The Fores, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow. The Cavern, Liverpool.

The Fores at this year’s I.P.O. in Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

For both Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, it could be argued that sport, no matter the game, is perhaps higher on the agenda that adding too much more of their independent and well crafted ideological contribution to the way of life in England and the U.K. as whole. The Midland counties may boast of two of the more iconic music venues in the country in the Leicester De Montfort Hall and Nottingham Rock City but the amount of musical groups and artists that spring to mind and with ease is perhaps completely undervalued.

The Fores, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

(442 words, 1 image, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

McCrei, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

McCrei at the Cavern in Liverpool as part of the 2015 I.P.O. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

They say there is no greater bond than that between two sisters. Others might disagree and point to other just as valuable relationships on which are just as loving and can be just as destructive when the whim of necessity rears its head. However, one cannot argue with the closeness that two sisters will have, especially when working together on stage in close proximity and sharing the experiences of their lives through music.

McCrei, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

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

Susan Hedges, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

Susan Hedges at the International Pop Overthrow 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Susan Hedges surely has one of the most distinctive voices on Merseyside. That voice, one that can soar as high as an angel with a helium addiction or as deep and powerful as if able to hold its own in a bar brawl and come out as the last one standing in a cage fight, unbloodied, unbowed and unrepentant, is one of the reasons that Ms. Hedges is always in demand and quite rightly so.

Susan Hedges, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

(402 words, 1 image, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

Lambert & Stamp, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Think of The Who and the thought of one of the greatest ever British bands should immediately spring to mind, the thought of the Rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia will occur naturally not far behind and songs delivered with overwhelming talent and power such as The Kids Are Alright, Who Are You, Pinball Wizzard and My Generation with couple themselves with images of four of the finest rock talents to ever come out of London. The mix is explosive, it has any fan of the band reaching for an album to get their fix, their daily dose of exuberance, excess and excellence.

Lambert & Stamp, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool. full post

(707 words, estimated 2:50 mins reading time)

For The Lack Of Pulse.

I cannot feel my pulse under the skin

and my breathing

at times too erratic, too shallow,

unkempt

and barely noticeable, only captured in the smoked over

glass as the whisper of exhalation or in the stagnated

overthrow of winter’s icy breath

that makes me want to remember images

of my childhood with a chocolate cigarette, two fingers

up to the corner of my mouth as if I

was recreating a scene

from a film noir

and I was the gumshoe solving

my own imminent demise.

For The Lack Of Pulse. full post

(307 words, estimated 1:14 mins reading time)

Colin’s Godson, Gig Review. Independent Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Into every I.P.O. must fall a band so insanely catchy, so raucous, so outrageous with their clever lyrics and achingly good music that they make the whole week seem like a dream.

In its thirteenth consecutive year of showcasing some of the finest power pop acts around at The Cavern in Liverpool, perhaps no other band has had such recommendations come before them, of being urged to take in their warped but tremendous songs filled with pathos and excellent humour as much as Colin’s Godson has had thrown their way.

Colin’s Godson, Gig Review. Independent Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

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

The Dirty Royals, Gig Review. Independent Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The Saturday of the Independent Pop Overthrow has always been a powerhouse of emotions in which to revel in the glory of a festival so enormous in its preparations that it puts many of its counterparts to shame. The setting of The Cavern was exactly the right staging for the I.P.O. and the weekend the main focal point as visitors to the city, the throng of human activity, make their way to the music capital of the U.K. in search of something new, fresh and hopefully exciting.

The Dirty Royals, Gig Review. Independent Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

(394 words, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

Atlantis: Series Two. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 1/10

Cast: Mark Addy, Jack Donnelly, Robert Emms, Aiysha Hart, Sarah Parish, Jemima Roper, Juliet Stevenson, Amy Manson, Ken Bones, Peter De Jersey, Lorcan Cranitch, Vincent Regan, Robert Lindsay, Joseph Timms, John Hannah, Robert Pugh, Ronald Pickup, Philip Correia, Anya Taylor-Joy.

The surprise was not that Atlantis was cancelled but the fact that it was made at all.

In one of the rare mistakes of drama production by the B.B.C., Atlantis finally washed up on the shores of discontent and died a long lingering death in a series that was split in two. Much heralded as a winter replacement for Doctor Who, the second series of the fantasy based drama descended to the point where arguably viewers were watching to see how bad it could actually become.

Atlantis: Series Two. Television Review. full post

(579 words, estimated 2:19 mins reading time)

Fear Of The Natural Born Killer.

A spider may be considered to be more disturbing by some

but your eyes betray the coldness of a killer

as they scan the room and your head barely pivots

upon the neck, no twitching of muscle visible

as the glare of insanity relaxes briefly

sensing no immediate threat to the game.

I see across the room and I watch with morbid

fascination and discern no sweat line even in the mouldering heat

and realise that inside of you, it must be awash, the agitation

of the Charles Manson like persona, the matted hair

Fear Of The Natural Born Killer. full post

(246 words, estimated 59 secs reading time)

The Theme, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Loud, boisterous, full of vigour and passion, to watch The Theme is to enjoy a great night and have you panting for more.

The inexplicable nature of life, of how it has changed in the last 40 years, sometimes for the better in that bands have more access to the world outside their hometown, sometimes for the worse as in there is only so much finite time in which to keep searching through the relentless onslaught of social media updates and the outpourings of invites to see many a new group, can leave you feeling as if all your life you have lived by a quiet oasis and yet you yearn for the bucket and spade in which to dig a thousand moats.

The Theme, Gig Review. International Pop Overthrow 2015. The Cavern, Liverpool. full post

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