Category Archives: Live

Danny Bryant, Gig Review. The Citadel, St. Helens.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

If ever there was a moment to silence a Blues crowd into submission then to hear Danny Bryant tell a touching story about his mentor and friend Walter Trout and a request he made to hear Mr. Bryant perform one particular song would have been that moment. The haunting sound of a rich guitar, the lyrics of Walter Trout’s favourite song, Bob Dylan’s Girl From The North Country, floating through the air like wisps of articulate light dancing in the shaded memory of all in attendance and the far-away look in Danny Bryant’s eyes only served notice that the world of Blues has never been closer. It was a beautiful moment and one that fans of both Walter Trout and Danny Bryant will understand the brother-like love and admiration that runs through both men.

Danny Bryant, Gig Review. The Citadel, St. Helens. full post

(489 words, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)

The Mentulls, Gig Review. The Citadel, St. Helens.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There are nights in which you can guess with a fairly decent degree of accuracy exactly what you are going to get from a band or artist that you have gone along to support, wallow in the sounds of nostalgia or be thrilled with the execution of a song you have loved for all your live being performed live and with passion.

The Mentulls, Gig Review. The Citadel, St. Helens. full post

(516 words, estimated 2:04 mins reading time)

Paul Straws, Gig Review. Above The Beaten Track Festival: The Bluecoat, Liverpool.

Paul Straws at The Bluecoat, August 2014. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

If Jo Bywater’s set for Above the Beaten Track Festival inside the Bluecoat could be seen as a personal revolution then Paul Straws evening appearance should be seen as the start of pleasing and game changing mutiny.

Paul Straws, Gig Review. Above The Beaten Track Festival: The Bluecoat, Liverpool. full post

(512 words, 1 image, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)

Me And Deboe, Gig Review. Above The Beaten Track Festival: The Bluecoat, Liverpool.

ME And Deboe at The Bluecoat in Liverpool. August 2014. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

To dislike ME and Deboe is to have the same outlook as a block of stone being chipped away by the most inept and undedicated of Masons, for just to be in front of Mercy Elise and Sarah Deboe is to understand that music is the most perfect of pursuits.

Me And Deboe, Gig Review. Above The Beaten Track Festival: The Bluecoat, Liverpool. full post

(568 words, 1 image, estimated 2:16 mins reading time)

Jo Bywater, Gig Review. Above The Beaten Track Festival: The Bluecoat, Liverpool.

Jo Bywater at The Bluecoat, Liverpool. August 2014. Photograph by Mr. Graham Holland.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Revolution and even evolution can be triggered by adversity, the moment in which personal hardship or disaster upon a species or a country can be the catalyst in which change happens. Revolution is not something to be feared, unless you are the oppressor, if you are the one in which is placing your boot upon a human face, revolution is only wrong when the incorrect dogma takes a fall and evolution is as inevitable as empires crashing to dust eventually.

Jo Bywater, Gig Review. Above The Beaten Track Festival: The Bluecoat, Liverpool. full post

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

Only Child, Gig Review. Above The Beaten Track Festival: The Bluecoat, Liverpool.

John Gibbons, part of Only Child’s live set at The Bluecoat, Liverpool. August 2014. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

If ever there is a time in someone’s life in which you can say to someone, “Wow, I am impressed with the dedication to the cause”, then to come on stage and play magnificently just after the heart, brain and soul have been swamped with the overwhelming emotions of becoming a parent for the first time is probably that time.

Only Child, Gig Review. Above The Beaten Track Festival: The Bluecoat, Liverpool. full post

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

Niamh Jones, Gig Review. Above The Beaten Track Festival: The Bluecoat, Liverpool.

Niamh Jones, The Bluecoat, Liverpool. August 2014. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Niamh Jones is a woman with such a sparkling voice that it is no wonder at the age of 15 she was given the opportunity to impress all who attend the highly respected nights hosted by the people at Liverpool Acoustic. Two years on, Niamh Jones is something special to behold, and inside The Bluecoat on an August day which betrayed the thought of blistering sunshine blasting its rays upon the multitude of people making their way to take in a day of music, Niamh Jones again showed the reason why she is thought of so well.

Niamh Jones, Gig Review. Above The Beaten Track Festival: The Bluecoat, Liverpool. full post

(517 words, 1 image, estimated 2:04 mins reading time)

Jimmy And The Revolvers, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Judging by the reaction of the assembled audience inside Studio 2 on Parr Street, Jimmy and The Revolvers had perhaps just given the performance of their lives.

Jimmy And The Revolvers, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. full post

(489 words, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)

Lyra, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool.

Kieron Smith of Lyra at Studio 2, Liverpool. n Photograph by Ian D. Hall

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

You can tell that there is more than a spark of quality to a band when adversity, that age old Moriarty to the Sherlock creature that resides in youthful talent, just seems to be kicked into touch quicker than a footballer finding out there is a spread bet available on the time of the first throw-in.

Lyra, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. full post

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

Justin Currie, Gig Review. The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The Edinburgh Fringe is perhaps arguably the most exciting and diverse event to place in the U.K. during the optimistically lazy days of August. The thought of the dark days and nights to come as the year gallops towards its end not quite lingering in the air like a last minute firework set off well after the others have fallen and crashed spent to the floor but still floating in its embryonic state, it is with that in mind that August should be about letting go, of doing things differently and playing it fast and loose with convention as the Edinburgh Fringe suggests.

Justin Currie, Gig Review. The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh. full post

(505 words, estimated 2:01 mins reading time)