Miles Hunt And Erica Nockalls, Gig Review. District, Liverpool. Hope Fest 2015.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

There is an elegance that just comes naturally with both Miles Hunt and Erica Nockalls, a sense of the Midland’s sublime that flows as vibrantly as the River Stour and is forever to be seen in both their acoustic pairing and in the wider circle of The Wonderstuff. They are a pair of musicians that just ooze quality, great stories wrapped in tremendous violin playing and angry yet serenely led guitar that at times it is possible to feel apologetic to anyone who has not come across them.

Miles Hunt And Erica Nockalls, Gig Review. District, Liverpool. Hope Fest 2015. full post

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

Michael Bennett, Gig Review. District, Liverpool. Hope Fest 2015.

Michael Bennett at Hope Fest 2015, District, Liverpool. Photograph by Lis Garrett. Photograph used with kind permission by Lis Garrett.

Michael Bennett at Hope Fest 2015, District, Liverpool. Photograph by Lis Garrett. Photograph used with kind permission by Lis Garrett.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Michael Bennett will always be a star of the Liverpool acoustic scene; that much is surely certain after performing with authority and a sense of the cool that money would never be able to afford and in which only certain people can pull off without ever looking as if they have tumbled out of bed looking like a fashion magazine. Cool is not the sole preserve of the idealistic and fashionable, it is to be found within the strength of character to be exactly who you are and never waver from that commitment; if this is to be held true then Michael Bennett as he plays his guitar with solitude brilliance and a stance of a benevolent knight in shining armour infusing his performance.

Michael Bennett, Gig Review. District, Liverpool. Hope Fest 2015. full post

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

Splintered Uke’s, Gig Review. District, Liverpool. Hope Fest 2015.

Splintered Ukes at Hope Fest 2015. Photograph by Lis Garrett. Photograph used with kind permission by Lis Garrett.

Splintered Ukes at Hope Fest 2015. Photograph by Lis Garrett. Photograph used with kind permission by Lis Garrett.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The humble ukulele has enjoyed such a renaissance of late that the New Romantic era, the generation of Punks and the Progressive era must be finding themselves suddenly believing there might be an avenue of opportunity to explore, to take their old hits and musings down off the dusty shelf and turn the world into their domain once more with the aid of the trusty musical instrument.

Splintered Uke’s, Gig Review. District, Liverpool. Hope Fest 2015. full post

(372 words, 1 image, estimated 1:29 mins reading time)

Kevin Critchley, Gig Review. District, Liverpool. Hope Fest 2015.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Most people when they come back from a trip abroad take it easy for a couple of days, the possible jet lag alone enough to make the thought of entertaining a vocally enjoyable crowd make some turn their back on the day and lay down in a darkened room. Not for Kevin Critchley though, if there is such a thing as having another wind, then this young man must have stored them up and let them infuse his body to the point of dynamic delivery.

Kevin Critchley, Gig Review. District, Liverpool. Hope Fest 2015. full post

(371 words, estimated 1:29 mins reading time)

Alex Hulme, Gig Review. District, Liverpool. Hope Fest 2015.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

There is so much good talk about Alex Hulme that it is surprising to find the young man doesn’t go round Liverpool and the further afield towns with a permanently embarrassed demeanour. The compliments keep coming, the platitudes deserved and well served with grace and refined considered opinion and above all, none of it goes to his head, not a single piece makes him to be arrogant or supposing and that marks Alex Hulme out to be a genuine and well thought of performer.

Alex Hulme, Gig Review. District, Liverpool. Hope Fest 2015. full post

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

Sky Valley Mistress, Gig Review. District, Liverpool. Hope Fest 2015.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9.5/10

Where ever you were on Sunday 20th September at a certain point in time it’s very doubtful you were being treated to a possible golden future for Rock in the same way that the crowd at District were being shown. Visions can come, dreams of greatness may go but somehow something every so often comes around and marks itself out as being so tantalising, so big, that a stage might not dare be able to hold it for long.

Sky Valley Mistress, Gig Review. District, Liverpool. Hope Fest 2015. full post

(412 words, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

Sophie Anderson, Gig Review. District, Liverpool. Hope Fest 2015.

Sophie Anderson on stage at Distrct, Liverpool for Hope Fest 2015. Photograph by Lis Garrett. Photograph used with kind permission by Lis Garrett.

Sophie Anderson on stage at Distrct, Liverpool for Hope Fest 2015. Photograph by Lis Garrett. Photograph used with kind permission by Lis Garrett.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The Philharmonic Hall may have had 2,000 souls looking on in praise and devotion in July when Sophie Anderson took to the stage in support to Rosanne Cash, however the voice that haunts and cuts through any atmosphere with its sheer deep resonance is equally at home when performing to a vocal and happy crowd at District as part of the Hope Fest weekend.

Sophie Anderson, Gig Review. District, Liverpool. Hope Fest 2015. full post

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

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

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Jason Clarke, Emily Watson, Sam Worthington, Josh Brolin, Kiera Knightley, Justin Salinger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Robin Wright, Mia Goth, Stormur Jón Kormákur Baltasarsson, Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, Clive Standen, Vanessa Kirby, John Hawkes, Elizabeth Debecki, Naoki Mori, Michael Kelly, Tim Dantay, Todd Boyce, Mark Derwin, Martin Henderson, Tom Goodman-Hill, Charlotte Bøving, Thomas M. Wright, Amy Schindler, Chris Reilly, Ang Phula Sherpa, Pemba Sherpa.

There will always be, one hopes, adventurers, people with spirit and explorers, pioneers, people who see the mountain in whatever shape and form it takes and relish the challenge of attaining their goal – even it means personal loss and possible risking of life; for without that risk, humanity becomes staid and placid.

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

(551 words, estimated 2:12 mins reading time)

Fables: Rose Red, Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

There are times when all you want to do is get hold of Bill Willingham’s phone number and phone the writer to tell him in no uncertain terms just how grateful you are as a reader that he came up with the idea for the Fables books, which has to be seen as up there with Joe Hill’s Locke & Key series in terms of originality and continuing brilliance. The 15th in the series of combined Graphic Novels, Rose Red, is no exception to the rule.

Fables: Rose Red, Graphic Novel Review. full post

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

I Am Not A Typical Man.

I am not a man

who understands the big deal

of being able to travel from nought

to blow out

in under five seconds, nor the allure

of looking under the hood

and seeing an engine needing

complete overhaul when a sparkplug

splutters and groans at the thought

of an electrical impulse gone wrong.

 

I have no care for how far a drill bit can go

into a wall without the plaster cracking

and then requiring further work

to keep it level, I have no care at Do It

I Am Not A Typical Man. full post

(296 words, estimated 1:11 mins reading time)