Michael Bennett, Gig Review. Constellations, Liverpool. Liverpool Calling 2018.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Michael Bennett at Constellations, Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

It seems only right after all that the velvet tones of Michael Bennett should be on show at some point during this year’s Liverpool Calling, a weekend of music held across several venues and with even greater scope than perhaps had been imagined when the team behind the festival started out. What has always been a certain fact though is just how good Mr. Bennett has become over the years, the sound of velvet doesn’t come by accident, it takes dedication and hard work, the muster of any serious and patient performer.

Michael Bennett, Gig Review. Constellations, Liverpool. Liverpool Calling 2018. full post

(435 words, 1 image, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

Panic! At The Disco, Pray For The Wicked. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Life doesn’t have to have drama sewn through its inner skin and clothing, but it surely must have the theatrical, it must have the strength to embrace the flamboyant, the emotional and the sometimes over the top, a life filled with drama sounds staged, an exercise in false control and manipulation; a life that holds onto the colourful and the passionate on the other hand, surely makes you smile, and in some quarters allows you to Pray For The Wicked.

Panic! At The Disco, Pray For The Wicked. Album Review. full post

(415 words, 1 image, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

The Silence In The Glitter Ball.

 

…and the silence in the glitter ball

above our heads

speaks volumes

about the way you dance

when no one is watching,

no judgement passed,

just unspoken respect,

only daring to reflect the agony

of your two step, two move ungainly approach

when you dare show your other face to the public…

 

Ian D. Hall 2018

Permanent link to this post (60 words, estimated 14 secs reading time)

Bullet For My Valentine, Gravity. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

A force of nature that cannot be dismissed, absolved or found wanting, it is the very nature of the humanity that we strive to find a way to beat it, but in doing so the only thing we have achieved is to free ourselves of Earthly constraints but perhaps losing our soul along the way; Gravity is too strong a force, it is binding, all-consuming and for Bullet For My Valentine, it is brutally exquisite.

Bullet For My Valentine, Gravity. Album Review. full post

(454 words, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)

Michelle Malone, Slings And Arrows. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

You can quote the Bard as often as you like, for arguably nobody has captured the human condition as well as the man from Stratford-Upon-Avon, no person will perhaps understand the frailty, hate, suspicion, love, despair and mischief in a person’s heart as William Shakespeare. If you know that he recognised that we prevaricate between the choice of light and dark, of proud assurance and tame compliance, then it is hardly surprising that we as a species find it a pleasure to see the fortune of Slings and Arrows as they hit home and the way we overcome them, that we can, should the heart be true, oppose all obstacles that come our way.

Michelle Malone, Slings And Arrows. Album Review. full post

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

The Man Who Fell To Earth (So Very Slowly).

 

Falling over in stages, a man goes down

one moment at a time, a second per inch passes,

the ticking of ridicule commences,

for even via television

the lover of the game

can be heard muttering, casually screaming

as the hands come out imploring,

looking to the referee with whistle in hand

as a penalty first won,

is cruelly, in his eyes, taken away.

He is not the first to sully

the memory of the game I loved

playing, too many, too often,

exposed, a hand of God,

The Man Who Fell To Earth (So Very Slowly). full post

(133 words, estimated 32 secs reading time)

The Big I Am, Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Nadia Anim, Emma Bispham, Richard Bremmer, Patrick Brennan, George Caple, Paul Duckworth, Marc Elliot, Cerith Flinn, Emily Hughes, Nathan McMullen, Zelina Rebeiro, Golda Rosheuvel, Keddy Sutton, Liam Tobin.

There are moments in theatre that leave you breathless, where what unfolds on stage is enough to keep you mind whirring at such a pace that sleep, that welcome landing post in choppy waters between days, is impossible, that what has been seen in that form, will leave you reliving every sequence over and over again!

The Big I Am, Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(535 words, estimated 2:08 mins reading time)

Gotham: Series Three. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, David Mazouz, Morena Baccarin, Sean Pertwee, Robin Lord Taylor, Erin Richards, Carmen Bicondova, Cory Michael Smith, Jessica Lucas, Chris Chalk, Drew Powell, Maggie Geha, Benedict Samuel, Jamie Chung, James Carpinello, Naian Gonzalez Norvind, Ivana Milicevic, James Remar, Raymond J. Barry, Alexander Siddig.

It is often bewildering to see that some television series are not appreciated at the time of their showing, viewer apathy perhaps, a certain level of niggling tedium born arguably of the fact that society, in the main, has got too used to everything being on demand, too eager to binge and then becoming bored because the art form doesn’t move along as quick as their racing and almost jumbled thoughts.

Gotham: Series Three. Television Review. full post

(536 words, estimated 2:09 mins reading time)

The Longest Day.

 

The longest day

again, déjà vu of the dark night

in full colour expose,

so much light uncovered

and the thoughts of solitary

mean nothing to you

as you go about your business,

never caring, just revealing

your version of a day with dusk

at two ends, fear not

for now the nights start drawing in

and I can sleep easier

knowing you will dream of me more.

 

Ian D. Hall 2018

Permanent link to this post (76 words, estimated 18 secs reading time)

Nick Maddocks, Listen To Your Heart. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It doesn’t matter when you finally see the boldness in your action, after all the saying about it being a marathon and not a sprint is one of the most singular truths we can hold onto, that we take heart on. For if we set out to achieve all that is possible by the time we hit our 30th birthday, what is the point in carrying on afterwards; what do we gain by torturing ourselves that at the back of our minds we must urge others to do the same, we must always take heed when someone says Listen To Your Heart and keep going.

Nick Maddocks, Listen To Your Heart. E.P. Review. full post

(357 words, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)