Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
One of the most valuable lessons that can ever be learned is almost something that comes out of instinct and character; it is the intuition to keep going regardless is being thrown at you, to not give in to those obscene forces of the surface noise and the crackle of the amped and buffeted. It can be taught but it is an art that seems more natural if your impulse is to play through it all and still perform a great set.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
When you read any book on music or the arts you want it written with authority, painstakingly so, it needs to have at some point the feeling of the last word expertly laid down on the pages and no matter whose book you read on the subject, be it even the artist’s, you want that feeling of completion to there in your hands at that precise moment.
I
know you sometimes
need to cry,
to let out the emotion
as all of us do.
Just remember though
that whilst I can offer tea
and sympathy,
I sometimes don’t
bring out
the handkerchief
that is tucked
away in my
pocket just so you
can blow
your nose.
Ian D. Hall 2016
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Such is the work ethic of Joe Bonamassa that it barely seems five minutes since he was up on stage in another country, standing undaunted and musically fearsome, proud but very humble, alert and giving, from venue to venue the arc of the story remains one of Blues heaven but the chapters change; the music stays fresh and always convincing, this is the magic of Joe Bonamassa and the fan can only thank the times that we live in that his performances are captured around the world and in such eye popping clarity.
There can be only one word for you,
the type of driver
who takes great pleasure
to be sat behind the wheel of a car,
dry, safe, singing along
to their favourite Nazi beat, all
tight on the rhythm
and with the smug sense
of critical recognition
in their eyes,
for what else
goes on in that brain,
the instrument of cruelty,
that makes you speed up
where the pool of water collects
in ocean like puddle,
tramp steamers finding the waves to rough,
One of the honours of packing up your bags for a while, forgetting the steamy hot sweat of the city where no one has anything on their mind with perhaps the exception of the oncoming football season or the complexities of the latest England cricket score, is arguably heading off to the other capital of culture in the U.K. and immersing yourself completely in the Edinburgh Fringe. It is at the Fringe where some of Liverpool’s much loved actors and performers find themselves and test out new material for the first time, where they experience every crush, every agonising line of perplexed worry on the face of the audience and the thrill of delight that sits in the deepest heart when the play, the song or the joke is appreciated fully and with respect.
The concourse at Lime Street Station on a Friday afternoon always seems to be incredibly congested, the heaving sense of humanity on the move as they find their way to different pastures for the weekend in search of fun or the locked doors of their own palaces and castles, is at times a wonder to behold. Ant like but striding with purpose, the evening concert in the city bringing people in, the thought of a late summer’s drink at the local spurring them on to catch the stopper between Liverpool and that other bended finger of North West music appreciation, you cannot help but be entranced by this weekly dance.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
There are those who have issues with intimacy, it scares them and no amount of cajoling or warmth will ever change that. It is not a bad thing to be wary of such confidence and chance of relationship, but it can lead you away from a musical path in which the poise and lyrical attraction of the musician is all consuming, all powerful and understandably beautiful.
I inwardly sigh for a moment
with pleasure when I see
the local cinema advertises
with glory a classic of the
Silver Screen and the days
of my childhood, sometimes off
school due to sickness, when
the giants of the cinema
would appear in an afternoon special.
The sigh doesn’t last,
except that it becomes more of a groan
of diary recall, deep and more meaningful
than any excitement of bed driven or steak
satisfaction desire, when I realise
that for the first time I might have seen
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The vastness and emptiness of the great seas is such that it is possible to lose sight of both land and fellow travellers along the way, that the only company is that in which you choose at the outset and there is no way to replace any of them until dry land comes into view. No matter how big the Armada, it can be a lonely life unless you are resolute and firm in your command Of An Ocean.