Category Archives: Live

Chelsey Chambers, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Chelsey Chambers at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. May 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

To be invited to open up a gig before a legend of American music must either be a dream come true or a millstone in which heads droop in realisation of the enormity of what has been agreed to. Either way, the only true course of action is to stand up and be counted, shoulders back, guitar primed and let the music flow out of you as if it is the most natural thing in the world to do.

Chelsey Chambers, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. full post

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

Blake Jones & The Trike Shop, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The title of Lords of the back stage at The Cavern of this year’s International Pop Overthrow might be fought over with the same ferocity as men would have squabbled, bickered and fought over the throne of England in the days when such things mattered, arguably though one of the main contenders would surely be the inventive and insanely talented Blake Jones & The Trike Shop.

Blake Jones & The Trike Shop, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

(404 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

The Fores, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow. The Cavern, Liverpool.

The Fores at this year’s I.P.O. in Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

For both Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, it could be argued that sport, no matter the game, is perhaps higher on the agenda that adding too much more of their independent and well crafted ideological contribution to the way of life in England and the U.K. as whole. The Midland counties may boast of two of the more iconic music venues in the country in the Leicester De Montfort Hall and Nottingham Rock City but the amount of musical groups and artists that spring to mind and with ease is perhaps completely undervalued.

The Fores, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

(442 words, 1 image, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

McCrei, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

McCrei at the Cavern in Liverpool as part of the 2015 I.P.O. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

They say there is no greater bond than that between two sisters. Others might disagree and point to other just as valuable relationships on which are just as loving and can be just as destructive when the whim of necessity rears its head. However, one cannot argue with the closeness that two sisters will have, especially when working together on stage in close proximity and sharing the experiences of their lives through music.

McCrei, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

(414 words, 1 image, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

Susan Hedges, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

Susan Hedges at the International Pop Overthrow 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Susan Hedges surely has one of the most distinctive voices on Merseyside. That voice, one that can soar as high as an angel with a helium addiction or as deep and powerful as if able to hold its own in a bar brawl and come out as the last one standing in a cage fight, unbloodied, unbowed and unrepentant, is one of the reasons that Ms. Hedges is always in demand and quite rightly so.

Susan Hedges, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

(402 words, 1 image, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

Colin’s Godson, Gig Review. Independent Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Into every I.P.O. must fall a band so insanely catchy, so raucous, so outrageous with their clever lyrics and achingly good music that they make the whole week seem like a dream.

In its thirteenth consecutive year of showcasing some of the finest power pop acts around at The Cavern in Liverpool, perhaps no other band has had such recommendations come before them, of being urged to take in their warped but tremendous songs filled with pathos and excellent humour as much as Colin’s Godson has had thrown their way.

Colin’s Godson, Gig Review. Independent Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

(407 words, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)

The Dirty Royals, Gig Review. Independent Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The Saturday of the Independent Pop Overthrow has always been a powerhouse of emotions in which to revel in the glory of a festival so enormous in its preparations that it puts many of its counterparts to shame. The setting of The Cavern was exactly the right staging for the I.P.O. and the weekend the main focal point as visitors to the city, the throng of human activity, make their way to the music capital of the U.K. in search of something new, fresh and hopefully exciting.

The Dirty Royals, Gig Review. Independent Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

(394 words, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

The Theme, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Loud, boisterous, full of vigour and passion, to watch The Theme is to enjoy a great night and have you panting for more.

The inexplicable nature of life, of how it has changed in the last 40 years, sometimes for the better in that bands have more access to the world outside their hometown, sometimes for the worse as in there is only so much finite time in which to keep searching through the relentless onslaught of social media updates and the outpourings of invites to see many a new group, can leave you feeling as if all your life you have lived by a quiet oasis and yet you yearn for the bucket and spade in which to dig a thousand moats.

The Theme, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

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

ViseMenn, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

The ViseMenn at the International Pop Overthrow 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

One of the main points of the International Pop Overthrow is to introduce music from far and wide to the shores of Britain. It is an ethos that has served David Bash, the organiser, the conveyor of such thought extremely well over the last 12 years and going into the week-long festival’s 13^th year shows no signs of abating or slowing down.

ViseMenn, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

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

Malene Markussen, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

To be enchanted is an honour many never feel or even witness. So wrapped up in the pursuit of goals that in the end matter very little, they forget or even are unfortunate to live in places which look down upon, the feeling that comes with the sound of a voice filling the air and letting the heart break with a certain amount of joy, it is those other pursuits or government interjections that prohibit the reality of life, to be enchanted.

Malene Markussen, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

(361 words, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)