Category Archives: Live

Joanne Shaw Taylor, Gig Review. The Old Naval College, Greenwich, London.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

On the grounds in which the stage stood inside the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, not far from the ruler of the high seas and one of the nation’s much loved ships, The Cutty Sark, now spends her well earned retirement in perpetual adoration, once roamed and played the childhood Queen Elizabeth, arguably the finest monarch the nation has ever had on the throne of England, came the sound of the reign of the new sovereign as she played her guitar in such a way that across the Thames, in the deep vaults of The Tower of London, they were looking up the line of succession into which Midland’s born Joanne Shaw Taylor was now and undisputedly the Queen of British Blues.

Joanne Shaw Taylor, Gig Review. The Old Naval College, Greenwich, London. full post

(420 words, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

The Christians, Gig Review. Grand Central Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There is a night out, the all guns blazing, bring the house down and sweat pouring off the worthy and the thrilled and then there is the night out where the gig becomes almost regal, hosted by the statesman like quality of the front man whose very smile leads you down a path of hope and faith.

Both nights are always well attended but there is something about the latter that really brings home to the attendee the power of music, its ability to make you cry true tears of regret, make your heart bleed and yet grow wings to soar above the petty and the ignorant at the same time. It is a virtue that Liverpool’s The Christians have in abundance.

The Christians, Gig Review. Grand Central Hall, Liverpool. full post

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

Shamona, Gig Review. Grand Central Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

Music is infectious, it sits laying in wait to pounce, biding its time for the perfect moment in which to strike out, to nip at the heart strings and the conscious of all; if the bite is true, if it is considered and well aimed then it leads the willing quarry down a path of putting music above all else and letting the soft notes, the booming structures of cascading cool and harmony and megaliths of wattage and output reach out in search of the next generation.

Shamona, Gig Review. Grand Central Hall, Liverpool. full post

(460 words, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)

Joe Bonamassa: A Tribute To The British Blues Explosion, Gig Review. The Cavern Club, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

With sweat sliding from the walls of the world famous Cavern Club in Liverpool – holy home of The Beatles and one or two others – Joe Bonamassa stepped onto the stage at 8 pm, slung his guitar across his shoulders and thereby went on to rip the guts out of the place with two hours of the most sublime guitar work you are ever likely to witness.

Joe Bonamassa: A Tribute To The British Blues Explosion, Gig Review. The Cavern Club, Liverpool. full post

(387 words, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)

Broken Witt Rebels, Gig Review. 02, London. Stone Free Festival.

Broken Witt Rebels at the 02, London. Photograph by Peter Noble.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

It is not often that Birmingham gets to wake up London, gets the chance to holler into the soft tissue of the capital’s head, especially first thing on a Sunday morning when the world has barely recovered from the day before, a Saturday in which the o2 Arena shook its foundations and sent shock waves across to the Isle of Dogs and hopefully terrified the Westminster village to its core.

Broken Witt Rebels, Gig Review. 02, London. Stone Free Festival. full post

(422 words, 1 image, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

Marillion, Gig Review. O2 Arena, London. Stone Free Festival.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

When all that remains is love, the human heart will feel peace. It is a love that has been kept firmly in the hearts of the tens of thousands of Marillion fans since the first moment they came across the band. When all that remains is love, then the complexity of human emotion can come shining through like the Lighthouse of Alexandria, it is talked of for all time and the beacon searches out both wrecks and salvation alike.

Marillion, Gig Review. O2 Arena, London. Stone Free Festival. full post

(454 words, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)

Steve Hackett, Gig Review. O2 Arena, London. Stone Free Festival.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Progressive Rock royalty comes in many different forms, many distinct tastes and moments that in the end the fans list could so wildly dissimilar that they would surely encompass the whole colourful spectrum. It is in the nature of such lists that one name would positively stand out, would always grab the attention of the crowd, Steve Hackett, the quiet man of Progressive Rock but also arguably the most prestigious and creatively entertaining; it is no wonder that he was amongst the headline musicians for the inaugural Stone Free Festival.

Steve Hackett, Gig Review. O2 Arena, London. Stone Free Festival. full post

(389 words, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)

Michael Monroe, Gig Review. Indigo, London. Stone Free Festival.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There are front men and then there are showmen, there are those that intrigue and those that captivate with their sheer physical presence, Michael Monroe sits firmly in the camp of showmen and captivating and it was a label he was more than happy to play up to with a certain amount of rock regal stance as he strutted upon the Indigo stage at the o2 with a gleaming smile and stone tight good attitude.

Michael Monroe, Gig Review. Indigo, London. Stone Free Festival. full post

(377 words, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)

Therapy?, Gig Review. Indigo, London. Stone Free Festival.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

It always feels right to have some Therapy? in your life, it is just a shame that the therapy some need, all they require, is not available upon the N.H.S., if it was there would be a lot more contented people out there. For the therapy they need comes in the shape and form of one of Northern Ireland’s great bands and as they blew away the Indigo Stage on a Saturday afternoon, as they paved the way for the main event in the other hall, the feeling was perhaps they might have been given the chance to really go to town as one of the big four acts inside the o2 Arena.

Therapy?, Gig Review. Indigo, London. Stone Free Festival. full post

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

The Darkness, Gig Review. O2 Arena, London. Stone Free Festival.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

It is hard when you are on the edges, when thrown to the sides like an outcast sat at the city gates, looking for scraps of comfort and knowing that deep down your thoughts are about as welcome as the plague, but as you sit in the far reaches of a gathering and you don’t get the hype, the sentimental leaning of those caught in the whirlwind of supposed excitement at the front of the stage, the slight stance of indifference towards the middle and the abject mind wanderings at the back, that just how you are supposed to feel about The Darkness.

The Darkness, Gig Review. O2 Arena, London. Stone Free Festival. full post

(388 words, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)