Kangarilla Pig, Gig Review. Hanger 34, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

A strong heart, a powerful stance and a set list you could ask out for dinner and watch it devour the entire meat section with passion in its eyes and a drool forming on your lips, it might have only been the fourth time that Kangarilla Pig have performed live as a unit but the steam, the energy they give off is enough to make both the Flying Scotsman and the and Rajadhani Express seethe with jealousy and their drivers ask for the number of their coal supplier.

Kangarilla Pig, Gig Review. Hanger 34, Liverpool. full post

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

Little Red And The Big Bad Wolf, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Natalie Campbell, Simone Lewis, Harvey Robinson, Luca Rutherford.

Every show at this time of year is special, it the one that can bring families together, that good will is truly spread with and the one that children get their first taste of the uniqueness of drama to express emotion, the much used phrase magic of the theatre is not wrong when it comes to this special time of year, as each wide eyed child, each grinning parent could attest to in the Unity Theatre’s fabulous show for 2016, Little Red and the Big Bad Wolf.

Little Red And The Big Bad Wolf, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Class, Series One. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

Cast: Katherine Kelly, Greg Austin, Sophie Hopkins, Fady Elsayed, Vivian Oparah, Jordan Renzo, Pooky Quesnal, Aaron Neil, Paul Marc Davies, Shannon Murray, Ben Peel, Anna Shaffer, Con O’Neil, Nigel Betts, Peter Capaldi.

In a television programme that has spanned over 50 years, to not expect the occasional spin off would be folly, both commercially and in the interests of expanding that institution’s universe. Doctor Who, certainly since it re-emerged on the nation’s screens back in 2005, has been ripe for spin offs and the magic was kept alive by the sentiment surrounding the much loved Elizabeth Sladen as one of the most adored companions of the classic series and it was only right that she finally had her own series in the Sarah Jane Adventures.

Class, Series One. Television Review. full post

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

Scent.

As I lean in, unwashed

in aftershave, I kiss your neck

gently, the barest brush of lips

on your scented neck

and I hesitate

briefly,

my breathing becomes shallow,

almost spectre like, ghost patterned

as I become intoxicated by your presence

and I leave my senses behind;

slow,

slowly

I summon the courage

to ask you

if you would like to

dance.

Ian D. Hall 2016

Permanent link to this post (68 words, estimated 16 secs reading time)

Rain, Gig Review. Hanger 34, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Rain may fall, it is inevitable as a hose pipe ban as soon as the Sun comes out of its Spring shell or a whitewash in the media when it comes to glorifying the achievements of any town or city anywhere outside of London, especially when it the capital-centric bogyman city of Liverpool; the slight tinge of jealousy that always emanates from the so called corridors of power and the decision makers who somehow determine what is the in thing to chase. Rain may fall but Rain, even after a quarter of a century, can still taste sweet in the British Winter and Rain is always worth chanting for.

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

(439 words, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

Roseville, Gig Review. Hanger 34, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

When there is a return to the stage in the offering of a former set of princes, you have to also watch who they surround themselves with to get the full picture of the expectation attached.

Supporting a band like Rain is not easy, in many ways it could be said that being support to legends such as Space, Amsterdam or The Icicle Works would be an easier task despite their longevity and huge modern following; in Rain, to know where to start is complicated and yet the night was made easy by the overflowing of love that had been storing up for a quarter of a century, for that Midland’s band Roseville made quite an impression and it was one that can only grow itself in anticipation as well.

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

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

Jack Taylor, In Purgatory. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Iain Glen, Siobhan O’ Kelly, Jack Monaghan, Christopher Fulford, Laura Aikman, Sean Mahon, David Herlihy, Sarah Jane Seymour, Peter Campion, Erin Gilgen, Roy Fleck Byrne, Conor Quinlan, Eva Jane Gaffney, Cian Kelly, James O’ Sullivan, Patrick O’ Brien, Cathal Pendred, Jack Walsh, Leah McNamara.

Jack Taylor, In Purgatory. Television Review. full post

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

Likes.

You will happily pay for likes,

on your not so smart phone,

that is after all your prerogative,

your reason for twenty-first living,

abandoned by reason,

ashamed of shame,

but you cannot bear

to part with cash

for someone to truly despise you,

such is life, pay in

or pay out, me

well I have a credit card holder

always standing by,

for the multitude who silently seethe

under their breath

when they picture me.

 

Ian D. Hall 2016

Likes. full post

(82 words, estimated 20 secs reading time)

Beauty And The Beast, (Son Of A Creature Man), Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Danny Burns, Tom Connor, Stephanie Hockley, Adam Keast, Greg Last, Raj Paul, Lauren Silver, Emmy Stonelake, Lucy Thatcher, Francis Tucker.

Christmas only truly begins once the pantomime season starts in earnest, the faithful chime of the yearly bell in which many furry creatures, the beasts of the imagination come hurtling out of the writer’s pen and prove above anything that the media or consumerism can dole out in response, that the family and friends you spend time inside the theatre with are the best days you will have.

Beauty And The Beast, (Son Of A Creature Man), Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(504 words, estimated 2:01 mins reading time)

Scouse Of The Rising Sun, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Jake Abraham, Michael Fletcher, Lindzi Germain, Hayley Hampson, Michael Ledwich, Andrew Schofield, Alan Stocks, Keddy Sutton.

Musicians: Ben Gladwin, Greg Joy, Emily Linden, Howard Gray.

There may be a house in New Orleans in which many a poor lad has lost his way, but they never quite lose their way, or regain the right path, as a Liverpool lad fighting the evil intentions of a maniac hell bent on destroying the city, not even a hero of a popular 60s song could match the heroics of the Scouse of the Rising Sun.

Scouse Of The Rising Sun, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(464 words, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)