Mark Chadwick (The Levellers) – Ken and Dan (Ferocious Dog) Live in Newcastle

Newcastle we have landed!

Finally after a gazillion rescheduled dates, the day has arrived for an intimate acoustic gig with Mark Chadwick (The Levellers), Red Ken & Dan (Ferocious Dog).  To be in Newcastle and for that matter any town in May 2021 after a devastating 25 months for live music, is nothing short of a pressure release for the fans and a moment of to savour for all those artists and bands who quite frankly had the rug pulled from under them at the beginning of last year.

The evening started with a scream, well a screaming fire alarm at the hotel which over looked the iconic river Tyne, so our adventure started right there and then, a quick exit from the hotel onto the streets of Newcastle, a long walk up the hill to the venue, bumping into Dan on his way out to find food before the gig, and then finding ourselves the first group of six to arrive was a bonus, “not open just yet, but for you wonderful people, we will make an exception, go find a table and order your drinks from the open bar via the app” was the response from the organisers, which of course we duly did.

What a great set up this was too, a marque/big top outside the union bar, with 2 open sides for great ventilation and not too cold a night to boot, tables perfectly set out with plenty of space, a stage that was softly lit and a wonderful sound system, oh and don’t forget the flowers draped around the stage and mic stands, just to add an organic touch.

I’ll get this out of the way now, yes we had lots to drink and yes we indulged in dancing around the table, but everyone was so respectful and just happy to be there.  

Now comes the time when it starts to fill up, and bearing in mind we are north of the Tyne here, there were so many familiar faces from the length and breadth of this land, Nottingham & Derbyshire being the predominant areas to be represented outside of the North East.

So with my jug of lager in hand, it was time for the area to be filled with music and merriment, Ken & dan took to the stage Guitar and fiddle in hand (you know this is gonna be special), ‘Freethinker’ is the opener, a song that just has its place in the audiences hearts and minds, no surprise when the tent just erupts at this point.  

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What follows was a set list that crammed in every thing from  ‘The Glass’  ‘On The Rocks’ ‘Quite Paddy’ form the first album, ’Ruby Bridges’  ‘Gollows Justice’  ‘Raggle Taggle Gypsy’ from The From Without album, ‘Black Gold’ from Red album and then finishing with the spell binding and emotional ‘Slow Motion Suicide’, by this time the whole audience was now on their feet and the past year didn’t matter for that moment in time.  What a way to kick off the live music scene again for most.

How do you follow that?

Having downed a few more jugs of the liquid gold, we are all in great voice and looking forward to the arrival of Mark Chadwick, which happens with what seems like no time at all, donning his Pork Pie hat and looking happy to be playing to an audience who are already showing so much love for him, its straight into ‘Liberty Song’ and ‘The Boatman’ both from Levelling The Land, a huge applause, probably as much relief this is happening as wow what an opener. With the tone now set Mark moves on through a set list of songs that span the 33 years and 12 albums of history behind them, songs like ‘Barrel Of A Gun’ from the first album through to ‘Burning Hate Like Fire’ from the 2020 album Peace.  

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Mark owned all of these songs and the space around them, all sung with beautiful tone and and an interaction with the listener that only comes from the belief in what you do and sing about.

Interaction like when you have your friend Julie enjoying ‘Julie’ being sung with a personal feel, or ‘Liberty Song’ that regardless of the original sentiment, gave the crowd a feeling of getting free and showing how a lock down can feel like having your life controlled, the release was palpable.

A night of friendship, great music and most of all, both acts made this night every bit as special as it deserved.