Originally published by L.S. Media. November 27th 2009.
After what seemed an eternity without a new Tori Amos album, two come along within a year. Midwinter Graces is Tori’s first attempt at a seasonal offering and in her usual way of doing these things, it works. It is a return to form after her disappointing debut album for Universal Republic, the critically loved but fan- slated Abnormally Attracted To Sin earlier in the year.
Originally published by L.S. Media. November 27th 2009.
The ultimate good time band from Texas have once more come up with the goods and delivered an album that will make music critics cringe but delight their legion of fans around the world.
Unashamedly entitled Sorry For Partyin’, the album contains thirteen normal tracks and five bonus ones, just in case there isn’t enough Soup in the bowl for you.
The band have been around for long now that it could be considered impolite to say boys when referring to the foursome but there is something rather charming and cool about this band and their ways that boyish suits them perfectly.
Originally published by L.S. Media. November 30th 2009.
The new studio album by Welsh rockers Stereophonics, Keep Calm and Carry On should be just another album title in the annals of rock history, a very good record that deserves much plaudits and admiration but has been unfairly been dismissed by some music critics. However the band deserve sincere praise for their skill and tenacity in recording an album that is eclectic, heart-warming and full of hidden back stories which seem very personal to the band .
Originally published by L.S. Media. December 2nd 2009.
Don’t let the name fool you, it may sound like your typical tribute band cashing in on former glories of a group that no longer tours but From The Jam are hardly a tribute act. With Bruce Foxton powering through chords and riffs that made him and the rest of the Jam one of the top acts of their day this in no way called a tribute act. Joining the original member of the band on stage was Russell Hastings who shows how much he loves this type of music with a superb performance that would have made former vocalist Paul Weller seethe with jealousy.
Photograph by Ian D. Hall
Originally published by L.S. Media. December 2nd 2009.
Even if you don’t know anything by the band it is well worth checking out the fantastic Eagles of Death Metal when they come back to Britain on their next tour, for as they constantly prove, they are among the best rock acts around today. They show right from the start of a gig that they are out to give a performance that will be remembered fondly by their fans and newcomers alike for a long time.
Originally published by L.S. Media. December 8th 2009.
Cast: Richard Braine, Dugald Bruce-Lockhart, Katherine Kingsley, Dan Starkey.
The team behind the Liverpool Playhouse pulled a real cracker for its final performance of the year and decade and watched it explode in delight, laughter and a touch of good old fashioned British daring do.
John Buchan’s classic The Thirty Nine Steps has been given the comedy treatment and like Spymonkey’s reworking of Moby Dick earlier on in the season it was excellently written and had the benefit of some superb comic acting.
Originally published by L.S. Media. December 7th 2009.
It is not often a big band come to a city twice within a calendar year but the superb Electric Six have never really stood on tradition or been fans of sticking to the routine.
Electric Six are a band that you cannot ignore. You might love their genre blurring music, one minute electro pop, the next hard rock or you could find them irritating and beyond the pale but you cannot dismiss them. With a fun night in the offering the Detroit musicians opened the night with the storming Body Shot from the new studio album Kill but they never let the heat die down once during the night from that moment.
Originally published by L.S. Media. December 2009.
Cast: Henry Winkler, Natasha Hamiliton, Nikki Davies-Jones, Les Dennis, Patrick Buckley, Daniel Taylor, Rick Vaughn, Kaitlin Howard, Chris Jenkins, Jessica Hill, Luke Redford, Ryan Pidgen, Lisa Connell, Ben Goffe.
J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan has been charming readers and its theatre audiences for the better part of a century now and thankfully it shows no sign of running out of steam. This year the Liverpool Empire Theatre is hosting this spectacular show and with some big names in the cast it is sure to get the reception it deserves.
Madness in Wolverhampton. Photgraph by Ian D. Hall
Originally published by L.S. Media. December 18th 2009.
To a certain generation the evening felt like a school disco from their childhood in the early eighties. Not only did the audience have the pleasure of seeing the band on a short film but then there was the musical interlude before the main act. A superb D.J playing all the tracks the late thirty and early forty something’s would remember with fondness such as Tenpole Tudor’s Swords of a Thousand Men and The Undertones’ My Perfect Cousin.
Originally published by L.S. Media. January 26th 2010.
Great Things is the new and aptly named studio album by the likeable and genial Liverpudlian, Ian Mcnabb. In the four years since his last album, much has changed for his beloved city during that time and it se
ems that the change has rubbed off on Ian’s music and lyric writing.
The new album is an enjoyable treat of eclectic songs that cross over several different styles in a very easy and effortless way. Opening with the title track Great Things, Ian takes the listener on a detailed tour of his thoughts and musings. It certainly is simple to see why Ian’s music has continued to be popular as his use of comfortable guitar playing belies the emotions that are always just below the surface.