Monthly Archives: August 2012

The Wonderstuff, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 5th 2011.

The Wonderstuff have ploughed a trough so few bands have been able to emulate, let alone follow. With so few peers to have come from the area of formation, notably Pop Will Eat itself and to an extent Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, it is no wonder that Miles Hunt and the original members of the band carved a huge niche in the Midlands.

In 2010 the established new version of the band toured to critical success alongside Liverpool based Amsterdam, now it seems the band are hungry for more of the same.

The Wonderstuff, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(340 words, 1 image, estimated 1:22 mins reading time)

Jump, Gig Review. Alexanders Bar, Chester.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 8th 2011.
To miss a band whilst they are touring the country can sometimes be unfortunate; to miss them for a couple of tours can be a seen as neglectful but to miss them when that group is the legendary Jump, it can be downright criminal.
The bands name might not roll of the tongue as memorable but if you ever saw them perform you would be a fan for life. Armed to the teeth with an arsenal of honest, intelligent and scathing songs the band have been playing live for the best part of two decades and have had the kudos of supporting some of the finest names in music including Fish, Marillion, The Blockheads and Midge Ure.
For a band with such pedigree behind them it is always refreshing to see them play in some of the smaller venues and in the intimacy of Alexanders in Chester they once more showed why their particular brand of rock has crossed the boundaries of the changing times and yet retained the dry, inherent wit that makes them such a good band to catch live.
Lead vocalist, John Dexter Jones , has always written deeply personal lyrics to the music created by his fellow members and in the opening track of the evenings small set was a favourite of a lot of Jump fans, the delightfully deep and sorrowful Bethesda from 2001’s On Impulse album
With new member Phil Mayhew on bass smiling his way through the set it was easily seen that the restorative power of adding a new member to the groups dynamic has enhanced the show. Phil played well alongside the established membership of guitarist Steve Hayes, keyboard player Mo, the very talented Andy Barker on drums and the youngest member of the group but none the less important, guitarist Steve “Ronnie” Rundle whose own playing just gets better and better as time goes by.
One of the great things about watching Jump live is watching the way Johns acts on stage, his actions to certain songs on such as tracks as A Man was Made and the brand new Kingston Corner Blues from the album The Beachcomber show his lyrics perfectly, with a raise of an eyebrow here and there he adds wonderful meaning to even the most innocent of lyrics.
The band ended a short but joyful set with the classic Free at Last, to which the appreciative crowd joined in with gusto.
Good to see this great British band touring the North West again and with any luck they will be back before their fans know it.
Ian D. Hall
Jump, Gig Review. Alexanders Bar, Chester. full post

(443 words, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

Footloose, Theatre Review. Liverpool Empire Theatre.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 9th 2011.

Cast: Max Milner, Carys Gray, Steven Pinder, Karen Ascoe, Lorna Want, Jodie Jacobs, Keisha Amponsa Banson, Tanya Robb, Matt Willis, Daniel Smith, Adam C. Booth, Giovanni Spano, Michael Palmer.

Footloose! The very word brings up images of one of the great teen movies of the 1980’s. Reason in the face of oppression for which any teenager of the time would have identified with, a stunning soundtrack and a great cast made the film a smash in box offices both sides of the Atlantic.

Footloose, Theatre Review. Liverpool Empire Theatre. full post

(435 words, 1 image, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

The Stranglers, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

The Stranglers in Liverpool 2011. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 9th 2011.

If there’s one band that knows how to stir up passion for their no nonsense direct music then that band has to be The Stranglers. Even before the band came out on stage sections of the audience could be heard singing at full volume through a medley of some of the band’s greatest hits including the instrumental pieces of Waltz in Black to which the band came on stage to in the time honoured tradition.

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

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

R.E.M., Collapse Into Now. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 9th 2011.

R.E.M have made many notable and groundbreaking albums over the years, so many in fact that their fan base have been spoilt by the richness and depth of the recordings, with many different styles and themes running through each individually tailored album there has been a lot to like and admire of the Georgia band.

Collapse into now is an album that should have followed suit and been amongst the very best that this once mighty band have produced. However with a few exceptions, notably on Oh My Heart and Every day is Yours to Win which sees the band at their melancholic, delightful best, the album seems cliché ridden, desperate to please and tired.

R.E.M., Collapse Into Now. Album Review. full post

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

Jump, The Beachcomber. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 11th 2011.

The Beachcomber is the new studio album by British Rock Band Jump and as ever the guys never let their loyal fan base down with an album crammed with songs that are bound to become crowd pleasers when they play them live.

John Dexter Jones has been one of the best and underrated songwriters of the last twenty years, his personal and sometimes dramatic stories making their way onto albums with apparent ease and yet you know just by listening to songs such as Kingston Corner Blues which deals with the idea of people declaring their life stories on the phone in public and the incredible No One Spoke.

Jump, The Beachcomber. Album Review. full post

(359 words, 1 image, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)

Blancmange, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 11th 2011.

The audience greeted the long awaited return of 80’s Synth Pop superstars Blancmange to Liverpool with the kind of noise you’d expect at the Liverpool Echo. It may have been two decades since Neil Arthur stood in front of a Scouse crowd but Liverpool music fans have long memories and the recollections of being entertained by Blancmange have long been smiled at.

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

(364 words, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)

Elbow, Build A Rocket Boys. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 11th 2011.

It is easy to see why Elbow has been one of the most talked about bands of the last ten years, with a Mercury Prize being a pinnacle of a very achieving career. With four top twenty albums on the spin, Elbow have released what could be their biggest album yet in the form of the brilliantly titles Build a Rocket Boys!

Elbow, Build A Rocket Boys. Album Review. full post

(363 words, 1 image, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)

The Trestles, What Do You See. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 14th 2011.

If there is a young musician or group of disaffected teenagers currently playing their own music whilst holed up in garages and bedrooms of this fine musical city, if they are blinded by the injustice of the world and fear their voice is not being heard; then they need look no further than the inspiration of a band who knows all there is to know about the fine tradition of Liverpool and Merseyside protest music, The Trestles.

The Trestles, What Do You See. Album Review. full post

(322 words, 1 image, estimated 1:17 mins reading time)

Memoirs of a Hermaphrodite, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 16th 2011.

Cast: Sarah Leaver.

The mystery and beguilement that surrounds the treatment and life of an individual who was born Intersexed is gently and lovingly portrayed by Sarah Leaver in the Unity Theatre’s latest production Memoirs of a Hermaphrodite.

Drawing on the real life story of Herculin Barbin, Sarah Leaver takes the audience through sections of Herculin’s life, part voyeuristic, part shrouded in fine Greek mythology, the audience is taken through how the young Herculin’s life was changed from being a young girl at the nunnery in La Rochelle and falling in love to her own discovery, and that of everybody else that she was born an Hermaphrodite.

Memoirs of a Hermaphrodite, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(356 words, 1 image, estimated 1:25 mins reading time)