Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
An evening with one of Liverpool’s favourite set of performers has arguably never been so laid back, filled with sensational imagery and the wonderful harking back to childhood reminisce as the sound of The Southbound Attic Band gently resonated though the pages of abundant books and the visibly moved audience at Waterloo’s cultural oasis of Write Blend.
Not far the from rugged sands that separate The Mersey from the paving stones that lead down South Road, to the once small hamlet whose charity run Plaza Cinema stands erect and proud and where Colin Dexter once read of the life of Endeavour Morse across the road in the back room of the local civic hall, stands the gentleness of a time, of the playfulness of imagination. Where in amongst the noise of modern life, of innocent charm and the odd dip into a world full of the feeling of a dystopian hero riding into save the day from the moral oppressors and the haven opened up before the assembled crowd and the notable work of Kenneth Graham was given fresh appeal.
Barry Jones and Ronnie Clarke, two men whose music goes down a storm wherever they perform and perhaps hold the distinguished mention of having one of the most requested songs played in Liverpool tucked firmly in their musical back pocket, took a hugely enjoyable different approach to performing live as they took the English Literature classic of Wind in The Willows and gave it a new idealism, a fresh look on how to take a body of work and make it sparkle like the Iron Men that stand rigid at dawn and for whom to all inside Write Blend revelled in the dark illumination offered.
The words of Kenneth Graham, the small vignettes of the life of Ratty, Mole, Badger and of course Mr. Toad were enhanced by the songs especially written by Barry Jones and which filled the air with the realisation that for some, this was perhaps the most ideal way to spend a couple of hours in the company of music, literature and the aroma of finely brewed tea.
With The Willows Suite being received with absolute joy throughout, the tale of the animals of the River Bank took the audience back to a simpler time, to a period that lay not in the rush for success, money and adulation, but in the offering of a trouble free time which was gratefully accepted. ]
With songs such as Days of Our Lives Moley, the excellent Wild Wood, To Be A Father and the ingenious Valpariso Bound included in the evening, what came across was the natural delight of charm and care being taken and allowed to wade in amongst the embers of hectic living. This was a night when all aligned, it might have had the light show, the banter of a raucous crowd or indeed the feeling of the loud, it however did have the feeling of utter contentment and for that both The Southbound Attic Band and Write Blend deserve full marks for laying on such a splendid night.
The Willow Suite by The Southbound Attic Band will be performed at Write Blend on South Road, Waterloo on Friday 25th September.
Ian D. Hall