Category Archives: Live

Nick Heyward, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Nick Hayward at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, March 2016. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Nick Heyward at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, March 2016. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Nick Heyward and the band Haircut 100 was arguably the epitome, alongside the likes of Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran, of the clean cut image presented to music lovers as the 1980s decade honed into view and took root in the decade; fun loving, a band that would capture many teenage girl’s hearts and have young lads ditching the idea of punk rebellion and the afterglow of Progressive Rock for almost a decade or so.

Nick Heyward, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. full post

(437 words, 1 image, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

Curiosity Killed The Cat, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

The 80s were a decade of contrasting emotions and feelings, in one corner the excess of the decade, its reliance on greed and almost feelings of dishonest pursuit were enough to make any sane person feel ill under the weight of decadence and obtuseness, it was the going against the grind in which to be different was sneered up from upon high, to want social justice had you tarnished as not being with the so called programme and woe-betide if you fell into any category in which to be against the Government had you marked down as a misfit…times don’t seem to have changed much in that regard.

Curiosity Killed The Cat, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. full post

(470 words, estimated 1:53 mins reading time)

Jacqui Dankworth And Charlie Wood, Gig Review. St. George’s Hall Small Concert Room, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It has to be said that if there is a finer venue in which to stage an intimate evening of quality and interesting Jazz, Blues and Pop than the Small Concert Room of St George’s Hall, then many will never have to worry about seeing it, with Jacqui Dankworth, the daughter of the illustrious music visionary couple Dame Clio Laine and Sir John Dankworth, Charlie Cook and a superb trio of musicians on stage, then things – to papraphrase D-Ream – can’t get any better.

Jacqui Dankworth And Charlie Wood, Gig Review. St. George’s Hall Small Concert Room, Liverpool. full post

(315 words, estimated 1:16 mins reading time)

Exodus, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

For over 30 years American Thrash Metal band Exodus have primed their audiences with enough energy to fill more long life batteries than Duracell could ever muster, the violence they play up to only for show and for the crowd to draw off strength too and the influence of this has been keenly felt across many venues and cities throughout America, Europe and Britain.

Exodus, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool. full post

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

Lost Society, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

It seems that every day we inch closer to an abyss in which a society, a species that was born for greatness, is to be lost, vanquished off the face of the Earth by its own ineptitude and disorienting values, thankfully till that moment in which the next great extinction comes along there is always pleasure to be had in Finland’s Kings of the Thrash Metal genre Lost Society. Civilisation may be teetering, the position of leader of the Western world may about to put into the hands of a man who wants to build walls and a leader in Russia that fancies the idea of a Nuclear Middle East party but Lost Society know how to fill a room with music driven scorch marks and ear bashing, heart thumping Metal groove.

Lost Society, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool. full post

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

Deified, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The deep rumblings of discontent, the explosion of a megaton bomb and the urgency of a siren warning of an impending attack, all fade into the ether when the growl of Thrash and Heavy Metal gets going, when it breaks loose of society’s moorings and allows itself the free range in which to catapult its quarrel and blistering beautiful argument into the ears of those receptive to a different kind of outbreak.

Deified, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool. full post

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

Cameron Vale, Gig Review. Capstone Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The art of the Progressive is not limited to the sole sphere of Rock and whilst it would seem out of place to put it in the same bracket as pop, couple it with electro fusion, Rap or even dare to try to suggest that Classical wander down the Progressive route, in Jazz it is mysteriously connected, two styles, seemingly different and yet full of ambient colour and mind blowing effect that it is arguably a necessity of form worth exploring.

Cameron Vale, Gig Review. Capstone Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Cast, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Like the name New York, something’s are worth repeating twice in the same breath or in the same excited tone, like the return of local heroes to a treasured venue after only a couple of months and with the same stirring set and the same quality of music being performed by band and orchestra alike.

Cast, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. full post

(435 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

The Classic Rock Show, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2016).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The mood is always infectious when certain classic Rock songs make an appearance on the public bar juke box, the anticipation of what track is going to appear next, what standard or anthem will have the crowd singling loudly and what will have the tear of regret and the memory of a particular moment forever seared into the brain. Music arguably has that ability to make the brain remember valuable recollections more so than any other art form and as the crescendo of The Classic Rock Show reached ever higher, as the Philharmonic Hall crowd were swayed and teased with greatness, so the memory of Time was played out to some of the unbeatable guitar riffs and unforgettable lyrics.

The Classic Rock Show, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2016). full post

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

Howard Jones, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

As the music of a generation plays, as the notes of the keyboard play out the tunes and songs that captured the soul of any who were enthused with its drive and upbeat melody, the pumped dry ice that crawls on stage, that litters the air and shrouds each track with its steely presence, is almost spectral, wraith-like and pronounced and it offers the Epstein Theatre audience a type of nostalgic yearning to head back to the days when Howard Jones, one of music’s true gentlemen, was never off the radio.

Howard Jones, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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