David Barnicle, Gig Review. The Brink, Liverpool. (2017).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Let the fates and the gods of irony roll as much dice as they wish, let Liam Neeson or Sir Laurence Olivier roam their fingers through their long, luxuriant beards as if contemplating humanity’s destiny and the fortune of one hero; for when you have talent and musical dogmatic authority on your side, the fates can roll the dice all they want, they can hamper your speech but they will never take away the power of the words or what they mean to the listener.

David Barnicle, Gig Review. The Brink, Liverpool. (2017). full post

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

Gary Maginnis, Gig Review. The Brink, Liverpool. (2017).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Let The Music Play On, a mantra for living, so much more vital in these desperate unfathomable times, in these moments in which swing from black moods and anger across every nation and in the souls of those who wish to bring destruction and mayhem to downbeat, the world is caving in on itself epochs; Let The Music Play On for it is the one thing that sooths the savage beast and keeps us in our place and grounded whilst giving us ultimate hope.

Gary Maginnis, Gig Review. The Brink, Liverpool. (2017). full post

(380 words, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Derek King, Gig Review. The Brink, Liverpool. (2017).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The much admired Jodie Schofield, the founder of the mantra Be Lovely Day, may have found herself in a different climate this last few months, but even having relocated to Cornwall, another pasture with its own sense of identity and which mirrors Liverpool perfectly, the artist’s excellent work carries on in a city that will never forget the music of SheBeat.

Derek King, Gig Review. The Brink, Liverpool. (2017). full post

(409 words, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)

Cress.

The cake sputtered cough

is hidden by the hand of polite demure,

debutantes in waiting, in another age,

stylish but now the crumbs filter down

and she eyes another slice of thinly

scrapped bread and only manages a smile,

secretive, she never let her lips show it,

when she bit into the egg and cress on white.

Her fingers gently touches the lip of her friend,

making a show of the mess a cucumber will make

and the table laughs it off, but inwardly

she draws deep excited breaths, the closest

Cress. full post

(232 words, estimated 56 secs reading time)

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

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, John Hurt, Richard E. Grant, Casper Phillipson, Beth Grant, John Carroll Lynch, Max Casella, Sara Verhagen, Hélène Kuhn, Deborah Findlay, Corey Johnson, Aiden O’ Hare, Ralph Brown, David Caves, Penny Downie, Georgie Glen, Julie Judd, Peter Hudson, John Paval, Bill Dunn, Vivienne Vernes, Craig Sechler, Rebecca Compton, David DeBoy, Stéphane Höhn, Serge Onteniete, Emmanuel Herault, Gaspard Koenig.

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

(569 words, estimated 2:17 mins reading time)

The Death Of Camelot.

The dream of Camelot did not perish

with his last breath on a Dallas highway,

Her shoulders buried deep, heaving,

unexplainable death, visionary now defeated.

The dream of Camelot did not perish

as he lied about Watergate,

as he sweated on stage under lights,

under oath then pardoned.

The dream of Camelot did not perish

as bullets rang out in a hotel,

nor in the air as a man took

in the scene on the balcony.

The dream of Camelot did not perish

at the base of Twin Tower destruction,

The Death Of Camelot. full post

(171 words, estimated 41 secs reading time)

Just One Spark.

Just one spark

Is all I needed,

The blue touch paper,

The fuse,

 

Like in the movies

When an “ordinary” human,

Suddenly finds they have the powers

To turn them into a superhero,

Uncontrollable at first,

A violent fire

That burns those closest

Causing irreparable damage,

 

I will find a way to regain control,

To focus this new found power,

To put it to good use,

To find my own place in the world

Or change the world to create my own space,

Just One Spark. full post

(189 words, estimated 45 secs reading time)

Wars, We Are Islands After All. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

We are always at war, a permanent state in which our minds are odds with society, with each other and within ourselves, the moment in which someone forgets you exist, the time in which we stood alone because snide remarks in ears won through…all these instances play out and the war in our head rages, yet for all that we put our best smiles on and face the world with subterfuge, for as Wars is at pains to point out, We Are Islands After All.

Wars, We Are Islands After All. Album Review. full post

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

This Is Not About Lettuce.

It floats downstream, out in the wild

rough oceans, cold and alluring,

it offers of a sense of perspective, of size

and demand, dwarfing my intentions,

aiming to strike me down, the iceberg

comes, I feel secure,

I know what I see and the size as it rises

with the swell of the sea, ringing the bell

more out of politeness, out of a civility

that is engrained into my soul,

I don’t mention the iceberg,

I don’t scream out warnings, holler,

holler, holler, holler, I just

This Is Not About Lettuce. full post

(131 words, estimated 31 secs reading time)

Mike Grogan, Too Many Ghosts. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

If you look back on your life so far is there a period which defines you more, shakes your belief in your ability to the point where spectres howl in unison, where they find ways to ridicule even the greatest of accomplishments, because of that every day may seem like a struggle to find the joy that is wrapped up in between the hours, Too Many Ghosts may sap the mood but in Mike Grogan’s world they are a boon and a bewitching addition to the music collection.

Mike Grogan, Too Many Ghosts. Album Review. full post

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