surprised to learn that it nearly didn’t happen on account of police nervousness. Apparently concerned with some kind of uprising, it took a little convincing to finally allow the event to take place. Quite what was expected from an ensemble called The Braindead Collective is anyone’s guess – some kind of left wing zombie uprising perhaps.

Whatever, the gig finally got the go ahead which means we will finally get to enjoy tonight’s “cosmic event – featuring projections from the ether”.

What this actually means is that a craftily assembled ensemble is going to offer up a new interpretation of a David Lynch short which is projected behind them. So it is we find ourselves squeezed into some quite tight fitting threadbare cinema seats and await the film to start. The band themselves feature members of Keyboard Choir, Guillemots (drummer Greig Stewart who cut his teeth in harcore legends Camp Blackfoot) and local favourites The Joe Allen Band. Rather than stick to a carefully laid out plan, tonight’s set is improvised and when you’re improvising, what better material to back you up than David Lynch’s haywire visions. The film The Braindead Collective have chosen tonight is The Cowboy and The Frenchman, Lynch’s 1988 “slapstick”. Things start cagily, with the band keeping things fairly sparse, almost seemingly nervous about invading each others space. However as they progress laptop glitches meld seamlessly with sax and trombone interjections, while the bass and guitar sits deep in the mix providing a reassuring groove for us to hold on to as the brass leads the way. If the band head perilously close to jazz territory at any time then they seem to almost consciously pull back and develop themes rather than extrapolate randomly and paint themselves into a corner. Considering the alleged slapstick nature of the movie, there’s precious little humour residing in the music. The frantic switching of instruments and insistent nature of the developing piece gives a dark feel to the images being projected behind the band but then, it is a David Lynch movie so you’d expect something a little more sinister than if it were Keystone Cops.

When the band draws things to a close, it all feels too short and you hunger for further interpretations rather than a single piece or a single movie. You’re intrigued to know what they’d do with different material – Lynch films seem to be a particular favourite for musicians at the moment. We find ourselves making a checklist of things we’d like to see The Braindead Collective soundtrack next time out. That episode of Eastenders where Den gives Ange the divorce papers at Christmas? An endless loop of the Zapruder film maybe? A half hour of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum? Perhaps one of George A Romero’s Living Dead movies might be more appropriate for a band with their name.

It’s fascinating to watch The Braindead Collective push themselves without disappearing up their collective arses. We can’t wait to see what they do next, maybe they just postponed that left-wing Zombie uprising till the next time.

The Braindead Collective on MySpace