Category Archives: Live

Jimmy And The Revolvers, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. (2019).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Jimmy And The Revolvers, Studio 2, Liverpool. October 2019. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Such is the music provided in the last ten years by what was once Liverpool’s fledgling music community, it would be forgivable to admit that you might not have been able to see every band that has frequented the pubs, the back stages and for some the recognition afforded by the larger venues that the city has to offer. However, there will always be a part of Liverpool that will belong to Jimmy and the Revolvers, a voice that emulates that of one of Liverpool’s favourite sons, Gerry Marsden and a vibe that sits at the heart of modern transposed joy, and to witness it live, for a first time, for a hundredth time, or perhaps for a last time, is to understand what you loved about music in the first place.

Jimmy And The Revolvers, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. (2019). full post

(378 words, 1 image, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Alice Cooper, Gig Review. First Direct Arena, Leeds.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Pure theatre and the exotic pleasure of the captivating soul. There are many ways you can perhaps look at the life and performances of Alice Cooper, undoubtedly, he is first and foremost a showman, the ringmaster to whom nobody can rival, except maybe P.T. Barnum himself.

Alice Cooper, Gig Review. First Direct Arena, Leeds. full post

(401 words, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

The Stranglers, Gig Review. First Direct Arena, Leeds.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

It is possible to let the music-driven mind deliver itself to a conclusion that nothing can ever truly stop The Stranglers, not even silence.

The sound of the stirring anthem, the call to arms that resides in the heart of the band’s much loved intro, Waltz In Black, came to pass with anticipation and delight; it was palpable, the arena in Leeds matching the expectant buzz to come from the main performance of Alice Cooper and arguably the same sense of passion that older fans of the city’s football team once wrapped themselves in as they pushed on their support to the eventual top flight league title at the start of the 1990s.

The Stranglers, Gig Review. First Direct Arena, Leeds. full post

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

Belinda Carlisle, Gig Review. Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

It takes stamina and fortitude to tame the strength of Runaway Horses, however, on the odd occasion they can also be brought to heel by the grace and beauty of a performance which has never diminished from the first faltering steps and through to the accomplished portrayal of one who has seen and done it all with fire coursing through their veins.

Belinda Carlisle, Gig Review. Symphony Hall, Birmingham. full post

(443 words, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

Eagles, Gig Review. M & S Bank Arena, Liverpool. (2019).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

It would have always been at the back of the mind of the Eagles fan, that if they didn’t see them perform in Liverpool on their 2014 tour, it was quite possible they might never see them again. After all the band had not called in to the city for quite some time before that, and with the passing of Glen Frey in 2016, that performance was to be likely the last time in which an audience would see them.

Eagles, Gig Review. M & S Bank Arena, Liverpool. (2019). full post

(575 words, estimated 2:18 mins reading time)

Metallica, Gig Review. Etihad Stadium, Manchester.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

In its short history the Etihad Stadium, the home of the current Premier League champions Manchester City, has witness despondency and glory in almost equal measure, but perhaps its more defining moments have come in the last ten years, late goals which have described a generation. A single moment in which a crowd hero made his mark for eternity deep into stoppage time and left a commentator breathless, a television hanging on the end of an extended vowel that still raises the hairs on the back of the neck and sends a shiver down the spine of anyone fortunate to have witnessed it take place.

Metallica, Gig Review. Etihad Stadium, Manchester. full post

(576 words, estimated 2:18 mins reading time)

Manic Street Preachers, Gig Review. Anfield Stadium, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The Manic Street Preachers are no strangers to Liverpool, having the rare bestowment of love given to them by the city for the part they have played in music history but also in the way they have sided with the city in political respects, they have felt the damage to the city and its citizens’ reputations as surely had they plied their early days continually performing at the Lomax or gigging round the town on a daily basis. No strangers, just another opportunity in which to perform in a city they love, and to perform at the home of the European Champions as support to Bon Jovi must surely rank as one of the great moments of the band’s history.

Manic Street Preachers, Gig Review. Anfield Stadium, Liverpool. full post

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

Ghost, Gig Review. Etihad Stadium, Manchester.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

You could travel to the end of recorded time and rarely come across a moment in which you see a support act on stage which leaves you with the impression that you wish they had more time, not to establish themselves in the eyes of the audience, but to dominate, to dictate terms of your surrender, absolute and unequivocally.

The feeling does happen occasionally, but it is one that arguably doesn’t sit in the gut unless they are a band to which has already had the presence of mind to rule a section of the crowd that has come to pay homage to the main act.

Ghost, Gig Review. Etihad Stadium, Manchester. full post

(396 words, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

The Divine Comedy, Gig Review. HMV, Arndale Centre, Manchester.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The temptation of an early afternoon gig is normally the preserve of the festival attendee, the chance to partake in a set of music surrounded by like-minded people as they savour the freedom of the setting and all the attraction of living life in pursuit of happiness rather than the drudgery of a day concerned with the nine to five and the complicated demands of the office and its politics.

The Divine Comedy, Gig Review. HMV, Arndale Centre, Manchester. full post

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

Andrew Hesford, Gig Review. The Casa, Liverpool.

You can know someone for years and never truly gain insight into what they are capable of proving to the world until the one moment where the stage lights hits the spot where they stand, and all of a sudden the shadows melt away, they retreat to furthest corners of the mind and all that remains is an artist’s soul, a bright light in which you cannot but send messages to your nearest and fondly remembered that you wish they were there to enjoy the reveal.

Andrew Hesford, Gig Review. The Casa, Liverpool. full post

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