Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
TJ and Murphy provided the harmonic dichotomy on a stage that had been and would be dominated in the early part of the evening by two female musicians, one on her own but with a voice that could break down barriers and playfully tease affection out of the sulkiest stone and the other whose refreshingly bright and breezy attitude reminded the world that a smile can be the most effective weapon in anyone’s arsenal.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
There are many reasons in which to find yourself as a listener immensely satisfied with exploring the music of Nordic tradition. Whether it is the music from Norway, Sweden, Finland, the exceptional talent of the island race of the Faroe Islands or even Iceland, there is so much beauty contained within the music that it can make a music lover hanker for less intrusive times, times when the narrative was the big sell and the music a picturesque addition, the soundscapes of the sea crashing into the rugged hardy rocks along the shores with a guitar being gently teased in the background.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHann, Sally Field, Campbell Scott, Paul Giamatti, Embeth Daviditz, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Marton Csokas, Louis Cancelmi, Max Charles, B.j. Novak, Sarah Gadon, Michael Massee, Helen Stern, Stan Lee, Jorge Vega.
For all the good Toby Maguire and Kirsten Dunst bought to the Spiderman films of the previous decade, there is huge appeal in watching Andrew Garfield play the Marvel Comic book hero and the excellent Emma Stone as the immensely enjoyable Gwen Stacy in the latest Amazing Spider-Man film.
The sound of the Nordic God’s anger thunders in my ears
as Freya plays with seduction a song in which to entrap
My O.K. Internal Haze and give rise to the tricks of the mind.
The Nordic Gods play havoc with the landscape, the boundary
between my vision and the vast sea that was crossed by Freya in search
of someone to take notice of the gentle notes of joy, despair and anguish,
the dominant emotion of love for the guitar she wields with a shy smile.
Her weapon, simpler than the Ax favoured by more aggressive
Time softened the edges
Wore down the dangerous demeanour
Blunted the horns on top of my head
Little trace of that famous defiance
On the outside of this monster
That walks amongst you
But inside?
Still blazing
Still nothing that you are
Ear-aching i-pod buds
Thunder his howling
His raging luminescence
Fires up the beast inside
Has me swaying
Snake-hips twitching
Contorting my face
Silent-shrieking every line
On this morning tram
Surrounded by shoppers
And assorted poor meek souls
Trying to get to work
I am that thing
That crazy in the corner
Wild eyed and mouthing
‘No, I don’t have a gun’
‘No, I don’t have a gun.’
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Just watching Katriona Gilmore and Jamie Roberts on stage for a short while is enough to confirm what the whispers and folk murmurings have been about for the last couple of years. To witness it live though is a pleasure that in some old fashioned way might feel as if it was knocking too much upon the memory for example of the likes of Ralph McTell, the genius of the narrative story laid out for all to see is worthy of the some of the greats of British Folk.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Rita Payne, a band name so good there just had to be two musicians in there to fill the space and neither of them are called Rita. For Rhiannon Scutt and Pete Sowerby the last two years has been a big curve and the music they perform is not only enticing but also fulsome in its delivery and as they tour with new Folk heroes Gilmore and Roberts, the excitement they generate in the stories and playing is enough to convince all who made their way to The Atkinson in Southport that they had witnessed something very special and utterly adorable.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 71/2/10
Human Life, so breakable, so unstable and at times the mental and physical can be held in uncertain terms, so much so to talk of the condition, to place the frailty out in the open can make people turn away through embarrassment, mainly as they struggle to understand why anyone would want to push the human thought that far, or because they feel threatened by someone reaching out to them. Whatever the reason, Michael Rattray captures the emotion of tender Humanity wonderfully in Human Life.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Katherine Godfrey
An Extraordinary Light is amongst one of the rare moments in theatre, an excellently written monologue for a female performer by a male writer and one which smacks completely of teaching an audience something that they possibly didn’t know was important to understand. For without An Extraordinary Light, what people might know about one of the most important discoveries in the history of humanity, the construction of the D.N.A. Double Helix, could be clouded by the thoughts of those who shouted loudest.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The call for independent Scotland may be raging around the U.K. press during this period of 2014 but for one man calling the Isle of Lewis his home, independence has come very early as he prepares to release his new album Dalma. For Willie Campbell, once of Scottish Indie act Astrid and now enjoying life as part of The Open Day Rotation, the chance to show the Gaelic heart that beats gently but fiercely proud within him to an audience must be seen as a brave and valiant step.