18 July 2013 (gig)
27 July 2013
Having been to a couple of gigs at the stunning Eden Project recently, it seems at times impossible to imagine a better setting than being surrounded by tropical plants and space age biomes as a backdrop for a gig.....until that is you walk down the narrow stone steps down the cliff onto Lusty Glaze Beach.
With the Stage set up against the cliff facing the sea, we the audience stand on the beach facing the stage one way and turn around to hear the waves lapping on the shore behind us. You don't get many better settings than this on a warm July evening to enjoy some live music,especially when it's being provided by seasoned performers like The Levellers. We might not get many bands venture down this far South West, but we give them the best venues when they get here!
The guys kick off proceedings tonight with very early fan favourite England My Home, this warms us all up a little before they launch into What A Beautiful Day,swiftly followed by The Game. We're only a few songs in and most of the crowd are already singing along and jigging away to some classic Levellers, It's gonna be a goodun!
Mark and the guys try to give us all some tips on how to dance in the sand,it's no easy task, Jez demonstrates that pogoing is the way to go,even though he looks like every time his feet hit the ground his hideously long heavy dreads give him whiplash!
The Levellers have been going for well over 20 years now and are dab hands at rousing festival audiences worldwide. They've a huge back catalogue to go through,and every song is carried off with effortless professionalism and joy from the band, but tonight it's the songs from one of the most ubiquitous albums of the early 90's, Levelling the Land, that stand out. That record was basically like a Greatest Hits it had so much quality throughout.
Songs like Far From Home and Liberty Song are singalong classics and blast us back 20 years as we all wonder how we still know all the words. I think it's something to do with the frantic fiddle playing that give these songs such a nostalgic feel good factor, having said that, this stuff doesn't sound dated, and you don't get a hint that these guys are bored with banging these tracks out day in day out, year in year out. They love these songs and they love sharing them with us.
Battle of the Beanfield and the beautifully frantic Riverflow bring the main set to a rousing crescendo of a finish.
Far from being danced or partied out, this crowd are on a high, and the band return for a few more classics and top the set off with their favourite (Charlie Daniels Band) cover version The Devil Went Down To Georgia. Quite obviously a big influence to their sound, the band carry this classic off like one of their own. We all climb up the cliff with massive grins on our faces.Great band, great setting, great night!
