Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
There are many hundreds of reasons for the unshakeable belief that Liverpool’s music in the early part of the 21st Century is something to savour, to relish and enjoy, not to keep closeted away in some dusty attic room and for only a handful of people to nod sagely at but always going back to the moment that music in the U.K. really started.
The seemingly millions of visitors that find themselves at Lime Street Station, the ferry/ship terminals, John Lennon Airport or even just coming out into the air above ground at Central station as they take a night out from Birkenhead all come here for many reasons, chiefly amongst them is to check out the incredible abundance of young local talent that could give any band up and down the country a run for their money, giving them a huge head start and letting them be carried on the back of Usain Bolt. Amongst this embarrassment of riches are Thom Morecroft and The Full Moon Band.
Thom Morecroft is no hidden gem, like many young musicians who have carved their own furrow since the turn of the century, he has his following and whilst he is not from within the Merseyside area, he has made this city his home. Just like Grethe Borsum, Kaya Herstad Carney and the guys from All We Are, they have embraced the city’s musical heritage and given the people of Merseyside artists and bands to be proud to call their own.
That pride was keenly felt inside the Zanzibar Club as Mr. Morecroft, Chris Cousineau, Elle Schillereff and Jesse Eigen, who had manfully stepped in at the last minute to help out in an emergency, took to the stage and gave a blistering and jaw dropping performance which made a near mockery of the words acoustic set. Such is the confidence in Thom Morecroft’s ability as a songwriter and guitar player that his powerful voice which projected this confidence would surely have been heard above the noise of venues catering for the drinking crowds nearby. Even the menacing whisper, the nod to the great Fergal Sharkey in the back of his throat and the softness of his tone which hides the beating heart of a musician out to take no prisoners would surely have others coming in off the street in search of enjoying a more full experience.
The band kicked off the set with the song Daisy from there proceed to give a show in which you could only admire and be grateful to be in attendance of! Whether it was the track The French Girl, What Do I Know, the bitterness of I’ve Made Room For Me And You, the new single release for 2014…On all Night or the outrageously good The Beast, this was a performance by a group that defied the rest of the country to not understand why musicians and artists flock to the banks of the Mersey, there is definitely something in the water. It is a lesson that many bands that visit the U.K., especially from America, that could do with being reminded of, music doesn’t matter anywhere more in the U.K. than in Liverpool.
Thom Morecroft and The Full Moon Band are a credit to music that makes Merseyside its home.
Ian D. Hall