Category Archives: Live

Magnum, Gig Review. Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

When we were younger…a mere step or the beat of a chord from where Magnum used to practise in the fabled Rum Runner Club and within the shadow of memories of being arguably the finest of bands to have the Birmingham stamp placed upon its history and resume, the Symphony Hall played host to the band, and in a reversal of fortunes of weather, no longer put off by the snow and devastation of postponed music, instead it was the heat and sheer intensity of the homecoming gig to which the end of the tour will always be remembered.

Magnum, Gig Review. Symphony Hall, Birmingham. full post

(430 words, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

Rebecca Downes, Gig Review. Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

With a little help from your friends, you cannot ask for more in life except having the drive to be the very best version of yourself possible, both of these states of mind are there to remind you that you have a responsibility to perform and take in the very immense situations that you may find yourself within, that the song, the smile and the swagger, are there because the world demands beauty in the face of possible oppression.

Rebecca Downes, Gig Review. Symphony Hall, Birmingham. full post

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

Little Sparrow, Gig Review. Music Room, Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Little Sparrow at the Music Rooms in Liverpool. April 2018. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

It is natural to miss someone, to let time go past in such a manner that you find the song, that special reason you were drawn to them as a human being in the first place, takes upon itself to be treated like a fine shroud, delicate and interwoven with the days and weeks of since last you saw them, woven with gold silk, the voice that would have captured the soul of Homer’s Odysseus, still resonating around the concert venues of Liverpool and beyond.

Little Sparrow, Gig Review. Music Room, Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. full post

(528 words, 1 image, estimated 2:07 mins reading time)

Elfin Bow, Gig Review. Music Rooms, Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Elfin Bow at the Philharmonic Hall’s Music Rooms. April 2018. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

 

The Philharmonic Hall Music Room is a place where the song that lifts and lilts, that raises hope as well as the roof, is to be seen with a sense of honour and privilege, the dispensing of the day’s trials and injustice, the scream that builds up inside your mind, is let loose, carefully, gently, the kettle that could not stop whistling is reduced to silence and awe as musicians such as Elfin Bow take to the stage and perform their vigil to impart a subtle sense of well being and many a great song.

Elfin Bow, Gig Review. Music Rooms, Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. full post

(382 words, 1 image, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

Jethro Tull, Gig Review. Auditorium, Echo Arena, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

All things must pass, all things must be realised, including the moment when you might see an artist for the final time, plying their trade, putting the finishing touches to the great epic, the last fingernail on the finger that touches God, or the finale, the flute of a genius put down beside his leg, stiff-arched and relaxed after a show in which many would perhaps suggest would be the last time they know to be in the company of one who has left arguably more than most in this precious life of ours. All things must end, as George Harrison once duly noted; however it doesn’t mean you cannot have a feast of brilliance brought to the table as you say possible and intended goodbyes.

Jethro Tull, Gig Review. Auditorium, Echo Arena, Liverpool. full post

(540 words, estimated 2:10 mins reading time)

Rumours of Fleetwood Mac, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2018).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Imitation, so they demand, is the greatest form of flattery, yet as the Philharmonic Hall resounded to the songs of one of the greatest groups, the most dynamic, and arguably one of the most beautifully headstrong and verging on the forever self destructible, Fleetwood Mac, the sense of proportion given to the tired old clichéd phrase, was to be scorned, was to be left alone in a corner where all clichés must finally rest and disappear when in the face of the overwhelming evidence before the crowd’s eyes, that this was not imitation, this was not an impression of glory, this was genuine, heartfelt and authentic in every way possible, this was no idle gossip masquerading as truth, this was Rumours of Fleetwood Mac in their home town being simply awesome.

Rumours of Fleetwood Mac, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2018). full post

(515 words, estimated 2:04 mins reading time)

Toto, Gig Review. Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.

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.

Toto, Gig Review. Bridgewater Hall, Manchester. full post

(465 words, estimated 1:52 mins reading time)

Gary Numan, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool. (2018).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Gary Numan at the 02 Academy, Liverpool. March 2018. Photograph used with kind permission by Dave Edwards.

The dust has barely settled upon the knowledge that the world is broken, not just torn at the seams, stretching thin like black tights that cannot contain the expanding skin or a ceiling under the pressure of water that has started to buckle and strain, the thin plaster becoming slack before coming cascading down upon the floor below; the world is broken and it is arguably in many ways, impossible to put right again.

Gary Numan, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool. (2018). full post

(507 words, 1 image, estimated 2:02 mins reading time)

Yes, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2018).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Yes at the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool. March 2018. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

It is the longevity of certain bands that inhabit the Progressive Rock genre that makes the prospect of certain anniversaries a moment to salivate, and whilst nothing can last forever, that at some point the world has to give way to the next generation, that age rather than the dullness of the senses is what comes for us all.

Yes, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2018). full post

(527 words, 1 image, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)

The Fratellis, Gig Review. Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

It always seems that the choice of music that a group comes out on stage to is a huge indicator of how the evening might progress, as if it is a secret message being audibly sent to the crowd, a musical Morse code filled with important notes and playful notation advising the audience of the adventure ahead. If The Stranglers for example can come out to their own Waltz In Black and Marillion at one time to La Gazza Ladra; it only is surely appropriate that Scotland’s The Fratelli’s, with all their high eyebrow cool and playful intentions, appear back in Liverpool to The Can Can.

The Fratellis, Gig Review. Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool. full post

(546 words, estimated 2:11 mins reading time)