In the course of watching videos (and there are TONS - the band doesn't seem to mind fans taping them or even posting official concert DVDs), I discovered there was more to the story of their trip across the pond.
Back in August, 2009, Wichita L42 fan Heather Bloomgren posted the first of a series of hilarious (especially to fans, but also funny in general) videos imploring the group to come here. It appears to pay homage to the "Children Say" video (which in turn seems a shout-out to the Dylan doc "Don't Look Back"). The official site picked it up, much to Heather's glee in part 2. Part 3 showcases bassist Josh/Mark, and part 4 features auditions for the Level 41 + 7/8 show choir (FYI, "Heathrow" and "Mr. Pink" are instrumentals). Heather gets a very special Christmas gift in part 5 and international fans add support (to the tune of "Tracie") in the next installment. Finally, the Announcement. Woo-hoo! The press picked up on it as well. Turns out Heather was at the NYC concert (they did not play anywhere near Wichita), but I didn't know about any of this at the time.
I follow the band's news on the official site, but hadn't gotten around to watching a Dutch radio/TV show of a few weeks ago. Turns out this includes one of the best performances I've seen. Level 42 is great live, but they do use sequencer/synth tracks to add extra keyboards, guitars, or even an entire brass section to the lineup. In this studio, they had "cut down gear," with just one keyboard and borrowed drums. It's not quite acoustic, but sounds a bit more intimate, and the guys look like they're having a great time (despite the strangely intrusive host). The tracks are timed as follows:
4:03 Interview starts after ads
5:05 Love Games
17:34 Dream Crazy
34:10 Mr. Pink
44:10 Something About You
52:02 Lessons in Love
