Level 42 come to Wales!

A fool and his money are soon parted, so they say. But Level 42 were so good in Salford that I had to see them again.

My musical taste is quite varied, and I've never really been a fan of going to concerts, but in the last year I've seen Jamiroquai at the MEN Arena, Faithless at the CIA in Cardiff, and Level 42 twice. All this after a gap of 13 years since I saw the Shamen at Newport Leisure Centre on my 18th birthday!!!

Although the set list is identical, it's clear that they have been on the road for a few weeks now, and the performances have grown stronger as they've spent more time together.

There were two major differences between the Salford Lowry concert and last night at St David's Hall, Cardiff. First of all, St David's Hall is massive - too big in fact. The crowd are spread out in 12 separate sections which doesn't help the accoustics. The second difference was the crowd itself, who were far more lively and responsive than the previous gig.

A few people had started to dance during "Hot Water" but by the time the band rolled into Starchild a mosh pit of around three hundred 40-year-olds had formed in front of the stage. It was quite a sight!

All around the upper tiers people were on their feet (myself included) belting out "The sun goes down", "Running in the family", "Lessons in Love" and finally "Something about you". I just kept smiling all the way through as it was wonderful to see my favourite band produce a fantastic performance in front of a wonderfully appreciative crowd.

At the end of the encore, Mark King and (a very shy) Mike Lindup shook hands with every single member of the mosh pit before departing the stage, promising to see us next year.

Fantastic.

Set list in full.

Dive into the Sun
To be with you again
Hot Water
Rooted
World Machine
Retroglide
Leaving me now
Kansas City Milkman
Starchild
The Sun goes down
Running in the family
Lessons in Love
Something about you.
ENCORE
Sleep Talking
The Chinese Way