Tag Archives: Gig Review. o2 Academy

Joanne Shaw Taylor, Gig Review. O2 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There is nothing reckless about Joanne Shaw Taylor, wild and as full of tempestuous cosmic storms that erupt from the Sun as it gives into its cycle of moods but never reckless, never irresponsible with the hearts of those who seek to spend their time in her company. She is attentive to the soul with a smile beguilingly appearing as the notes hang in the air and the manner of expression is savoured, it is the dedication to her craft that has created such an explosive sound and one that is cared for on both sides of the stage.

Joanne Shaw Taylor, Gig Review. O2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(497 words, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

The Stranglers, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Newcastle.

Baz Warne of The Stranglers at the Newcastle o2 Academy, March 2016. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Not everything in life is Black and White but it must be safe to say that for many who have grown up, grown alongside and grown older disgracefully with The Stranglers, you either love them or you haven’t had your electricity switched on for the past forty years; for how else can you explain not having a soul in which to celebrate one of Britain’s finest bands, the longevity and the love that comes out of the Punk Rock wash whenever the Stranglers come to town.

The Stranglers, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Newcastle. full post

(558 words, 1 image, estimated 2:14 mins reading time)

The Alarm, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Newcastle.

The Alarm’s Mike Peters at the 02 Academy, Newcastle, 2016. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

In troubled times, when the glow of the knife edge seems to radiating heat and venom beyond that which is tolerable in the world, Mike Peters words to The Alarm song Where Were You Hiding When The Storms Broke? seems to take on a meaning that makes the nerve endings in the spine shudder but with steely resolve not to be found wanting when the hard decision is put your way. It is in the courage of conviction to make the choice which will either see you popular or see you determined by history to be right.

The Alarm, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Newcastle. full post

(483 words, 1 image, estimated 1:56 mins reading time)

Michael Schenker’s Temple Of Rock, Gig Review. O2 Academy, Liverpool.

Doogie White from Michael Schenker’s Temple Of Rock at the o2 Academy, Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

As the sweat of a many a Liverpool rock fan glistened in the neon lights of the Academy, as the thunder of the well timed clap echoed round the room and the hint of the monumental started to take place in the minds of those in attendance, the smile of a master beamed down across the floor of the venue and the guitar, slung low, howled with joy at the response; if 2016 has been a kick in the teeth for music so far, if the feeling of loss has been verging on the unbearable, then Michael Schenker’s Temple of Rock was the antidote for the evening and a more magnificent display of raw musical prestige could a crowd ask for in such mesmerising light.

Michael Schenker’s Temple Of Rock, Gig Review. O2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(481 words, 1 image, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

Anthrax, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Birmingham.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The clock ticks down with strength and purpose as the black clouds of unimpressive rain and chocked down November days hit the Birmingham Streets. The Bristol Road, once a serene setting for W.H. Auden as he meandered back home in which to place a timely piece of prosaic poetry, is now lined with the signs of two of the “Big Four” of American Thrash Metal adorned on T-shirts and the rightful acknowledgement that Birmingham is the true home of Metal.

Anthrax, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Birmingham. full post

(430 words, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

Fearless Vampire Killers, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. (2015).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

When Fearless Vampire Killers last stood on the stage of the Academy in support to Medina Lake in 2013, the sense of the occasion was rife in the air. The mercurial, almost explosive substances of hopeful burgeoning testosterone mixed with feminine guile and raging hormones fighting it out over supremacy and the will of capitulation hung heavy in the air and the taste of being undefeatable rampant and undisguised. Nothing has changed in the intervening 18 months except for the air getting heavier and the crowd becoming more vocal, aside from that, to be at a Fearless Vampire gig is to be honoured.

Fearless Vampire Killers, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. (2015). full post

(431 words, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

Annisokay, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The enigmatic smile that growls in the darkness on offer by German band Annisokay throughout their latest album, is nothing compared to the broad all knowing grin they lay out before a live audience, especially an audience that is treated to their performance for the first time ands in a city not noted for its love of the genre.

Annisokay, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(457 words, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)

The Boomtown Rats, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

Bob Geldof at the o2 Academy, Liverpool, October 2014. Photgraph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

On a night like this…where the decades are rolled back, when the silent regret of Time sheds a tear for the lack of decency and improvement in the lives of those that inhabit the fragile Earth. In which the bullet and the bomb, the political scorn kicking downwards and the rise of a party in which right minded people should be doing all they can to make sure they never get a grasp on even a seat in the next election, let alone have a say in running the country. The Boomtown Rats returned to Liverpool and for those in the crowd at the o2 Academy old enough to remember, gave the type of performance for which audiences at Eric’s would have raved about for weeks on end.

The Boomtown Rats, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(729 words, 2 images, estimated 2:55 mins reading time)

Republica, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. October 2014.

Saffron of Republica at the 02 Academy in Liverpool. October 2014. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

As an outside band to Liverpool, to perform in the city once a year is to be considered fortunate, to come twice, to blast the cobwebs that build up into nothing more than finely layered dust and its occupiers scuttling into the small cracks and fissures, should be arguably considered as a sign of mutual appreciation.

Republica, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. October 2014. full post

(438 words, 1 image, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

Kobra And The Lotus, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

It’s not every day you find a cobra on stage entertaining a crowd so completely but the difference is that this particular Kobra has got bite. A tempting creature who, had she been placed somewhere on hand in the Garden of Eden wouldn’t have had any trouble in tempting the guardians of the Tree of Knowledge into sacrificing their cushy life and no doubt which ever deity happened to be wandering past at the time, then this Kobra would have happily taken them down the path to true Metal redemption also.

Kobra And The Lotus, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(520 words, estimated 2:05 mins reading time)