There should be a general arrangement, an agreement that not one single world leader could dare deny without fear of ridicule or the sound of derision coming from their vocal cynics, that Liverpool really is the home to the female musicians and female rock gods to who could also do a damn sight better job of running the ideologies of all countries. You can find them in every bar, venue and stage sending the guitar into long periods of apoplectic rage and long sequences of beauty that even the masters of the arched pessimist warmonger would have to concede, that they are more powerful, more engaging than all of the rank and file suits put together.
Category Archives: Live
Vonda Shepard, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Television may have brought the name of Vonda Shepard to the vast majority of British music lovers but the genuine appeal of her touching song writing and piano playing is the truth of why she has retained that adoration from her audiences and the abundance of spirit in her recording career. Vonda Shepard is remarkable, a woman of clear and precise musical beauty and to whom the smile never seems to fade.
Me And Deboe, Gig Review. Leaf, Liverpool. (2016).
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
There is a reasonable and compelling argument to be made to compare the tantalising work of Me and Deboe with the greatest of all musical partnerships, the phenomenally outstanding Simon and Garfunkel. The comparison isn’t in the voices or the appearance, but where it matters most in the defining action of the duos appreciation towards their audience, the way they are received and the true mastership of both their lyrics and of the beat they generate.
Limerance, Gig Review. Leaf, Liverpool.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
It is an art to fall in love for the first time, the expectations are actually lower in the first minutes of any attraction than if you spin out the desire for a lengthy period; the pedestal only grows higher the longer you take to see the art in someone and the joy in their eyes in an up close and personal way. The quicker the introduction, the sooner it is you can let the infatuation with their song begin.
Astles, Gig Review. Leaf, Liverpool.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Live music is important, everybody, the world, his wife and their sometimes ignorant children knows that the live arena is the most important approach for music in the 21st Century. Almost killed by rampant commercialism, the despicability of some streaming services not paying what an artist is due in full for their songs and the process of creativity being turned into a product rather than a little piece of their soul being turned into something beautiful and worth a lot more than money can buy; the live arena is the last natural place in which musicians of any standing get to feel appreciated.
Paul Dunbar & The Black Winter Band. Gig Review, Leaf, Liverpool.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
It is a wonder at times that the old streets of Liverpool’s famous heart aren’t to be seen physically bouncing, going up and down vigorously or even just vibrating slowly, swaying to the beat that comes out of the buildings, the energy of a thousand beaten drums and million guitars singing in unison as the parade of live music, its talent and its breathing cool dominate the city’s dynamic pulse.
Justin Hayward, Gig Review. Floral Pavilions, New Brighton.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The very best of men are those that have the mystique of being legendary about them, the glow that the audience sees on stage and who revel in the mystery but also appreciate the man, the very human, the down to Earth persona of the artist who is extremely talented but immensely humble about their contribution to the world, the music and souls they have touched.
Fleetwood Bac, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Nostalgia, the driving force that reminds us that Time is not always a kindly benevolent force, that the moment we find ourselves in must be seized upon, fully explored and the point between the tick and tock is all to fleeting; love, if it is found in that moment, should be dived into regardless of the consequences. Nostalgia, it is what keeps the brain coming back for more of what it needs and the soul for what it loves. In the music of Fleetwood Mac, in whatever form and guise across the decades, is the love that brings many people together and it is with a nostalgic glint in their eyes that Fleetwood Bac play to the audience at the Epstein Theatre with.
Billy Joel, Gig Review. Wembley Stadium, London.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
The lights may have been seen to go out over Broadway, but as the sound of the piano keys crashed down and the echo of thousands of racing hearts fulfilled an ambition in the home of national sports greatest heroes, the illumination from a thousand cameras, of what seemed like a million cell phones capturing the event, Wembley was lit up in spectacular style. This was the honouring of a man for whom so many had perhaps waited a lifetime to watch perform and who now bathed in the glare of flashbulbs and love.
The Good Host, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. (2016).
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The sound of Vienna, the last days of grand empire in a city that would remain forever associated with fine music and beautiful venues in which to play them, could not sound more opulent or desirable than being able to relish in the alternative Folk Rock guitar sound driven by The Good Host. The whirl of Vienna, the mood of the Danube slowly winding itself down through Europe and the psychological musings of Freud as the ghosts of the Habsburgs looked on; none of that splendour matches being in the company of the band that makes music just something you yearn for the company of a fine port and a roaring Christmas fire for.