RATHER a different experience for a Levellers gig. Thirty years since this free-spirited group first formed, and seven years since their last York visit, this was a seated acoustic affair.

While on record, We The Collective is a highly musical, economical reinvention of their outspoken back catalogue, it sent out mixed messages live.

Although the stark, divisive political landscape matches York’s parched, burnt grass, the airy strings of England My Home suggested something closer to the mythical green and pleasant land evoked by the likes of Vaughn Williams.

The musicians were seated, violin player Jon Sevink resplendent in bare feet, on a towel for those rock star toes. This created a stillness that felt at odds with the band’s spirit. The audience too, even when encouraged to chair-dance, sat uncharacteristically quiet and polite.

There was still much to enjoy; those strings were wonderful and the twin voices of Mark Chadwick and Simon Friend were as passionate as ever. Even when staring down the suburban barrel of The Edge Of The World, the melodies always lift the material. The rebuke in The Shame was delivered with a rasp, but with a velvet hook.

Just as the set was drifting into a mid-evening strum, they wisely upped the energy levels. Hope Street was the decisive song that enlivened the senses and where the crowd found their voice. Fifteen Years and One Way had the crowd swaying on their feet. The morale of this story? Don’t mess with the formula.