Ezio thrill the Corn Hall audience with a cracking gig packed with fan favourites

Posted on 23rd May 2021

This was the third is a series of gigs presented by English Folk Expo at the Corn Hall. Notionally a folk artist, Ezio is at the rockier end of the spectrum, with a sound that occupies a similar space to Hothouse Flowers or Glenn Tilbrook.

Delighted to be playing live, the duo thrilled a socially-distanced bijou audience that seemed to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of their back catalogue. They may well have had a set list prepared, but having signalled a willingness to be “heckled” we heard very little of it, as request after request was honoured. As Moon, A Thousand Years, and Alex were dutifully performed to order, it lent the evening a delightfully intimate atmosphere, notwithstanding the somewhat fruity banter. Even the Covid Blues seemed sanguine rather than mordant, in an evening that closed on fan favourite Saxon Street. Keen they shouldn’t take themselves too seriously, the encore came complete with audience participation – a preposterous dance routine (think Black Lace) to accompany The Further we Stretch.

Both Ezio Lunedei and Mark Fowell are superb guitarists, and Lunedei has a cracking voice – it’s a wonder and a mystery that they aren’t more widely known. Someone called Wayne certainly knew who they were – he had reportedly waited 26 years for Ezio to come to Diss. On the evidence of this performance, I suspect he felt his patience was well rewarded.