Category Archives: Live

Fearless Vampire Killers, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There are mercurial substances when blended together seem to give the potent headiness that makes people swoon, scream with adulation at the very merest thought of having a hand touch a lock of hair and somehow make everything else in the world seem irrelevant; even for the briefest of moments. When the powerful aroma of burgeoning testosterone adds itself to the glitter of eye-liner, a theatrical moodiness and enough spray on pheromones to knock out the navigation systems of any passing passenger liner, then at some point those who made their way to rock gigs in the 1980s may have felt slightly caught unawares by the veneration shown by the crowd as the Fearless Vampire Killers made their way through their set in support of Medina Lake.

Fearless Vampire Killers, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

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

Buckle Tongue, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Perhaps it was fortuitous that Merseyside band Buckle Tongue opened up their set in support of Medina Lake at the o2 Academy with the song Grow. For in the space of ten months that is exactly what they have done. Ten short months from a place in which they were already impressing those who saw them to a point now where surely they are a band to nurture, to grasp with both hands and say please keep going. Liverpool doesn’t really do the very heavy side of rock but judging by the adoration they received from perhaps even the strangest quarters in the o2, they are ready for bigger things.

Buckle Tongue, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(338 words, estimated 1:21 mins reading time)

Thomas Dolby, Gig Review. Union Chapel, London.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

There are very few truly unique entities in the world today, everything in the end has it’s time and yet something comes along in which carries on the flame. Not so with the extremely talented, the musical proficiency and singularly matchless Thomas Dolby. Add into a night of inventiveness, the shadowy, almost gothic–like structure and feel of the Union Chapel in Islington and the exceptional film that accompanied the evening and it was quite possibly the finest and most creative night of 2013.

Thomas Dolby, Gig Review. Union Chapel, London. full post

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

The Duckworth Lewis Method, Gig Review. Rough Trade Records, Whitechapel, London.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There are just some things you cannot pass up the opportunity of witnessing in life. The chance, if you should support England’s cricket team, to see the Australians flounder in two…hopefully three home test Ashes series on the trot in England is surely one of those, perhaps even seeing Lancashire’s Jimmy Anderson overtake Sir Ian Botham’s huge and long standing wicket haul is another. However, when it comes to music, being able to see The Duckworth Lewis Method kick start a tour of their latest cricket themed album, Sticky Wickets, in the sweet confines of Rough Trade Records in Whitechapel as part of a launch for the third edition of The Night Watchman, is just as sweet and just as palpable…records, new music, cricket, Neil Hannon and Thomas Walsh, there surely isn’t much else for the cricketing music fan to excited about.

The Duckworth Lewis Method, Gig Review. Rough Trade Records, Whitechapel, London. full post

(327 words, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)

The Cornmarket Acoustic Club Provides Great Entertainment At First Ever Festival.

The Cornmarket Acoustic Club has been part of the Liverpool spirit of music for three years and yet somehow a festival has been missing from the clubs social calendar – until now.

With music being a central point in Liverpool, perhaps only matched by the abundant love shown towards its two football teams, there is always somewhere to go, some alleyway in which the sound of a pleasing saxophone, the gentle guitar or demanding vocal drifts to the music lover’s ear and takes root and begs to be explored. The Cornmarket Acoustic Club feeds on this and gives so much in return and whilst they have travelled far from the early ethos of being a folk club, music is still very much king and is benevolent enough in which even the art of poetry gets to share the stage.

The Cornmarket Acoustic Club Provides Great Entertainment At First Ever Festival. full post

(382 words, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

Ukulele Club Liverpool, Gig Review. The Cornmarket, Cornmarket Acoustic Festival. Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The ukulele might be seen as a poor relation in terms of musical instruments to some, however within this small beast lies the beating heart of a scheming God and in the hands of the Ukulele Club Liverpool, that beating heart thumps as loudly as you could possibly wish.

Ukulele Club Liverpool, Gig Review. The Cornmarket, Cornmarket Acoustic Festival. Liverpool. full post

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

John Williams, Gig Review. The Cornmarket, Cornmarket Acoustic Festival. Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Watching John Williams perform, no matter the setting, has the same feeling of contentment thrust upon you as someone giving you a five star hotel room for the weekend and charging you only a pound for the pleasure. As he stood with guitar in hand and the guitar/violinist of choice, and with Elizabeth Kearney from Nighthowl by his side, the moment of absolute enjoyment was stretched out and unfolded at a rate that would reflect the day, laid back but with the sense of history being made and for that John Williams gave a near exemplary performance in which all assembled revelled in.

John Williams, Gig Review. The Cornmarket, Cornmarket Acoustic Festival. Liverpool. full post

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

Caro Emerald, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Caro Emerald’s 2013 album, The Shocking Miss Emerald, has set more than a tone for music in the second decade in the 21^st Century, it has set a bar that matches the intensity and atmosphere that Kate Bush in the 70s, Madonna in the 80s and Tori Amos in the 90s managed to frame and capture with their pivotal albums. As she came on stage for the first time in Liverpool, the mystique, the allure and the talent followed her, the voice captivated the audience completely and the music enveloped all like a comfortable and much loved blanket.

Caro Emerald, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. full post

(501 words, estimated 2:00 mins reading time)

Dinosaur Jr. Gig Review. East Village Arts Club, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

For Dinosaur Jr. to still come across as a well-kept secret that is keenly guarded by only those who speak of their music and discography in the same reverential terms as you would hear spoken by those who covet the inner workings, some say magic of a comic store is on first glance hard to understand. Not for nothing is the music something this side of stunning, mind blowing and captivating, it growls with the same force as a yard full of tigers who have spotted someone invading their turf. Yet, it seems, it is perhaps the select army, those who really understand how music gets beneath the skin who know that this band is something very special to watch.

Dinosaur Jr. Gig Review. East Village Arts Club, Liverpool. full post

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

Ed Harcourt, Gig Review. Camp And Furnace, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

With the festival season nearly behind him, Ed Harcourt made his way to Liverpool for the second time this year and gave the crowd attending this year’s Summercamp at Camp and Furnace something extra to hang their 2013 musical memories upon.

Ed Harcourt, Gig Review. Camp And Furnace, Liverpool. full post

(428 words, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)