The Sneaky Nixons, Returning Home A Failure. Single Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

It is for many a very real fear, going all out to do something impressive, an amazing thing in which your family or your friends might be inspired to emulate or even talk about down the pub for years to come and always starting with the phrase, “Do you remember when…?” However, Returning Home A Failure is something we never like to contemplate, yes we try our best but sometimes, as the detractors are apt to remind us with knives sharpened, our best is just not good enough.

The Sneaky Nixons, Returning Home A Failure. Single Review. full post

(393 words, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

A Tear In The Blood.

I am bleeding,

somewhere inside of me,

a heart that was always finding

new ways to grieve

now looks upon the decaying body

and sees the eye weeping

when it should bring forth life;

a tear

or two, blood, in evidence,

a strain of being a man,

now decaying even in soul

a tear

in the body,

not a stream of blood forcing its way out

but one mixed with the neglected,

the also-rans and the reminders

of what could have been

a tear

A Tear In The Blood. full post

(120 words, estimated 29 secs reading time)

Brick Up 2: The Wrath Of Ann Twacky, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Roy Brandon, Eithne Browne, Danny Burns, Suzanne Collins, Carl Chase, Paul Duckworth, Emily Linden, Andrew Schofield, Francis Tucker.

Two’s company, two is the sound of laughter taken to great heights, two is a sequel to which a comedy penned by the superb duo of Dave Kirby and Nicky Alt is completely on top of its game and is one that surely will be seen as a true worthy successor to a production worth its weight in Liverpool gold.

Brick Up 2: The Wrath Of Ann Twacky, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(508 words, estimated 2:02 mins reading time)

Mr. President.

Oh Mr. President

a simple question for you,

not one out of malice

for I am not that kind of man,

but one in which I beg sincerely

an answer from your mouth,

did you study history

or were one

of those who felt that History should study you;

if the latter then you have your wish

and for all your many pennies

hidden in away in secretive corners,

know that every moment

you wallow in the dirt and shit

and mess and blood to come;

Mr. President. full post

(99 words, estimated 24 secs reading time)

Denial, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Spall, Andrew Scott, Jack Lowden, Caren Pistorius, Alex Jennings, Harriet Walter, Mark Gatiss, John Sessions, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Pip Carter, Jackie Clune, Will Attenborough, Maximilian Befort.

In a time when such things are being questioned, that the extreme right have hijacked once more the very ground of what should be decency and respect and turned into a quagmire of ignorance and sick attitude, Denial is perhaps one of the most sensitive and timely films to come to cinema in recent years.

Denial, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool. full post

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

I Chose.

I chose life

many times,

pulling back from the brink

on a couple of occasions,

choose to be who I am

rather be someone I am not…

I chose washing machine, after washing machine

after one domestic appliance after another

and still I hammer them into the ground,

I choose not to own many

material items, never been swayed by a name

but always refused to anything made by Sharp

in the house as it would engender support

for Manchester United, I choose to not do that

I Chose. full post

(356 words, estimated 1:25 mins reading time)

Michael Schenker “Fest” Live Tokyo. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

It is the pulse of electricity, the chords that beat and ravage the unwary visitor to the point where they think of nothing more than delving into the back catalogue of the artist, of immersing themselves completely into the era of bonhomie and interest in what else the world has to offer. A time before time, for the older fans a memory to hold onto, for the younger, perhaps less versed in the cycle of the live performance, a message to be at one with the power of one of Rock’s finest.

Michael Schenker “Fest” Live Tokyo. Album Review. full post

(481 words, 1 image, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

The Rachel Hamer Band, Hard Ground. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The North East of England is one that for many years, decades, had the same sense of enforced isolation thrust upon it as cities such as Liverpool by the alleged powers that be down in the Westminster Village; if it produced something viable, if it contributed to society by being something other than suits and great swathes of money that could be generated at the pressing of an electronic key, then to those entrenched inside the Palace of Westminster, it held no significance.

The Rachel Hamer Band, Hard Ground. Album Review. full post

(458 words, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)

Top Floor Taivers, Delicate Game. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Life is a delicate balance between the angels urging you on as they sit on your shoulders and the soft whisper of anarchy that resides in your soul, the game they play between them, the constant tussle of good and drama is a balancing act that many find tipping too much in certain directions.

Whether you listen to the spirit in your ear or the beauty in your soul, A Delicate Game is forever being played out and it one that has to be enjoyed, to be taken by the muscle that hides away shyly underneath the ribcage, and revelled in, for whilst it may be considered A Delicate Game, the rules are ever changing and free from rigidity.

Top Floor Taivers, Delicate Game. Album Review. full post

(386 words, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)

The Hut People, Routes. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Rarely does the accordion get the measure of admiration that it so richly deserves in the music sphere; it is an instrument that perhaps seen as unsexy, not cool, one that harks back to a time before the glamour of the electric guitar took on the world and was smashed into pieces by Pete Townshend on speakers that would never sound the same again.

The Hut People, Routes. Album Review. full post

(366 words, estimated 1:28 mins reading time)