Rock Regeneration

Mar20

Levellers/Nick Parker & Benny Wain

on March 20th, 2025 at 20:45

Lighthouse, Poole

We are back at one of my favourite local venues, a venue where I started my love for gigs back in 1981 and since then I have been fortunate enough to see a whole load of great bands here since. Tonight we are at the Lighthouse, Poole in the main hall for the return of Brighton’s The Levellers as part of the Levellers Collective tour. The band brought this ‘Acoustic’ tour format here in 2023; the band comprising of lead vocalist Mark Chadwick, bassist Jeremy Cunningham, drummer Charlie Heather and fiddle player John Sevink, Dan Donnelly guitar/mandolin/didgeridoo with Matt Savage on Keys. Once again they are joined by Raevennan Husbandes (Guitar), Hannah Miller (Cello) & Oli Austin (Percussion) of Alt/Folk band The Moulettes. The aim is to pay homage to the songs and to deliver them in a format that will thoroughly display the instrumentation, melodies and lyrics.

Before tonight’s main attraction we have Glastonbury resident; troubadour Nick Parker, who will be a familiar face to the vast majority of this audience. He is a regular at Beautiful Days and has supported the Levellers several times previously. He takes to the stage with constant sidekick, West Bay’s most famous fiddle player Benny Wain. Kicking off with “Departures” the duo charm the Poole crowd from the start with wonderfully observational lyrics, coupled with some impressive musical prowess. Sadly they only have a brief 30 minute set, however they cram in some of Nick’s most memorable tunes as well as couple of new one’s including the amazingly retrospective number “The Half of The Moon” that you need to be over 40 to fully enjoy and appreciate. The best is saved until last with the enchanting “Terry & June” getting whoops and hollers as the tune starts, with plenty of us singing along. There is even a Levellers reference “Boaksy on his didgeridoo” cleverly inserted into the lyrics. The duo get plenty of positive applause as they leave the stage and as both are huge fans of the headliners, I’m sure they want to take their seats for the show.

Nick Parker 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8–9

After a quick interval, the lights go down the serene intro starts and the 9 players stride onto the stage and take their seats. Opening with “Ghosts on The Water” from the band’s 2020 studio album “Peace”, this auditorium lends itself perfectly with its acoustic properties. The band have created a beautiful layered sound and this, coupled with the harmonies is a joy to behold. Each number has been lovingly reworked within these acoustic-style arrangements with a host of new elements brought in. Hannah’s cello, together with Jon’s fiddle bring some delightful melodies; along with some spot on percussion from Oli, Raevennan’s considerable guitar skills include the use of an E-bow bringing further enhancements. “Battle of the Beanfield” with it’s short to the point message is an early highlight, while the hauntingly magnificent version of “Elation” takes these reworkings to another sublime level.

The gig feels like it has two halves, the first 10 songs the audience listen intently in the seats. Once they hear the opening bars of what has become the Levellers own anthem “One Way” the majority get to their feet and dance along in abandonment. The band continue with a selection of crowd pleasing favourites including “England My Home” , “Hope Street”, the epic “Far From Home” with its injection of samba sounds and uplifting “The Road”. This continues the high momentum and keeps the audience up on their feet. It must be said though that when Dan Donnelly briefly takes over the vocals from Mark on the emotive “Four Boys Lost”, he does a mighty fine job.

Levellers Collective 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8–9

The band leave the stage briefly and return for the customary encore and the atmosphere is pushed up a notch further. By the looks on the band’s faces they all seem to enjoy this part of the set the most. It seems they let their hair down and feed off the energy bestowed upon them from the audience on “The Burfield Stomp” and the Rev Hammer song “Down by the River O”, which the band released backed with fitting black & white footage of American Bluegrass clog dancers. The evening ends in euphoric fashion with the classic ” What You Know”. Many audience members leave their seats and make their way to the front and the dancing escalates. The band leave the stage on a high and the Lighthouse crowd loudly show their appreciation for yet another fine evening in their company.

Set List
Levellers
Ghosts in the Water
The Ballad of Robbie Jones
Together All the Way
Believers
Battle of the Beanfield
Wheels
Sitting In The Social
Man O’ War
Julie
Elation
One Way
England My Home
Hope Street
The Cholera Well
Four Boys Lost
The Boatman
Far From Home
The Road