Author Archives: admin

Fear Of The Natural Born Killer.

A spider may be considered to be more disturbing by some

but your eyes betray the coldness of a killer

as they scan the room and your head barely pivots

upon the neck, no twitching of muscle visible

as the glare of insanity relaxes briefly

sensing no immediate threat to the game.

 

I see across the room and I watch with morbid

fascination and discern no sweat line even in the mouldering heat

and realise that inside of you, it must be awash, the agitation

of the Charles Manson like persona, the matted hair

Fear Of The Natural Born Killer. full post

(246 words, estimated 59 secs reading time)

The Theme, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Loud, boisterous, full of vigour and passion, to watch The Theme is to enjoy a great night and have you panting for more.

The inexplicable nature of life, of how it has changed in the last 40 years, sometimes for the better in that bands have more access to the world outside their hometown, sometimes for the worse as in there is only so much finite time in which to keep searching through the relentless onslaught of social media updates and the outpourings of invites to see many a new group, can leave you feeling as if all your life you have lived by a quiet oasis and yet you yearn for the bucket and spade in which to dig a thousand moats.

The Theme, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

(412 words, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

ViseMenn, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

The ViseMenn at the International Pop Overthrow 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

The ViseMenn at the International Pop Overthrow 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

One of the main points of the International Pop Overthrow is to introduce music from far and wide to the shores of Britain. It is an ethos that has served David Bash, the organiser, the conveyor of such thought extremely well over the last 12 years and going into the week-long festival’s 13th year shows no signs of abating or slowing down.

ViseMenn, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

(419 words, 1 image, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

Malene Markussen, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

To be enchanted is an honour many never feel or even witness. So wrapped up in the pursuit of goals that in the end matter very little, they forget or even are unfortunate to live in places which look down upon, the feeling that comes with the sound of a voice filling the air and letting the heart break with a certain amount of joy, it is those other pursuits or government interjections that prohibit the reality of life, to be enchanted.

Malene Markussen, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

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

Alison Green, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

Alison Green at The Cavern. International Pop Overthrow 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Alison Green at The Cavern. International Pop Overthrow 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9.5/10

Almost a year has passed since Canterbury’s Alison Green sat down inside The Cavern as part of the Independent Pop Overthrow and gave what turned out to be a smashing debut performance in Liverpool. A year on and that taste of what resides in the heart of a woman with poetry in her veins and with an inquisitive mind in search of a great lyric to marry off to a prospective, potential chord has become something in which the Canterbury set of old would have been enthusing over and the legend of Whiskey Ginger Johnson would already be known far and wide.

Alison Green, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

(454 words, 1 image, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)

Luke Gallagher, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

To watch Luke Gallagher on stage is to be reminded of times past in Liverpool but with a huge sign around the rememberance proclaiming a possible future, a very bright one for both music lovers and for Luke Gallagher himself as times collide and merge, the coalescing of universes being bombarded by the heroes of music history all coming together in the style and voice of a young lad from Wrexham.

Luke Gallagher, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

(424 words, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

Fun Of The Pier, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There is nothing quite like an afternoon having the time of your life and Fun of the Pier, especially when you can replace the thought of outdated entertainment associated with a Victorian and Edwardian era, of sand and candy floss falling into the sea below and cheap entertainment designed to thrill the masses as they ward off the spectre of yet another attacking seagull, with one that sits comfortably with the audiences at The Cavern at this year’s International Pop Overthrow and in which has the added appeal of The Suns’ Dave Lloyd in attendance.

Fun Of The Pier, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

(425 words, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

How May I Direct Your Call?, Theatre Review. Liverpool Light Night.

Paperwork Theatre in action on Liverpool Light Night 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Paperwork Theatre in action on Liverpool Light Night 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: John Collins, Jackie Jones, Sal Kelly, Barry Mason, Gareth Mitchell, Lydia Parsons, Helen Webster.

What was your most important phone call, the one that changed your life to the point where all that went before it seemed to be almost frivolous, almost lacking in any meaning or semblance of balance, the phone call that changed it all?

How May I Direct Your Call?, Theatre Review. Liverpool Light Night. full post

(405 words, 1 image, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

Doctor Who: Death Match. Audio Drama Review, Big Finish.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

Cast: Tom Baker, Louise Jameson, John Leeson, Geoffrey Beevers, Susan Brown, Damien Lynch, Andy Secombe, Chris Porter.

Death has always walked side by side with The Doctor that at times its hard to see where the join might be. One such clue is where the rotting shell of The Master is, Death surely is playing a more dangerous game with him than with the Doctor.

Following on directly from John Dorney’s Requiem For The Space Men, Death Match is a suitable sequel in which Big Finish asks the pertinent questions of what it means to be entertained.

Doctor Who: Death Match. Audio Drama Review, Big Finish. full post

(493 words, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)

A Night Out In The Country.

I didn’t care where the shooting stars fell

as I watched them travel the night sky,

jet packed, pre-historic  revolutionary travellers

falling to ground in chunks, bombarding the Earth,

causing small dimples to pock-mark the scared green land,

for all I cared about was the dimples in your cheeks

as they rose higher and turned sacred red

as you watched in girlish anticipation

for another to wish your life upon.

 

We lay atop the roof of your Volkswagan, your baby,

yellow crusted, old cans and bottles rattling

A Night Out In The Country. full post

(167 words, estimated 40 secs reading time)