Carol Decker (T’Pau), Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Carol Decker at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. November 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Carol Decker at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. November 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There is a temptation to feel sorry for Carol Decker, the lynch pin of the band T’Pau, it is persuasion of ever increasing spirit to find a way to get radio stations to look beyond what she and the band did three decades ago and take a listen to how the sound is to be perceived now. The temptation is there but also is the realisation that Ms. Decker has strength of will on her side and a resolute determination that requires no sympathy, just the ability to listen to someone with the humour firmly still in place and the stage presence to enrich many lives.

Carol Decker (T’Pau), Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. full post

(421 words, 1 image, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

Free-Form Jazz Conversation.

The noise that springs from the excitable crowd

gathered for the evening performance

is shattered as the glass baton

comes crashing down

upon the lectern and the stern faced conductor,

well past his prime but ready to give

one last Winter serenade,

asks the free form Jazz Band to take their mark

and the collision of cultures

begins in earnest.

 

The whisper of aged musicians,

is stopped in its tracks as the rising force

of a solitary sax maniac

rises above the temper of glowing terms

Free-Form Jazz Conversation. full post

(351 words, estimated 1:24 mins reading time)

The Lady In The Van, Film Review. Bicester Vue Cinema.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Roger Allam, Jim Broadbent, Frances De la Tour, Gwen Taylor, Davis Calder, James Corden, Samuel Anderson, Sacha Dhawan, Eleanor Matsuura, Russell Tovey, Stephen Campbell Moore, Samuel Barnett, Deborah Findlay, Elliot Levey, Marion Bailey, Jamie Parker, Harriet Thorpe, Rosalind Knight, Pandora Colin, Richard Banks, Geoffrey Streatfeild, Tom Couslton, George Taylor, Clare Hammond. Dominic Cooper, Dermot Crowley.

The Lady In The Van, Film Review. Bicester Vue Cinema. full post

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

On My Return Home.

Home…

I tramp the streets of my youth,

where I first kissed many a girl

who flirted with me and their school uniforms

leading the way to starched Nurses apparel

and the women in the beguiling

dazzling dress who I wished for nothing more

to be in attendance of…

 

I tramp the streets where teenage mood

swings caught me off guard, where the Garth

became my back garden, where an altercation,

one-sided and full of badly installed testosterone,

the first of two beatings I took, left me nearly

On My Return Home. full post

(362 words, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)

The Memory In The Bicester Night.

What was it I came here looking for,

the opportunity to seek redemption,

for reaching Middle-Age with some resemblance

to passing, fading youth still intact,

before, like dust that gets lodged in the corner

of the eye, that sticks determined to the vestige

of the previous day, it is dislodged

and flicked casually without

a second glance

into the awaiting gutter on the street.

 

I once came here looking for ghosts,

I came here for a memory of you,

the sweet taste of bitter regret,

The Memory In The Bicester Night. full post

(203 words, estimated 49 secs reading time)

In Search Of A Home Town.

What makes a place a home town?

Being born on a particular street

or hospital ward in a town is surely

just an accident of birth, like being proud

to be British, when stuck on an island

somewhere in the Atlantic makes any difference

to what you are like as a Human being,

being proud to British when pride is such a

bizarre state of mind, being proud for

choosing the exact moment in which

to escape the warm confines of the womb

when had your parents decided

In Search Of A Home Town. full post

(261 words, estimated 1:03 mins reading time)

SilentLie, Layers Of Nothing. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There are some parts of the world so steeped in history, with so many cultures having for centuries crossed boundaries and the town, village or city having traded countries, been usurped into different cultures and traditions that it is no wonder that the music of the area is so diverse and with so much influence at its very core. This is especially true of Trieste’s SilentLie who have the honour of being influenced by many genres within the sphere of rock but to whom are very unique and ear-catching.

SilentLie, Layers Of Nothing. Album Review. full post

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

The Theme, In A Daze. E.P. Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It’s a fact of life that to continually amaze people, to surprise them with each and every moment that the creative soul lives in, is damned near impossible; at some point the great fog of indifference, even if for a short while, is sure to set in and the juices which once flowed freely, stumble and bemuse the artist. For the Theme, one of London’s premier bands in which to see live, that bemusement is so far off that it practically runs a retirement home in Glamorgan and the rough and ready splendour of In A Daze reigns supreme.

The Theme, In A Daze. E.P. Review. full post

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

Cathy Roberts, Tales Of The Mersey Moggies. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Everybody has a book in them, it is a cliché that hangs around because it is true. It might not be appreciated by all, and the process of writing one gets harder every year as all the great ideas run dry and became less inviting and yet books are written and the word is kept alive.

Cathy Roberts, Tales Of The Mersey Moggies. Book Review. full post

(427 words, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition (PS4), Game Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition is an isometric and third-person action role-playing game available from retail stores and for download from the PlayStation Store for the PS4. Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition improves upon the original version of the game that initially launched on Windows platforms in June 2014 as a prequel to the Divinity games. The Divinity Universe stretches back to when Divine Divinity was released in 2002 and its sequels Beyond Divinity in 2004, Divinity II: Ego Draconis in 2009, Divinity II: Flames of Vengeance in 2010 and Divinity: Dragon Commander in 2013 with even future plans for a sequel to Divinity: Original Sin planned for a late 2016 release.

Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition (PS4), Game Review. full post

(3137 words, estimated 12:33 mins reading time)