Author Archives: admin

Joanne Shaw Taylor, The Dirty Truth. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

For anybody who made their way to the Robin 2 about a decade ago, to catch sight of the talent that resided in Joanne Shaw Taylor must have been one of the biggest draws to ever come on stage in the small West Midland’s town of Bilston since The Robin 2 opened its doors. The Black Country and Birmingham soon grasped the importance of the outstanding woman who made the guitar sound like a spectre hunting down a soul to possess and whose charm and playing ability captivates all who come into contact with her.

Joanne Shaw Taylor, The Dirty Truth. Album Review. full post

(439 words, 1 image, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

The Avengers: The Lost Episodes, Dance With Death. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Anthony Howell, Julian Wadham, Lucy Briggs-Owen, Jaqueline King, Dan Starkey, Cameron Stewart, Anjella Mackintosh, Gemma Whelan, Derek Carlyle, Martin Hutson, Francesca Hunt, Penelope Rawlins, Terry Malloy, Michael Hrycek-Robinson.

There is nothing quite like the dance floor to bring out the murderer in the dark heart of the criminal mastermind, the quick step or the rumba to get the killer in the mood for a spot of the gamble and the gambol whilst they search for riches, no matter who gets in their way.

The Avengers: The Lost Episodes, Dance With Death. Audio Drama Review. Big Finish. full post

(436 words, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

Steve Howe, Gig Review. Capstone Theatre, Liverpool.

Steve Howe at The Capstone Theatre, Liverpool. September 2014. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Life is meant to be taken with equal amounts of pleasure and pain, of hope and despair and with a certain degree of unimaginable delicate beauty that filters through to the soul as if carried by a being with a great taste in music and who knows that television, has tried its best to destroy any type of sensuality and indulgence between artist and audience. Thankfully it hasn’t succeeded yet but there are times when you go to a venue, no matter where, and you know deep down in your heart that like those that try to feed the constant mantra of “The Economy” that somewhere, somehow, executives have managed to convince some that by staying in and watching the latest act it wants to promote for profit is good for music.

Steve Howe, Gig Review. Capstone Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(597 words, 1 image, estimated 2:23 mins reading time)

Hey Girl, Show Us Your Tips. Theatre Review, St. Helens Theatre Royal.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Mickey Finn, Clare Bowles, Charlie Griffiths, Lynne Fitzgerald.

As with many old, but undeniably great, habits and ways, the great British local pub, the bastion of native ways and hopes and drama, has for many years been on the road to serious decline. Cheap alternatives driven by greed and solitude have become the normal pursuit in some respects that the social constraints in which bound a community, a section of the communal population together has been driven headlong into a nearby abyss of soulless apathy.

Hey Girl, Show Us Your Tips. Theatre Review, St. Helens Theatre Royal. full post

(585 words, estimated 2:20 mins reading time)

Doctor Who: Time Heist. Television Review. B.B.C.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Keeley Hawes, Jonathan Bailey, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Trevor Sellers, Ross Mullan, Mark Ebulue, Junior Laniyan, Samuel Anderson.

Think of the most precious commodity or product you can lay your hands on, how good it will feel in your hands and the power you could wield with it, the people you might be able to bend to your will for even just a glance of it. Such things are what drives the world and yet many miss the point, it is not about having the latest gadget in which to download a picture of a cat onto the internet, nor is it Time, which is a more noble outlook, but Love and acceptance and that is really what is at the heart of the latest Doctor Who story, Time Heist.

Doctor Who: Time Heist. Television Review. B.B.C. full post

(656 words, estimated 2:37 mins reading time)

The Judgement Of Hakim. Theatre Review, Unity Theatre. Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound & Vision Rating: * * * *

Cast: Nick Birkinshaw.

Testing Testing productions returns to the Unity with their mind-bending show The Judgement of Hakim. From the pen of Andrew Sherlock, he explores the idea of all of us being guilty of something, and how far we are willing to go to find it. The audience are very much a part of this show, and questions and accusations are made as to why we are here, what we have done and that nobody will get away with it; whatever ‘it’ may be.

The Judgement Of Hakim. Theatre Review, Unity Theatre. Liverpool. full post

(320 words, estimated 1:17 mins reading time)

OlliOlli (PS4), Game Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

OlliOlli is a side scrolling skateboarding and extreme sports game available for download from the PlayStation Store for the PS4. Roll7 released OlliOlli on PS Vita in January 2014 to much critical acclaim and also winning GameSpot’s Game of the Month Award for January 2014, but the ultimate question has to be if the PS4 version improves on the foundations that were laid by the original PS Vita release.

OlliOlli (PS4), Game Review. full post

(2210 words, estimated 8:50 mins reading time)

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Saturday Supplement, An Interview With Lenny Wood.

Lenny Wood sits down and smiles broadly with the assurance of a comic actor who knows just the right thing to put you at ease. This young man has done so much in his life already that it doesn’t seem a surprise when you go through the list of achievements and plays that he has acting credits in. The putting at ease is paramount when it comes to someone who can make you laugh with just flick of eyebrow, the right word, even off the cuff, in the right place and the ability to make to make any comic creation they play seem endearing and as someone you would want to be friends with.

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Saturday Supplement, An Interview With Lenny Wood. full post

(1620 words, estimated 6:29 mins reading time)

Fables: Storybook Love, Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Love, for some a fairy tale, for others it is the start of a nightmare, a time in which everything they do is wrong and in which can lead to anguish, despair and hopelessness and yet in between the immensity of the emotions, something grand stirs, something in which the future can be held tightly.

For immortals love can be complicated, for a creature of the fairy tale, complicated doesn’t even cover it, it is more akin to placing your trust to a pyromaniac and asking them to make sure it doesn’t catch fire.

Fables: Storybook Love, Graphic Novel Review. full post

(478 words, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

The Script Annouce U.K. Tour For 2015.

The Script have announced the news that their fans have been eagerly awaiting. In February 2015, the Irish three-piece will kick off an U.K. arena tour, starting in Glasgow on the 20^thand which will come to Liverpool on Thursday 5th March. Tickets go on sale on Friday 26^th September at 9.30am from gigsandtours.com or ticketmaster.co.uk. Tickets are priced at £27.50 and £35, plus booking fees, and fans will be limited to 6 per booking. The Script will also be joined by very special guest Labrinth.

The Script Annouce U.K. Tour For 2015. full post

(438 words, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)