Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

A darkened o2 Academy is a place of wonder, the expectation can come filtering through the shadows and the tension is almost palatable and worth bottling for sale. A band can, in the time that it takes to walk from the downstairs dressing rooms to the exposed stage in front of a capacity crowd, become kings for the night or drown in their sorrows after the evening has ended. One such group that always plays at the very highest of their ability and performs incredibly well live is the men that make up The Levellers.

Earlier in the year the Brighton band released their superb Static on the Airwaves for public scrutiny and it was from this album that the band came out on stage. The disembodied voices of the album title track came through loud and clear and the audience of the o2 Academy quickly realised they were in for an outrageous and music filled evening from The Levellers.

The Levellers opened up a sublime and intense set with We Are All Gunmen before launching into Beautiful Day from Mouth To Mouth. With the first couple of songs done and dusted it was already possible to see that the audience were chomping at the bit and ready to take on the world for a couple of hours. Not only did this dynamic that was boiling up in the crowd intensify and make for great participation but it increased the reaction from the band members on stage who gave perhaps their most storming and musically gratifying gig.

The new album got some very impressive airtime from the band and sat well in a set list made up songs from almost every era and section of their time together. The songs Truth is, Our Forgotten Towns and the heart pounding Mutiny was positioned comfortably with tracks such as The Game, The Boatmen, The Riverflow and Sell Out from Levelling the Land.

The encores saw the band perform the stomping Far From Home and The Liberty Home before coming back on stage one last time on the night armed with a sea of extras, including local musician Rob Taylor on banjo for the phenomenal finish of The Recruiting Sergeant.

A top notch, exhilarating, bouncy and sweaty gig which proclaimed that Levellers are still one of the finest bands to catch live.

Ian D. Hall