The Levellers - a review. On LJ as it's too long really for Facebook

[annwfyn]

So, last night was the Glasgow gig as part of the Levellers 25th anniversary tour for Levelling the Land. And Jeremiah and I went. I don’t normally do reviews, but I was filled with thoughts and feelings this morning and so felt the need. As all my reviews are, it is divided into three parts. The good. The bad. And the ugly.

So, without further ado.

The Good:

• The support acts. Ferocious Dog & Gaz Brookfield were both awesome. Gaz Brookfield is a very warm and witty acoustic singer and songwriter, who did a fantastic job of getting the crowd engaged. Ferocious Dog, it turns out, have Fruitbat from Carter USM as their guitarist, and also an unhinged tattooist as their lead singer who lists Lenin, Scargill, and Marx as his influences on their website, thus indicating a great deal of resilience in the face of an unforgiving political world which probably does help when trying to make a living as a folk rock musician. I accept that my political views are, compared to him, practically Genghis Khan like, and he probably doesn’t want the likes of me appreciating his music, but I really did. And their violinist was flat out incredible.
• The venue - lovely bouncy dance floor, decent space, small enough to keep the buzz focused, large enough that it was easy to breathe. And it was less than an hour to get home which is a distinct improvement on the last Levellers gig I went to and no mistake.
• The audio-visual at the beginning. I liked the neat little summary of the world according to the Levellers, from the 1980s to now, and it really put them firmly back on track as protest music, which is something I think they’ve drifted from slightly in recent years. Again, I know I’m definitely way to the right of the average Levellers fan (for I am a fickle bitch and have not kept the faith with my teenage politics) but I really appreciated that they were focusing on that edge to the songs.
• The music! Of course! They basically played through Levelling the Land entirely, which pretty much doesn’t have a weak song as far as I’m concerned. I danced until my knees gave way and dear gods, I was happy. They remain absolutely reliable - decent vocals, decent instruments. Maybe they are getting old but they are not out for the count just yet. And, unusually, they played Julie! It was their encore song and as that’s the Levellers song which reliably makes me cry this is good. Then the final song was ‘Beautiful Day’ which is my least favourite Levellers song, so meant I could get my coat from the cloakroom before the crowds dispersed.
• The entire gig made me think. Which is always a good thing. I’ve not yet sorted out my thoughts, especially the coherent rational ones from the ‘I used to be really passionate and idealistic and have all the answers to what made the world good and then I got old and also, I was thin when I believed that stuff, and my hair wasn’t at all grey. If I believed that stuff again, would my hair change colour? Is grey a sign of the evil in my soul’? But I do have thoughts and it was nice to have them.

The Bad:

• The crowd booed Thatcher. Loudly. They booed Blair. Loudly. They stared in baffled silence when Farage appeared on the screen. This vexed me hugely for reasons I’m still trying to articulate. Probably mostly that I think if you are going to be so politically bloody engaged, then how about engaging with the actual political villainy of the now. This might, however, be me being unreasonable.
• A slightly odd running order to the gig meant that they basically really front loaded the whole thing. They started with ‘One Way’, and then played through Levelling The Land, which really pushed their good stuff to the start of the gig, while the crowd were clearly getting on a roll. And that then meant their second half was slightly more random which was not bad, exactly, but could have been better.
• More screens than I would like. I love my mobile as much as the next girl, but there is a time and a place. And if you’re in the middle of the pit at a Levellers gig, that is not the place to stand rock still, hold your phone aloft and mutter between songs about people jumping in the way.
• The amount of pain I’m in this morning. I don’t want to admit this, but I think I might be getting old. I certainly am not in a place where I can go to a gig, dance all night and go to work in the morning feeling good about the world. Well, maybe mentally about the world. But not physically. I ache!

The Ugly:

• Here I can only offer advice. If you’re a middle aged punk, I’m glad you’ve kept your individuality and spirit. If you want to go to a gig wearing a kilt - that’s awesome. If you want to take your shirt off then I even support that. But if you’re going to do these things, might I suggest you ensure your kilt is securely fasted to your belt, and that said belt is solidly in the middle of your stomach, before you start jumping around enthusiastically during the songs. Thank you!

Also, Ferocious Dog are playing in Glasgow again in January. I would very much encourage anyone who likes music of the New Model Army/Levellers persuasion to give it a go. Jez and I will definitely be there.