Author Archives: admin

Stephen King, Mr Mercedes. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

After so many years of writing in a particular style that even the appearance of a full stop suddenly placed before the reader’s eyes was enough to have them scurrying for the covers and checking nervously under the bed, to witness Stephen King, the ultimate in the name of Horror in the 20th Century, take on a straight forward suspense thriller is akin to see him offer a book aimed at children…Mr Mercedes is no My Pretty Pony though, then again it is also no Under The Dome either.

Stephen King, Mr Mercedes. Book Review. full post

(527 words, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)

Franny Conlin And Wild Flowers Productions Bring The Morgue Table To The Epstein Theatre.

Prepare to be taken on a ghostly journey as brand new Liverpool Theatre Company Wild Flowers Productions bring their new play to the Epstein for one night only on August 16th 2014. Their debut piece, Wild Flowers was critically acclaimed after a run last year at the Unity and Epstein theatres and now their new comedy, The Morgue Table is back, due to popular demand after a successful run at the Capstone and The Atkinson in June.

Written By Franny Conlin, this is a story about two inmates of Walton prison, Ike and Maddox, who are propositioned by their governor, Mr. Grime to venture into the haunted tunnels beneath the prison and destroy the old morgue table.

Franny Conlin And Wild Flowers Productions Bring The Morgue Table To The Epstein Theatre. full post

(416 words, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

Brazilica 2014’s Carnival Queen Competition To Turn Up The Heat At The Alma De Cuba.

Brazilica 2014 is alive and kicking and this Friday 18th July, the ever popular Carnival Queen Competition will heat up the already sizzling summer festival. Brazilian dancers from far and wide will battle for samba supremacy at the 2014 Brazilica Carnival Queen Competition which this year takes place at Liverpool’s spectacular Alma de Cuba Bar on Seel Street from 9pm.

The competition – which the public are invited to attend, will warm the city up for the main Brazilica Carnival Day which takes over Liverpool City Centre the following day, Saturday 19th July for a magnificent colourful spectacle of Brazilian music, dance and culture.

Brazilica 2014’s Carnival Queen Competition To Turn Up The Heat At The Alma De Cuba. full post

(235 words, estimated 56 secs reading time)

Michael Frayn’s Noises Off To Entertain Audiences At The Royal Court Theatre.

Royal Court Liverpool has looked backstage for inspiration for it’s new production. Noises Off by Michael Frayn is a brilliantly funny farce that has had excellent reviews wherever it has been.

Noises Off has variously been described as “The funniest farce ever written” (New York Post), “A modern classic” (Guardian) and “Theatrical comic bliss” (Daily Telegraph). The show will be running at The Royal Court for just four weeks.

Michael Frayn’s Noises Off To Entertain Audiences At The Royal Court Theatre. full post

(368 words, estimated 1:28 mins reading time)

Liverpool Sound And Vision: Interview Special, An Interview With Robert Farquhar.

There is nothing quite like finding yourself in the company of a writer whose use of the English language is enough to cause palpitations of the pen, whose pre-interview conversations are as interesting as they are educational. This writer has over the course of the years since he has resided in Liverpool has created some of the most insanely wonderful comedies that audiences have had the honour of seeing and with whom have fallen in love with the Big Wow company over and over again.

Liverpool Sound And Vision: Interview Special, An Interview With Robert Farquhar. full post

(1669 words, 2 images, estimated 6:41 mins reading time)

Pavilions, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. (2014)

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Even the most optimistic of music lovers are fully aware that to not see a band for around a year and expect them to play with the same consistency, the same richness that attracted you to them in the first place, could be seen as neglect, musical carelessness, a certain mistreatment. After all if human beings can change and grow then why not the artistic endeavours that we pursue. Those same artistic impressions can often lead to a downhill path, the choices made seemingly poor as band politics come into play and ego’s get bruised and battered.

Pavilions, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. (2014) full post

(487 words, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)

Buckle Tongue, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. (2014)

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

To sit infront of a young band who has come out fighting on all fronts since their inception and knowing that each time they appear before you, they just get more sleek, more smooth and unbelievably good is a feeling that warms the heart of even the most ungracious of hearts.

Buckle Tongue, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. (2014) full post

(461 words, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)

Utopia: Season Two, Pressing Matters. Television Review. Channel 4.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Tom Burke, Rose Leslie, Anca-Ioana Androne, Tim McInnerny, Trystan Gravelle, Clive Wood, Pamela Ashton, William Belchambers, Ed Birch, Vicenzo Ferrara, Aine Garvey, Lorna Gayle, Yare Michael Jegbefume, Solomon Mousley, Harley Rooney, Mason Rooney, James Stratton, Kevin Trainor, Velile Tshabalala.

In your life time, depending on how old you are, the population of the Earth has almost tripled. Seven billion people fighting for a scraps of land, for food, water, over religion, over the right to survive and the right to have a family, Seven billion souls, who thanks to the advancement in healthcare, the quick eradication of infectious diseases and peace keeping forces, seemingly take up more resources than the world can actually supply. Such is the dystopian plot that makes up one of Channel 4’s finest programmes in over a decade, Utopia.

Utopia: Season Two, Pressing Matters. Television Review. Channel 4. full post

(569 words, estimated 2:17 mins reading time)

Greg Russell And Ciaran Algar, The Call. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There are moments in which you can believe that you have listened to something that goes beyond the realms of the earthly, that somewhere something profound has come along and imbedded itself it at the very core of artistic endeavour. You just can’t help but love the sound that emanates across the few feet of floor between you and your stereo, between the speaker and your ears, a bond is formed and you cannot help but accept that music has moved you. Such a time comes in the form of Greg Russell and Ciaran Algar’s album The Call.

Greg Russell And Ciaran Algar, The Call. Album Review. full post

(379 words, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Rise Against, The Black Market. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Life is worth fighting for; it should never be placed into the open ended furnace in which desire and thought are too readily disposed in the pursuit of the quick fix and the so called unwelcome. Even when something doesn’t grab you at the first attempt it should at least be explored at least another couple of times so you can at least give it due consideration. Nothing is truly non-descript or distinctly average and that goes for music at the best of times.

Rise Against, The Black Market. Album Review. full post

(407 words, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)