Category Archives: Live

Brian Poole And The Tremeloes, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

In a world that is slowly being preserved in amber, from a period when a hit single truly meant something and was as precious as a polished gem, to have three members of the same band not only on stage and singing with the serenity of a bird that is free to look down from edge of space and see nothing but the Universe’s wide mouth expectation above it, but also doing it with ease, friendliness and smiles, it is enough to give hope to an audience that has seen so many of its traditions fall aside and be swept away by the modern age.

Wayne Fontana, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There are moments that you are sure that music will live forever, it might change, it could evolve, the cycle of what is sexy and what is indescribable nonsense will change, it will revolve and switch across the generations and the genres but one thing is undeniable, that great music that defined the beat of a generation, that a voice that can make a person swoon and another’s heart race faster even after 50 years is apt to be a bit special.

Heaven 17, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool. (2016).

Heaven 17's Glenn Gregory at the Liverpool 02 Academy, October 2016.

Heaven 17’s Glenn Gregory at the Liverpool 02 Academy, October 2016.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Any genre of music requires its founding fathers, its elder statesmen and women, the ones who made the dream of a generation and the bane of a previous one, to stand up, take control and be magnificent in the face of possible adversity and obliging redemption.

Lloyd Cole, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

For the unexpected, the unforeseen droll and beautifully humorous, sometimes you have to go that extra mile, you have to put yourself into the path of the genius and let their song cleanse your spirit.

Level 42, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Level 42's Mark King at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. October 2016. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Level 42’s Mark King at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. October 2016. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There was always something about them that was so right, the sound that was different to the pop dominance of British music in the 1980s and 90s. It was enough to make sure that their style of performing, the hard swish of the distinctive bass and funk undertones, was guaranteed a special status in the hearts of music fans; Level 42 were always going to be a positive influence upon the ears.

Herringbone John, Gig Review. Sound Food And Drink, Liverpool. We Shall Overcome 2016.

Herringbone John knows how light up an audience, how to get them started before a long luxurious day of music, there are very few that have that sense of calmness deeply imbedded into their souls.

We Shall Overcome had been the talk of the town all week, the abundance of bands that have made their way to be part of one of the most loved festivals but one with the most ideal of purest thoughts behind it was a staggering and sobering thought. The message spread, the word passed round that the music is a sure fire way to let people know that the world we live in at this moment in time is nothing short of rotten, a shadow of what a should be, a national disgrace that we have allowed people to get away with for too long.

Pete King, Gig Review. Sound Food And Drink, Liverpool. We Shall Overcome 2016.

To have one King in your life is to have good fortune, to acquire a second, that is the sound of destiny calling, of the riches of father-son genes and love for music being passed down and it is one that unfolds and reveals that talent is blessed and prosperous.

The sensational Derek King had already paved the way for Liverpool Acoustic’s contribution to the Saturday of We Shall Overcome, and as the day hurtled towards its natural end, as the music began to drift to the more electric sound elsewhere in the city, the final flourish, the flag raised high on a fantastic and well conducted afternoon of music inside Sound Food and Drink was unfurled by the next generation of King, the creative and magical Pete King.

Lauren Davenport, Gig Review. Sound Food And Drink, Liverpool. We Shall Overcome 2016.

There is a point in which all the music in the world, all that you have ever listened to all boils down to how it makes you feel, you can analyse the guitar, the fretwork, the notes, the absolute genius of it all, all you want. In the end though it comes down to the way the writer, the player, makes you feel and in Lauren Davenport there is an emotion waiting to pour itself out onto the page that is wonderfully unique.

Three Minute Hero, Gig Review. Sound Food And Drink, Liverpool. We Shall Overcome 2016.

The element of surprise, some handle the responsibility, some faint at the prospect, some surprise, some last minute addition just make the whole experience so complete that it is hard to have imagined the day without it ever having been so. Last minute surprise to the bill at Sound Food and Drink for the We Shall Overcome was the ever impressive figure of Three Minute Hero, the champion of the lyric, Stuart Todd, and as always the man and the musician was on top form.

Kevin Critchley, Gig Review. Sound Food And Drink, Liverpool. We Shall Overcome 2016.

They used to say good things come to those who wait, that patience between events was the virtue in which to aspire; a hangover from the Victorian era in which we are still reaping the disaster of the times from; the painful way of believing that self denial is a good thing when it comes to appreciation. They used to say a lot of things but hardly any of it is relevant in 21st Century, especially the Victorian’s attitude to the poor and the destitute, the infirm and those to whom Government decisions effect negatively.