Level 42 at Bristol's Colston Hall - Review
Posted on: 2016-10-20
Our rating:
Jazz-funk proponents returned to Bristol as part of their Sirens II EP tour
With charismatic frontman Mark King at the helm, you can always be confident of an assured live show from Level 42, and this stop-off in Bristol in support of their Sirens II EP was certainly up to their usual high standards.
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The band - who enjoyed huge commercial success throughout the 1980s and into the 90s - have always been strong on stage, but for this particular tour have upped the ante a little and expanded a brass section that provides some wonderful extra depth to their sound. The pack now includes trumpet, saxophone and trombone, with the trio brought to a central stage position behind King and his guitarist/backing vocalist brother Nathan and drummer Pete Ray Biggins moved to the right.
They kicked things off, unusually, with a lesser-known track ‘If You Were Mine’ from 1991’s ‘Guaranteed’ album, but the vast majority of what followed was a line-up of songs that, whilst not framed as a ‘greatest hits’ setlist, certainly threw in plenty of crowd favourites. ‘Micro Kid’, ‘Running In The Family’, and ‘World Machine’ saw them flitting between albums and eras, before slowing the pace down with the mournful ballad ‘It’s Over’ from 1987.
.jpg "Level 42 at Bristol's Colston Hall - Review - by Martin Allen")
One of the strong crowd favourites was ‘The Sun Goes Down (Livin’ It Up)’, a hit for the band way back in 1983 but greeted with plenty of fresh enthusiasm by fans. Mike Lindup, the band’s hugely talented keyboard player and vocalist lent his falsetto tones to an even older track, with the exquisite ‘Starchild’, soon followed by some of the group’s biggest chart successes in ‘Something About You’, ‘Lessons In Love’ - the band never achieved a number one but this came closest at number 3 in 1986 - and ‘Hot Water’.
They deviated from the official setlist for the encore, replacing ‘Heaven In My Hands’ and ‘The Sunbed Song’ with yet more iconic crowd pleasers in ‘Love Games’ and ‘The Chinese Way’, reinforcing the sense that this is a band more than happy to deliver their more familiar tunes.
King pointed out that he and Lindup had been working together “in harness” for 37 years. Whilst their commercial profile is lower than it once was, as a live proposition they remain great value. Since they tend to tour on a two-year cycle, keep October 2018 as free as you can and catch one of the UK’s most underrated live bands.
4/5
.jpg "Level 42 at Bristol's Colston Hall - Review - by Martin Allen for 365Bristol")
Article by:
As a lifelong music obsessive, Martin brings his extensive journalism experience to bear on reviewing some of the many gigs that make Bristol's music scene one of the liveliest in the country. Originally from London, he spends his time following AFC Wimbledon, tormenting his children with Dad Jokes, and getting out to see as much live music, comedy and theatre as possible.
