Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
A festival isn’t a festival unless you have Villy Raze somewhere in the vicinity, the marked poetic aggression, the sincerity of overthrowing the often deemed conventional, but one that is delivered with respect and the smile of a thousand Irish heartbeats making music in unison, no matter the place or venue, it has always been a pleasure to catch the live performance of this genial giant of music in full throw.
Smithdown Road in May is a beautiful sight, on the face of it, it might be seen just like every other street or place of work, home and life in Liverpool, even in other parts of the country that has relished the advantages of the close community living that the Victorian terracing affords, however as the weekend gears up for the urban music festival, as venues open their doors and the slow wind gently puffs its cheeks out to take the sting out the hopeful Bank Holiday sun, it is the music from the life blood of the city and far beyond its open borders that brings out the crowds and the sense of good time musical distraction from the world, its wife and their hang ups.
It is in this arena that Villy Raze excels, the iron sound, replete, unbelievably strong, full of humour, the sly grin of the unexpected lyric and once frowned upon idea making itself known and presenting itself with the full blast of electricity; it is too this that catching Villy Raze in full flight is one of the reasons to enjoy life, to attend the meeting of minds that flows with songs such as Victim, the unmistakable brilliance of Uncle Betty, Miss Me, You Don’t Have To and Throw It All Away, that to relish the closeness of others in the space available is rub shoulders with the likeminded and the musically thoughtful.
Villy Raze always seems to come up trumps, to entertain, to push the boundary just a little further, whilst never once letting go of the enigmatic smile that enthrals, even in the majesty of the awkward scowl at the way those in command keep playing with our lives as if they don’t matter, that smile never wavers and it is one that lights up the Craft Taproom, that illuminated the Smithdown Road Festival with ease.
Always a welcome sight when Villy Raze comes to town, this appearance and set of songs was to be no different and yet brimming as ever with a golden Irish hue and positive performance.
Ian D. Hall