Who needs snakes or Samuel J.
Jackson when you can bake
on a train,
a puddle on the floor with your D.N.A.
split and frying
like an egg on a car bonnet,
spitting feathers
for a moment’s release of an open door
and the rush for fresh-ish
air that comes tantalisingly in
as the rush for a seat to stick to is
uppermost in a puddle’s mind…
who needs snakes
or a hero to rescue you,
when all you need is a fan.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Abichan at Studio 2, Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Studio 2 in Liverpool has had the distinction of hosting bands that were to be seen as encapsulating a moment, of living in and outside of the framework of what was perhaps expected, and finally going beyond the call of duty; that a group can do this is to be seen as proof just how vibrant, how exciting the music is and even when the forces of destruction invariably start sinking their teeth into anything that is seen as not part of the high finance image they wish to portray, there is still the energy of those not willing to be pushed aside which carries the day into one of total groove and spirited beauty.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Seeing any one of Liverpool’s enjoyable and talented bands on the multitude of stages that hug the city is to be surely viewed as a mixture of honour and pleasure.
To be able to see the raw, the passionate and the creative mood in which is a source of life blood for The Mersey, is to know that the world still turns, that despite all the fury that government can reign down on the planet, there will always be groups and solo artists that stick their hands in the air and ask if the powers that be can cope with what’s coming next. The storm as it were fighting back with a smile, and that’s what you have in the sense of The Mono LPs, four musicians who make you sweat with anticipation and pure heart, who seriously pound the strings and the skin with venom and absolute assurance.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Penny Mob at Studio 2, Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
They have travelled up from London to Liverpool before and gave the audience at District House a taste, a bountiful and very pleasing taste, of just exactly what they can achieve whilst on the stage and in a city which enjoys and respects musicians who give all they have to give from their soul, coming back to enjoy a second bite of the cherry in the form of Penny Mob was just the savoury trimming required.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Liz Owen at Studio 2, Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
The mix of Liverpool’s Studio 2 and the summer heat is always akin to the feeling of intoxication, overwhelmed by the sound of music that comes out of the artists’ souls who frequent the stage. It can seem that all is missing from life at that moment is the smell of a barbeque lingering in the cloudless air, a beach ball being tapped around and small children running around and making the most of spending time in the company of adults by asking awkward questions or being enthralled by the lady with the guitar belting out the tunes as she sits on the patio.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The Muse is ever playful, yet when it looks in your eyes and suggests without a hint of irony that it wants to be Just Like You, the only thing you can do is thank the compliment intended and ask it why it would stoop so low in its valuation of itself.
The sensitivity of the Muse though is always humble and whilst it might have the appearance of a star it is always a gem, a precious stone of a glittering Ruby and in its heart it resonates a sound of pure quality.
Here behind my own wall,
I take comfort in Roger’s words,
as my window on the world
is larger than the slit
of light afforded the guards
of towers old and still
have room to fire an arrow
full of quivers through,
although these days the window
also lets in the mad and the fanatical…
even crazier than me.
I sit behind a fortress of books,
periodicals, fiction,
with a stronghold fortification
of doors and clouded windows
my reality view,
is obscured by living.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
“This day shall gentle his condition…” but only if at first they take in the songs from The Drystones’ new album We Happy Few.
The sense of history and moment of inspiration is not lost upon the Somerset based duo, living in a time of such political and social upheaval, to find time to even think or contemplate a moment in which happiness is concrete, a freely acquired gift with no strings attached, save the prospect of the battle ahead, the war that only mad men and the righteous can ever hope of winning.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Let the heat kick in, for The One Hundred have encountered Chaos + Bliss in the air and in the mind set of those politicians, those seeking power who are willing to cause it in the name of advancement and arguably profit.
Chaos though, in the hands of the oppressed and the put down is the anger in which the ordinary person can fight back and bliss is the welcome relief in which the heart can feel the irregular beat of tyranny, dissolve and the torment pass. Two sides of the same coin but one steeped in the rhythm of subjugation, the other the easing of domination by rhyme and reason; let the heat kick in because The One Hundred have got it sussed.
Still not angry yet?
Say Boris,
ask yourself this,
a pound here, a shilling or two there,
is it all worth it when someone dies
when their dreams come undone
when sleep is supposed to be the safest haven,
hey Teresa, a face that only
a lemon squeezer could produce,
with cold lips and ambition
to craw back another pound,
waste the money that was never there
you said, for the magic money tree
doesn’t exist, as you sit on more money
than God, how many