Tori Amos on stage at the Manchester Apollo. Photograph by Ian D. Hall
Originally published by L.S. Media. November 6th 2011.
L.S. Media Rating * * * *
Tori Amos has long been touted as one of the best female performers of the last 20 years, her albums have touched millions of fans, all of whom share some infinity and connection with the Cornish based, American born singer, so much so that her live shows are keenly awaited and strongly attended by all cross sections of society.
Originally published by November 6th 2011.
L.S. Media Rating ****
The last time Midge Ure stood on the stage at the Pacific Road, Birkenhead, could be considered surreal, no audience, just lights, music and his three band members of the 80’s New Wave Avant-Garde group Ultravox for company as they rehearsed their set for their sell out tour last year.
photograph by Ian D. Hall
Originally published by L.S. Media. November 11th 2011.
L.S. Media Rating *****
For the third time this year, Mike Peters returned to a venue and a city that holds his presence very dear to the collective hearts of all who attend his shows. Whether it’s in the form of his band of 30 years standing, The Alarm, his magnificent tenure as the lead singer for Big Country or in his guise as one man and an acoustic guitar, Mike Peters gives a show that resonates with his audience and can make the shiest person sing at the top of their voice as they join in with Mike’s rage against injustice and half-forgotten social issues.
Thomas Dolby at The Stanley Theatre, University of Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Originally published by L.S. Media. November 13th 2011.
LS. Media Rating ****
It may have been the best part of two decades since Thomas Dolby had played a live set in the city, however the affection and adoration he still holds within his fan base has never diminished. This was in evidence as he came out on stage at the Stanley Theatre to a genuine rapturous applause that was full of warmth and a desire to hear some of the best loved and quirky music to have been committed for posterity.
Originally published by L.S.Media. November 15th 2011.
L.S.Media Rating ***
It was perhaps fitting that Progressive Rock giants Yes came on stage to Benjamin Britten’s Young person’s Guide to the Orchestra, for the Symphony Hall in Birmingham is one of the most perfect places in the Midlands that blends itself with the music that Yes are universally loved and renowned for.
The subtle yet emotionally flowing guitar of Steve Howe, alongside stalwarts of the band Chris Squire on bass and the ideal drumming technique of Alan White mixed with the outrageously great keyboard playing of Geoff Downes is a combination of sound that everybody should hear at least once in their life. It’s no wonder that these four men fit together so well, the music they create is sometimes just astonishing.
Photgraph by Ian D. Hall.
Originally published by L.S. Media. November 15th 2011.
L.S.Media Rating ****
Eric’s may have only been re-opened for a couple of months now but the acts they have had on the timeless stage and playing music that has reverberated in amongst the memories of the heady days of the 1970’s has been nothing short of scintillating and superb. Hot on the tails of the artists that have played there recently comes a band that would have gone down a storm at the old venue, such was the presence and musical ability of display of Mamas Gun.
Originally published by L.S. Media. November 16th 2011.
L.S. Media Rating *
Best of albums are subjective, sometimes boringly so. What one person says is the definitive list of a band’s finest moments of recording history, another will contest that songs A and B cannot be compared with tracks Y and Z and so the great musical merry ground goes round and it allows record companies to get the public to open their wallets once more in the name of having the one definitive list. This can be even more disturbing when the band already have a well presented and in some cases finer version available.
Originally published by L.S. Media. November 16th 2011. 
L.S Media Rating *****
There are concept albums and there are pieces of recorded music history that deserve celebrating in absolute and outstanding style. Aqualung by Jethro Tull is one such album that can be considered amongst the very finest Progressive Rock has to offer; now that it’s been re-released for its 40th anniversary, a new generation of fans will be able to hear the reason why is considered a genuine classic of our time.
Originally published by L.S. Media. November 20th 2011.
L.S. Media Rating *****
The songs may be stripped back, the venues obscure, however there is no doubting the fire and commitment that emanates from the Morecambe stage as Fish gave a performance of such unbridled passion mixed with a healthy dollop of raw emotion that shows that even after thirty years of performing for some of the most loyal fans in music, he still has that unique ability to charm and use effectively superb musical cynicism, that is much needed in a world that seems very, very wrong.
Originally published by L.S. Media. November 22nd 2011. 
L.S. Media Rating ****
Is there any band in the world like Red Hot Chili Peppers? Even individually, the four members of the band have had lives that have been so interesting, so demanding and so off the wall that reading Anthony Kiedis’ autobiography Scar Tissue is to wonder how they have survived life as well as the pressures of being in one of the top rated and musically phenomenal acts of the last 20 years.