Within thirty seconds I am already
wearing half a pint of beer and Selecter – the support act - have not even
finished yet; it’s obviously going to be
one of those nights, especially given the size of the already-heaving pit at
the front.
And if the
excitement was palpable when you entered the room, it gets positively electric
when the lights flashed and the band stride onto stage.
Ostensibly, this is the last night of
Levellers’ Greatest Hits tour. In
reality, as lead singer Chadwick explains, not everything they will play
tonight is a ‘hit’. And so it proves, as
the gig develops into something more akin to a career resume.
The surprising, but welcome, aspect to
this is the inclusion of some older tracks that don’t normally get an airing – World Freakshow; Exodus; Come On and Far From Home force their way on to the
set-list, jettisoning other more well-known tracks.
But to kick off the party there is
probably no better way to start than with Beautiful
Day and from the first chord of that trademark song right through to the
last frenetic drumbeat of Riverflow this
is a revved up, foot-stomping, sing-a-long kind of night.
There is no appearance from Billy Bragg
or Imelda May, as on the greatest hits album, but Selecter do lend a hand on Together All The Way and Dog Train with She Makes War helping out
on This Garden.
As
ever the band, and especially maverick linchpin Jeremy, look like they are
having the time of their lives. It is rare to see a band and audience so in
harmony; several times Chadwick steps away from the microphone and lets the
crowd carry the songs. Two decades as a powerful lead singer hasn’t altered Chadwick’s
voice; this isn’t a shouting, screaming, can’t-hear-the-words vocalist, this is
a powerful articulator who brings the words to life.
A twenty three song setlist, with two
encores, gives some insight into the depth and wealth of material that this
band possess; still making great music twenty five years down the line and
showing no signs of stopping.
On
this evidence The Levellers are far from done; they’re simply getting stronger.
Next up is an acoustic tour throughout January, February and March, to promote
their new film ‘A Curious Life’; this documentary charts the band’s rise to
fame in the early nineties and has been produced by ex Chumbawamba singer
Dunstan Bruce. Further details from www.levellers.co.uk
