Tag Archives: Gig Review. Studio 2

Ben Hughes, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The age old question of how to warm up an audience to the point where the inner thermostat is making the mercury rise to the occasion, but not peaking too soon so that it blows out any possible enjoyment as the night progresses, is one that always makes for great debate on a night out. You want someone with class, with poise, great demeanour and content but someone who also knows exactly where to take the audience too, the cup of perfect tea surrounded by those would overfill the saucer is always more enjoyable.

Ben Hughes, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. full post

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

The Good Host, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. (2016).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The sound of Vienna, the last days of grand empire in a city that would remain forever associated with fine music and beautiful venues in which to play them, could not sound more opulent or desirable than being able to relish in the alternative Folk Rock guitar sound driven by The Good Host. The whirl of Vienna, the mood of the Danube slowly winding itself down through Europe and the psychological musings of Freud as the ghosts of the Habsburgs looked on; none of that splendour matches being in the company of the band that makes music just something you yearn for the company of a fine port and a roaring Christmas fire for.

The Good Host, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. (2016). full post

(431 words, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

Matthew McGurty, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. (2016).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The last time Matthew McGurty performed in Studio 2 to such a loyal and intensely proud audience the winter of 2015 was in full blast and the cold was such that that the music of the man was not just a welcome glow in the corner of some good old fashioned public house, the type where they won’t let you leave for home without checking that you are safe to do so and if walking, pouring you the fortifying aid of a hearty whisky, it was the shine of the sun on a near broken spirit and the smouldering of a dusky maiden kiss.

Matthew McGurty, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. (2016). full post

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

Ladies, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

It has all the makings of a great introduction, the curtain raiser presented by a ringmaster of great repute and with a talent for the language of their craft to entice and beguile the wary watcher in from the cold, to dazzle and astonish as ribbons fall from the ceiling and the audience’s eyes are diverted for a while from the main event. It is not the jiggery pokery of a circus that attracts in this instance, it is the dynamic of a band from Leicester who have made Liverpool very much their home.

Ladies, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. full post

(433 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

Anna Houghton, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

To be on any invited bill shows respect, it shows a longing to hear more of what you offer and is a sentiment that should never be dismissed easily. To be on the bill of an E.P. launch, to be among the select crowd of performers installing reverie and flights of musical fantasy in the midweek desert is to know that music is not a delusion, it is not an unfulfilled desire, it is hope wrapped in sheet music, placed within the instrument of choice and given care.

Anna Houghton, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. full post

(417 words, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

Cal Ruddy, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

The moment will strike unexpectedly and without warning, the musician on stage will look down upon the crowd that has gathered before them, perhaps so large that they can no longer see their eyes glimmering with hope, perhaps so intimate that the windows to the soul are all they can focus on. In the end it doesn’t matter, all that is significant is the true moment in which the musician gives the best of nights and you sit in the corner, breathless and broken, buoyant and a believer; it is the moment in which Cal Ruddy supplied at Studio 2 in which the venue arguably witnessed one of the finest ever performances inside its hallowed frame.

Cal Ruddy, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. full post

(466 words, estimated 1:52 mins reading time)

Nine Blind Ravens, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool.

Nine Blind Ravens at Studio 2, Liverpool. Photograph by Maddie Stenberg.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The sound of a new set of heroes gathering in the dark is always a welcome echo of what is to come, the finding of a new band in which to hang your love upon, something in which nothing else can ever touch with perhaps the exception of that first electric kiss as a teenager.

Nine Blind Ravens, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. full post

(392 words, 1 image, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

Andrew Shaw, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

The still of the night is such that the attraction of a solo acoustic guitarist will always sound beautiful, mournful and heart stopping no matter the situation they may find themselves in. Yet somehow the attraction is enhanced with the feeling of close August heat parading itself in the shower of loose dripping sweat and the build up of energy being worked up in readiness for the electric section of the evening.

Andrew Shaw, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. full post

(381 words, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Vitamin, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Studio Two has borne witness to many bands over the years, if not in the studio next door, then certainly on stage in the off dark recess of a room that has captured the imagination and the glow of satisfaction in the eyes of all who pass under the neon red sign warning that recording is in progress and the sound that can be heard up and down Parr Street.

Vitamin, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. full post

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

Katy Alex, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

For those making their way to Studio 2 on Parr Street, dodging the fireworks, skilfully avoiding the booming tones of the November air and the threatening drizzle with the hopeful keen anticipation of Vanessa Murray’s E.P. launch, the thought of support would naturally cross their mind. For many the names Dominic Dunn and Shannen Bamford are as easily recognised and lauded as a good fish supper from The Lobster Pot or a night out down at The Cavern, for they have served their time in front of the audiences, yet for Katy Alex, sensuous, creative and poised, the name might not mean anything to many yet, but on the strength of this performance will no doubt be one to be considered with glowing terms.

Katy Alex, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. full post

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