Category Archives: Live

Joanne Shaw Taylor, Gig Review. The Citadel, St. Helens.

Joanne Shaw Taylor at The Citadel in St. Helens, July 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

There have been many spectacular women who have dominated the music arena to the point where their sheer persona and drive is enough to set a million hearts racing and the acknowledgement that they are truly the very finest in their field. From the likes of Judy Garland, Nina Simone, Janis Joplin, Nancy Wilson, Tori Amos and Kate Bush, the world has been graced with the sublime and the outstanding, historic in their approach and what their music has meant to millions of fans world-wide; they are lauded for a reason, they are to be seen as perfection personified.

Joanne Shaw Taylor, Gig Review. The Citadel, St. Helens. full post

(495 words, 1 image, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

Garron Frith, Gig Review. The Citadel, St. Helens.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Throughout the travels and tribulations sometimes endured in the wonderfully never ending search of new music in which to spend time with, the support act is perhaps one that never gets the true recognition for the achievements or ability. It is a shame for before the sweat and beauty of the act you may have gone to see, for many the allure of the bar or the extra 20 minutes at home is a greater pull than ever traversing the unknown or unexplored.

Garron Frith, Gig Review. The Citadel, St. Helens. full post

(427 words, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

The Buffalo Riot, Gig Review. Studio 2, Parr Street, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

A riot by any other name can still sound just as sweet, however, a riot, the eruption of sound associated with The Buffalo Riot is almost without equal and to that end even the great plains of America would shudder with greater exposure and bounding resonance to this terrific band than a million buffalo or bison could manage as they stampede in unison.

The Buffalo Riot, Gig Review. Studio 2, Parr Street, Liverpool. full post

(424 words, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

Sana, Gig Review. Studio 2, Parr Street, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

Stillhet’s Strings and Things monthly Sunday evening shows at the Parr Street Studio have always been of the highest quality, friendly and forthcoming when it comes to having musicians on board who might have been away from the glare of the stage and the music lover’s hearts. It is a trait of kindness and gentleness that allows any sign of nerves to be dispelled and left to wander freely back out onto the road and pavements and wrapped in its own negative thoughts.

Sana, Gig Review. Studio 2, Parr Street, Liverpool. full post

(439 words, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

The Dirty Bomb, Gig Review. Studio 2, Parr Street, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

July can be seen as month in which experimentation with the senses goes into a kind of overdrive, the pleasure of the discovery of something new going hand in hand with the sultry and aurally naked. The velvet touch offered by a craving to take the heat higher than should be allowed but in which the temptation catches fire and stokes the engine to the point where whistles blow and steam gushes out at such a rate that the explosion of sound spreads out across the room with rapid expansion and the wake of The Dirty Bomb leaving a collection of smiling faces.

The Dirty Bomb, Gig Review. Studio 2, Parr Street, Liverpool. full post

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

Midge Ure, Gig Review. The Atkinson, Southport.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There are few finer voices than that of Midge Ure, especially when the vast majority of the evening spent in his company at the Atkinson in Southport is listening to an album that, arguably unfairly, was played against the workings of corporate turmoil and interference. There are times in life when you know that just want to hear the artist being lauded for them alone, not having an agenda pushed down their throat, it’s bad enough in the democracy of a band but when it comes against what is an especially beautiful solo album such as Breathe, that’s when you know the agenda has got rotten.

Midge Ure, Gig Review. The Atkinson, Southport. full post

(657 words, estimated 2:38 mins reading time)

Hegarty, Gig Review. Zanzibar Club, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The invitation must have been sent round the entire Liverpool music loving public, the words command performance perhaps not quite in evidence as the letter, e-mail or text message was steamed open and poured over with great intent and undisguised glee, but the intention was inferred and undeniable. Hegarty expected and received a following inside the Zanzibar Club so large that Noah himself would have found it impossible to find space for a pair of glow worms to dance the night away comfortably without stepping on the shoes of the faithful.

Hegarty, Gig Review. Zanzibar Club, Liverpool. full post

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

The Huyton Minstrel, Gig Review. Zanzibar Club, Liverpool.

The Huyton Minstrel, June 2015, Zanzibar Club, Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The Huyton Minstrel looks down from upon the Zanzibar stage, stares into the eyes of anyone who is willing to catch his gaze and then without a moment’s hesitation, delivers the words of an angry, politically charged and unafraid poet right down the throats of the ever increasing mass of population that has made its way into the heart of the city on a dripping sweat and air still day.

The Huyton Minstrel, Gig Review. Zanzibar Club, Liverpool. full post

(424 words, 1 image, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

Nina Fian, Gig Review. Zanzibar Club, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The near regal stance of Nina Fian as she performs at Zanzibar is akin to being asked to look at the majesty of Everest for the first time or to look deep into the heart of the Australian aboriginal tribes and try and describe just how beautiful and awe-inspiring Uluru is as a notion, an idea in which a thousand singing spirits can be heard lamenting the loss of Time.

Nina Fian, Gig Review. Zanzibar Club, Liverpool. full post

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

The Moody Blues, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2015).

The Moody Blues at the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool. June 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool sound and Vision Rating 9/10

For 51 years The Moody Blues have given their audiences, no matter where in the world, the night of their lives over and over again and judging by the style, the warmth and the outpouring of genuine affection between capacity crowd and the band, that reign of musical beauty really never seems likely to end.

The Moody Blues, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2015). full post

(459 words, 1 image, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)