Heaven 17, Gig Review. Hanger 34, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

If there is a place beyond this mortal coil in which the good might be seen to live on, to continue offering words of sage advice and the beat of ten thousand rampant hearts crying out for more, then it arguably should have a number attached to the end of the everlasting; 17 would always be a comforting pulse, a groove to get behind and in Heaven 17 the sense of 80s enveloped pop was always going to be a night of paradise and ecstasy for those at Liverpool’s Hanger 34.

Heaven 17, Gig Review. Hanger 34, Liverpool. full post

(420 words, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

Paddington 2. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Noah Taylor, Peter Capaldi, Brendon Gleeson, Joanna Lumley, Eileen Atkins, Ben Miller, Tom Conti, Meera Syal, Samuel Joslin, Madeline Harris, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Simon Farnaby, Jessica Hynes, Richard Ayoade, Tom Davies, Cal McCrystal.

It is through the eyes of the innocent that we perhaps see beauty and good in the world, that we don’t just tolerate the storms and the fire that surround us but that we embrace it, we seek out the violence not to get a thrill from the fight but to hopefully offer a solution, a kind word spoken can make the difference in a day and in a person’s life.

Paddington 2. Film Review. full post

(451 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

Blancmange, Gig Review. Hanger 34, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There are moments in Pop history that unforgivably seem to be forgotten by the majority, that some groups, lauded rightly by those whose lives were changed by the positivity of one song, have been allowed to be seen as a memory, a reaction to past events and the recall of certain emotions. Bands such as Blancmange offered a way of communication, of sincerity that arguably was unique to them, and one that for everybody who made their way to Hanger 34 on cold Saturday night in Liverpool would have been ecstatic to celebrate; it was a celebration that was wild and proper.

Blancmange, Gig Review. Hanger 34, Liverpool. full post

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

Rose Tattoo, Tatts: Live In Brunswick. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

If the past is another country then to many who never saw or lived through the bright lights and garnish of the 1980s, the pub rock scene of Australia must seem like a step into a completely different planet, one that was undoubtedly rich in expression, in its representation of a culture untouched by the excess and the absurdly gluttonous. The past may be another country but to those who saw a truth in the voice of bands such as Rose Tattoo, what they saw and heard during those punishment filled lyrics and chastisement to the pretence and pretentious, was worth living in the present for.

Rose Tattoo, Tatts: Live In Brunswick. Album Review. full post

(469 words, 1 image, estimated 1:53 mins reading time)

Twenty Five Years Ago Tomorrow.

 

Twenty five years ago tomorrow

you saw me exhaustedly trying to drain

a pint in a bar in Media, travelling

for so long, a hundred litre

rucksack deposited in a rundown,

no television motel

but with a welcome sign that eased

my weary soul.

The Greyhound ticket I had used to

navigate the state was shoved,

stuffed, without care into one

of the overflowing side pockets,

jumbled up and crumpled,

pressed between mixed tapes

of memories of home, emotional baggage

that I cradled throughout my journey,

Twenty Five Years Ago Tomorrow. full post

(241 words, estimated 58 secs reading time)

Reuben Archer’s Personal Sin, Petrolhead. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

One must always find the time to confess a love in their life, we are here for such a short time that to deny what makes up happy is to deny some sort of existence; whether it is the person of their dreams, the smell of hot tarmac punishing the air surrounding them or the thought of leather shining in the American sun, the cool wind giving a sense of alien like fragility as the road crumbles ahead and cracks under the pressure of a thousand tyres leaving their imprints and marks. To deny a love is a personal sin and one that almost any Petrolhead would raise their arms in joy at hearing from someone of similar persuasion.

Reuben Archer’s Personal Sin, Petrolhead. Album Review. full post

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

Jack Lukeman, Magic Days. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

There is nothing in this world that can touch the feeling of absolute passion in a person’s thoughts and actions, even in the unseen, the visually unattainable, if the words can be heard, if they send a shiver down your spine then all in the world is filled at least with humanity and beauty. It is a way in the world which gives hope, which really makes the listener of the delight and enthusiasm dream of a place where all can be held with such fervour.

Jack Lukeman, Magic Days. Album Review. full post

(449 words, 1 image, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

Melrose Quartet, Dominion. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Dylan Thomas might have found the juxtaposition intriguing, that he spoke of that Death shall have no Dominion, is in deep contrast to the feel that Sheffield’s Melrose Quartet offer as they offer a significant sense of praise to humanity in their album Dominion.

Melrose Quartet, Dominion. Album Review. full post

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

Christmas Has Come Early (Again).

 

The tills are ringing out a merry dance

for the delight of times gone by,

Santa’s hat is being primed

and the decorations are all on high,

twinkling with colours, music and fun,

the adverts have started,

broadcast to remind of others,

of those living and those dearly departed,

yet deep down in November’s grip,

something feels wrong

the message is out of kilter

there is bum note in their joyous song,

the presents, the greetings, it all seems false

the communication that is loud and clear

Christmas Has Come Early (Again). full post

(201 words, estimated 48 secs reading time)

For My Dad.

 

You used to take me out in to the garden

when I was no taller than your knee,

you would put me against the gate,

showed me how to stand

and then kick footballs at me

for an hour or two,

it was fun…

no, more than that it was the best

of times.

From there the old potato fields beckoned,

you played there as a boy, near the River Rae

and then you introduced me

to watching live Saturday football,

a visit to St. Andrews, you forced yourself

For My Dad. full post

(212 words, estimated 51 secs reading time)