I am a coward
and your opinion of me
matters,
I wish it wasn’t so,
I wish I could just
forget
and erase, expunge with ease
all those times
I wanted to make you proud
to know me,
to have once raised a glass in my honour
when I wasn’t there
to defend myself
from your toast
and despite
it all,
see me not as bruised, vanity tinged
and needing an occasional memory
of what I meant to you.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
You can wait a lifetime for the right moment in which you believe that the fates align, or you can seize the opportunity offered, brave the inclement, and seemingly never ending Hell driven, weather and relish the thought of seeing one of those bands that always conjures images of the definition of American A.O.R., of a time when M.T.V. was actually dedicated to music, when bands with the power of a ripping chord and introspective lyrics ruled the airwaves, Kansas, Chicago, Boston and for the fortunate ones on this journey round the Sun, the revolution of the night, Toto.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Ray Quinn, Lindzi Germain, Claire Simmo, Lewis Pryor, Michael Chapman, Mia Molloy.
The Pantomime is an institution, one of first experiences for many to whom the theatre is a haven to be preserved, of silliness and beauty, of hearing that loud series of giggles and laughter from younger audiences before they become self-conscious and trapped within the confines of fitting behaviour. It is when you see this in action during the Pantomime that it reminds you of what brought you into this fascinating and beguiling world in the first place, magic, the wonderful world of the delightful thrill, where anything is possible and the overall enchantment that the young mind grasps onto with relish.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Andrew Scott, Jessica Brown Findlay, Angus Wright, Juliet Stevenson, David Rintoul, Barry Aird, Calum Finlay, Joshua Higgott, Elliot Barnes-Worrell, Marty Cruikshank, Amaka Okafor, Daniel Rabin, Luke Thompson, Peter Wright, Matthew Wynn.
There is always mileage in the heart of a universal play that means it never runs out of steam, it might falter and choke once in a while, it might be considered as bloated, overweight, have the wrong driver, be overwhelmed by passengers who contribute nothing to the aesthetics of the piece but on the whole it is one that often purrs along. The luxury on the outside replicated on the inside, the joy of seeing the production vehicle out on the road is a radiant sight and even when it is via the medium of television, the excitement and drama is one on which to celebrate.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Glory comes in many forms, quite often it appears breathlessly in the unexpected, in the moments that the listener or observer might seem at first to mistake for candid reveal, the emergence of the heroic is not always heralded by the sound of golden trumpets, the muse does not always kiss the artist upon first urging, and yet still the glory comes. It requires no fame, no sense of legend or flashing of bulbs or the headlines proclaiming of how the bold spend their free time, all that is needed is the appreciation that it was done, the respect and perhaps the prominence of the position taken in bring something new to the attention of those around them.
What if she wasn’t dead,
found floating down river,
bathed in fallen leaves,
a dead man’s finger on her pulse
as her face turns grey, to draw
out a murderer, clever
hero, a feminine trope
dashed, thrown to her love
in England, a false sign of madness
spreading, in him melancholia,
in her a wailing of the emotions…
all lies, she drew the murderer out
and paid for it with her love,
as he lay poisoned by the touch of foil,
dead as she had thought to be
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
When you are invited to a moment, a time in which the company of friends and those you love are going to be gathered around with smiles forever painted upon their faces, in which you already have the feeling that the moment is going to be one of joy, significance, a curiosity of attraction and passion, and then it suddenly becomes one of the most spontaneous, revealing, soul impacting and wonderful consequences down the line experiences; it makes you wonder about all the Time To Burn you once enjoyed and knowing that it all changes here.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
You have to admire someone to whom the thought of resting on laurels is an anathema, the work hard, play harder, sing and perform music with a sense of the absolute in their minds and hearts, to those that play this body assaulting and life inducing diversion from the world, appreciation and respect is given as well as being earned.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
It is always a splendid thing when you find an artist willing to break their own audience’s preconceptions and go down a route that the crowd might not understand why they have left, even briefly, what they know and understand, behind.
For some this divergence is a step outside of their fandom in which the feeling of being uncomfortable is a brazen light shone in the face, the senses hurt and the misery of rejection can be like a slap in the face, and yet if they delve deeper than the initial thought of refusing to believe, what they might find is a different kind of acceptance, one that still shines that exclusive light, but one that does it with subtly in what is considered a Dark Day Afternoon.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
There is an aura of inevitability that surrounds Kino, a sense of beauty that entwines itself around the mixture of the possible popular hit with the assuredness that goes hand in hand with the playground of the Progressive Rock culture; hardly surprising when you stop and think of pedigree involved in the Kino project, but one that still finds a way to stagger the mind and tickle the senses into a lullaby like submission.