The Levellers / Alabama 3 / 3 Daft Monkeys

Having had flu for the past week and missing out on several shows, I was determined not to miss The Levellers on a Friday night. If anyone can act as musical medicine it's the folk punk legends (I dare anyone to try and stand still for a full Levellers show).

Proving popular as support on their last tour which reached Manchester, the Brighton band have again asked 3 Daft Monkeys to start of the proceedings. They are the perfect act to warm us up for the Levs, more than can be said for the next lot.

Alabama 3 are putting on a special acoustic set as penultimate support. The set is very amusing for the one reason; I am struggling to catch a single word Jake Black is saying, though the words 'whiskey' and 'piano' do stand out. It’s like watching Shane McGowan front a band with less members.

Looking around I don't think the crowd are up for the ramblings of this lead man. I feel sorry for the rest of the band members, especially the harmonica player who was excellent. Mind you, everyone in the crowd is eagerly awaiting the main act.

This show is one of three special concerts to celebrate twenty years of The Levellers, named 'Beautiful Nights'. The place is crammed full of all sorts of people, not just hippies that have come to be perceived as the main followers of the band. Though to me the band are the best live act, and are best served on a sunny day in a field (muddy or not), their music is so uplifting and well-played that everyone in the place is dancing and having a good time.



It seems that at one point in the set it is one hit after another, enough to exhaust any fan. 'Beautiful Day' leads onto 'Boatman' and then to 'One Way'. The didgeroo jig at the end of 'Boatman', with Steven Boakes' extraordinary skills along to it's dance beat, gets a few people standing above the crowd on their mate’s shoulders, seriously doing hand moves to the trance-like melody.

Both tracks from new single 'A Life Less Ordinary' and 'The Cholera Well' get a good reception, but it's the hits that shake the venue. New for the band too is a large LED backdrop, featuring fancy lighting shows and statements that light up the mosh pit.



My favourite live track of all time, 'The Riverflow', sees my drink go flying as there is not a still person in the Apollo. This is followed in the two encores by 'Just The One' and 'Liberty'. Who needs dance music to thrash about like a nutter?

3 Daft Monkeys lend a helping hand on final (and old) track 'What You Know', for a rip-roaring final. There is not an unhappy face in the Apollo at the end of the show, everyone seems elated and quite frankly knackered from all the dancing! My flu feels under control....all in all a beautiful night!

Set list:
England My Home
Battle Of The Beanfield
A Life Less Ordinary
Sell Out
The Road
Beautiful Day
The Boatman
Boatman Jig
One Way
Burn America
Exodus
Men-An-Tol
Carry Me
Dirty Davey
The Cholera Well
The Riverflow

Warning
Dog Train
Just The One

Liberty
What You Know

FUTURE GIGS