The Classic Rock Show, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2017).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It is the genre for which most arguably feel the stirrings of blood heading towards the heart as if it was on fire, the hose full of water and the draining of the reservoir not enough to quench the undying inferno which rages with passion and excitement. Classic Rock is a genre that might have its detractors but for those the drum kick hunts and the guitar follows like a wolf in the night, insatiable hunger wanting to be sated, it is more than just a type of music, it is the point of existence.

The Classic Rock Show, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2017). full post

(399 words, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

John Wick: Chapter Two, Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * *

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Riccardo Scamarcio, Ian McShane, Ruby Rose, Common, Claudia Gerini, Lance Reddick, Laurence Fishburne, Tobias Segal, John Leguizamo, Bridget Moynahan, David Patrick Kelly, Peter Serafinowicz, Elli.

An assassin is only good as the silence he leaves behind, the job based on the ability to disappear into the shadows like a whisper of a ghost, an unseen hand able to take another’s life without even breaking sweat; an assassin must live in the stillness, be a spectre at a victim’s wake.

John Wick: Chapter Two, Film Review. full post

(485 words, estimated 1:56 mins reading time)

Sing, Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Matthew McConaughy, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly, Jennifer Saunders, Jennifer Hudson, Garth Jennings, Peter Serafinowicz, Nick Kroll, Beck Bennett, Jay Pharoah, Nick Offerman, Leslie Jones, Rhea Perlman, Laraine Newman.

In a world obsessed with celebrity, with instant fame and the self gratification of not having to climb to the top of your profession without hard work and tears, the animated film Sing is a refreshing pastiche wrapped up in the soft fabric of feel good cinema.

Sing, Film Review. full post

(374 words, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)

The Great Wall, Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating *

Cast: Matt Damon, Tian Jing, Willem Defoe, Andy Lau, Pedro Pascal, Hanyu Zhang, Lu Han, Kenny Lion, Eddie Peng, Xuan Huang, Ryan Zheng, Karry Wang, Cheney Chen, Numan Acar, Johnny Cicco, Vicky Yu, Bing Liu.

There are times when you do have to wonder what studio heads are up to when they allow certain ideas to get past the initial rejection stage of films not being worthy enough to go on the big screen.

The Great Wall, Film Review. full post

(480 words, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

Another Birthday Blowing Out Candles.

Another birthday has come and gone,

try to stretch out the party beyond the

sixteen hours awake, four of which are filled

with everyday insanity,

how can cleaning your teeth,

washing your face,

drinking a cup of

breakfast tea to wake you up, to be rid

slumber and sneaking drowsy

be special , when you do it every day.

The birthday has come and gone, abiding memories

which have to last until the following year

and by pass Christmas and the dry roast

and the gluttony on offer

Another Birthday Blowing Out Candles. full post

(216 words, estimated 52 secs reading time)

Hegarty, I Only Dream. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

To talk of dreams to someone can be the breaking point in the conversation, the sudden roll of eyes and the distant yawn; all this because don’t want to be bogged down in the subject of the subconscious, yet perhaps we should take stock occasionally and if not listen to others and try to understand them psychologically, at least have a deeper resonance with our own soul. Dreams are part of us, it helps us make sense of the insanity of time and our place in it.

Hegarty, I Only Dream. Single Review. full post

(385 words, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

Jupiter Falls, Faces In The Sand Part One. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

To come across Jupiter Falls was to open yourself up to the unknown revelation, the reveal of the heavy pound was enough to spark interest, to feel the pulse was to fall in love, now as the band from Leeds open up their souls, as they rip open the bleeding metal once in their new album, Faces In The Sand Part One. The ravaging nature of desire is in absolute full flow; it is call of the wild, of the raw and the passionate that makes the group one of the most dynamic and interesting British metal bands to hurl themselves at the genre in some time.

Jupiter Falls, Faces In The Sand Part One. Album Review. full post

(395 words, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

The Space Between Us, Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield, Carlo Gugino, Britt Robertson, Janet Montgomery, Trey Tucker, Scott Takeda, Adande Thorne, Sarah Minnich, Ryan Jason Cook, BD Wong, Lauren Myers, Morse Bicknell, Beth Bailey, Peter Chelsom, Anthony Jarvis, Jenny Gabriele, Colin Egglesfield.

We are all products of our environments, some are harsher than others, some are more pliable and interesting, yet we all have hardships to overcome, we all have to jump through hoops to get ahead, to not stand still and feel as though we are nothing but a vicious experiment gone wrong.

The Space Between Us, Film Review. full post

(441 words, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

A Lime Street Station Serenade.

The crowds take up their positions

on the swept clean concourse

of Lime Street Station, the ballet, the rumba,

the strains of the Viennese Waltz ,

the mad dash of front seated desire, four seats

and small squeezed in table,

the clock

high upon the wall and dominant,

the band master ready to blow the whistle

and the dance begins;

slowly at first, hesitant to let go of the one they love

and who will love them till they get home, the dance forgotten

in a heartbeat of half remembered waves goodbye

A Lime Street Station Serenade. full post

(565 words, estimated 2:16 mins reading time)

The Night Off.

I took the night off,

for a while I allowed myself to hear words

but not concentrate

on watching the eyes,

the soul man, I stayed

away from the soul and

I took pleasure in staying out

of the emotions;

even my own words

were perhaps delivered without the same

fire and brimstone longing,

the same damnation in my spit and looking across

to see the Devil judging,

mocking my every words, his tail

poking out from underneath the table

and chairs and balancing a single shot

The Night Off. full post

(279 words, estimated 1:07 mins reading time)