Alan Triggs, Gig Review. Johnsons’ Pavilion, Bootle.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Alan Triggs is a model of calm as he steps on the stage at the Battle of Bands in Bootle’s Community Hub, no beads of sweat massing in numbers upon his lyrical brow, no sign of nerves in his fingers as he plays the guitar; after all this is a man who is seemingly content in his life and his the delivery of his muse; after all why should the man worry when the muse is singing his favourite songs and making him one of the most enjoyed performers in the area.

Alan Triggs, Gig Review. Johnsons’ Pavilion, Bootle. full post

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

The JJohns, Gig Review. Johnsons’ Pavilion, Bootle.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Everything happens for a reason, everything is connected in some way and whilst the event in Bootle, the Battle of the Bands would have produced a worthy winner, in actual facts, the big winners on the day were the people of Bootle, the paying crowd who made their way to the ground of the Johnson’s Pavilion and who relished a day in which music in the area was absolute king.

The JJohns, Gig Review. Johnsons’ Pavilion, Bootle. full post

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

Cal Ruddy, Gig Review. Johnsons’ Pavilion, Bootle.

Cal Ruddy in Bootle, July 2016. Photograph By Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Amongst the bright young things of Liverpool’s all encompassing music box is the spirited and genuinely skilful Cal Ruddy, a man to whom a song holds only mystery, the suspense of glory and to whom obscurity is just a word destined for those who will not try, who give in before they have even started. The song is in the D.N.A. of Cal Ruddy, he presents it to the audience as if holding aloft a laurel made of silk and gold, the pleasure of the sensuous mixed with the desire for beauty and it is one to relish being amongst.

Cal Ruddy, Gig Review. Johnsons’ Pavilion, Bootle. full post

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

Red Winter, Gig Review. Johnsons’ Pavilion, Bootle.

Red Winter in Bootle, July 2016. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Life will always throw a curve ball, you don’t need to find yourself at any American Baseball park to understand that, you just need to know that at times what the day may have held in store, can turn out to be infinitely more interesting and filled with more passion than a 21^st century television version of Wuthering Heights or Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

Red Winter, Gig Review. Johnsons’ Pavilion, Bootle. full post

(423 words, 1 image, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

Billy Kelly, Gig Review. Johnsons’ Pavilion, Bootle.

Billy Kelly performing in Bootle, July 2016. Photograph By Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

There is genius at work in the world, there is courage and there is simplicity wrapped up in so much talent that sometimes as you sit back and take the view of artistry in, it can leave you feeling a little scared, not worried, not anxious but scared that one day it might not be around to be held by.

Billy Kelly, Gig Review. Johnsons’ Pavilion, Bootle. full post

(490 words, 1 image, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)

Last Reserves, Gig Review. Johnsons’ Pavilions, Bootle.

Last Reserves performing in Bootle, July 2016. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

You cannot help but feel that Charles Dickens missed a trick by being born a hundred odd years too early, for surely had the literary genius been around today, instead of getting Oliver Twist to ask for more gruel and thereby setting a tone on all that is be seen as insidious in the Victorian era, he instead would have had the young urchin say of the great Punk era that died in many ways too soon, “Please sir, can I have more of this terrific display of out and out rebellion and scintillating and controlled riot”.

Last Reserves, Gig Review. Johnsons’ Pavilions, Bootle. full post

(434 words, 1 image, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

Mia Wakefield, Gig Review. Johnsons’ Pavilion, Bootle.

Mia Wakefield performing in Bootle, July 2016. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The art of putting on a festival, especially for the first time is one that is shrouded in mystery, known to so few it seems and yet when you come across one that knows instinctively how to keep a crowd entertained during a changeover of rock acts, then it is one to praise and make sure it doesn’t run away in the distance, like too many others in these days of arts cuts and some people using the genre as if it should be a free commodity.

Mia Wakefield, Gig Review. Johnsons’ Pavilion, Bootle. full post

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

Kadence, Gig Review, Johnsons’ Pavilions, Bootle.

Kadence performing in Bootle, July 2016. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

‘Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Bootle rarely gets an alarm call in such an usual manner, the town founded on its proximity to the Mersey, older than Liverpool and in its day, several generations back, one of the most prosperous towns reduced in essence to one that doesn’t get the funding, nor the good vibes, that it so richly deserves. Sandwiched between the cosmopolitan serenity of its neighbours, Liverpool and Southport, the arts in the town doesn’t really get the exposure it needs, and yet like the introduction of a new memory into the world of beige, the first sound of a heavy guitar pounding against the buffeting world of past glories, the town was given its wake up call.

Kadence, Gig Review, Johnsons’ Pavilions, Bootle. full post

(411 words, 1 image, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

Dusky Grey, Gig Review. Johnsons’ Pavilion, Bootle.

Dusky Grey in Bootle, August 2016. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Up the road, just past the city centre of Liverpool and beyond the gates of expectation, the Liverpool International Music Festival, a noble cause, a social event in the ever increasing diary was gearing up for another year; established and full of flavour, it is a highlight for the music fan.

Dusky Grey, Gig Review. Johnsons’ Pavilion, Bootle. full post

(429 words, 1 image, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

The Musketeers: Prisoners Of War. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Tom Burke, Santiago Cabrera, Howard Charles, Alexandra Dowling, Ryan Gage, Tamla Kari, Matthew McNulty, Luke Pasqualino, Hugo Speer, Maimie McCoy, Robert Glenister, Alvaro Ramos, Matt Stokoe, Andre Flynn, Tim McCall, Thalissa Teixeira, Leah Haile, Tom Morely.

The Musketeers: Prisoners Of War. Television Review. full post

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