Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Originally published by L.S. Media. May 30th 2011.
For Roger Hodgson to come to Liverpool and play at the Philharmonic Hall is one of those rare moments in time that if you are a lover of good, honest and well crafted songs delivered with style, humour and grace then no matter what you had to be there. Roger last toured Liverpool in the late 1970’s when he was still part of the phenomenal British band, Supertramp.
Originally published by L.S. Media. June 7th 2011.
One of the problems with bringing out a new album at the start of a tour is that no matter how good it might be regarded in years to come, the first chance that audience members get to hear it, is when’s raw and unfiltered. The live bugs have not been eased out of the set and the band can seem cold, aloof and uncaring about the years of support they have received from their fans and although that is most certainly not the case with Journey, in some eyes it can be damaging.
Originally published by L.S. Media. June 7th 2011.
Judy Collins is one of the great survivors of Folk music. Eclectic in her musical tastes and vision, she continues to thrill audiences with renditions of her own work and those of who she adores.
For the University of Liverpool to play host to one of the all-time greats of music can be seen as a particular pleasure and for the audience who sat patiently it was one of those rare nights where you allowed the artist to do whatever they wanted, talk about whatever they fancied and play whatever tunes they could muster. For Judy Collins comes across as one of those wonderful women who wants to impart knowledge of her life and who looks genuinely pleased to see people hanging on her every word.
Originally published by L.S. Media. June 14th 2011
It takes a man who obviously can hold his own in the company of Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen who can command an audience at the Philharmonic with the bare minimum of instruments and supporting musicians and yet still make that crowd feel as though they have only ever seen one truly amazing gig in their life.
Nils Lofgren is one such man that has the undoubted ability to make an audience sit still and carefully listen to what he has to say whilst all the time making them feel special and appreciated as fans.
David Coverdale. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Originally published by L.S. Media. June 18th 2011.
It’s not for nothing that David Coverdale and Whitesnake are continually lauded as one of the fine rock acts of all time, both for their recording history but also for the minimalist but truly jaw dropping live sets. What other bands of the genre make up for in their set by using special effect after quirky special effect, Whitesnake just get down to business and entertains and drags kicking and screaming every bit of energy from every crowd that comes to their shows.
Photograph by Ian D. Hall
Originally published by L.S. Media. June 20th 2011.
When people think of the state of current Progressive Rock bands that can hold their own and in some cases easily beat the established guard with a superb written lyric and subtle use of a well placed time sequence, most watchers of the genre might point to the phenomenal The Reasoning or their fellow High Voltage peers Touchstone.
However in the last few years some of the remnants of fellow Prog kings Karnataka have been quietly bidding their time, starting afresh and have delivered two top rated albums in the form of Panic Room.
Photograph by Ian D. Hall
Originally published by L.S. Media. July 2nd 2011.
As the sun descended over the top of the stage and temporarily blinded the majority of the crowd at the packed out Milton Keynes Bowl, the Foo Fighters exploded onto the stage and gave one of the great performances of the summer and indeed of the year so far.
After already thrilling the Isle of Wight festival goers a few weeks ago, there really was only one way to top what some critics called spectacular and that was by stealing your own show and adding just that little bit of sparkle to a set list that would make the audience sit up, take notice and beg for the band not to stop playing no matter what the curfew time stated.
Ian Prowse entertaining the crowd at Chester Rocks. Photograph by Ian D. Hall
Originally published by L.S. Media. July 3rd 2011.
Photograph by Ian D. Hall
Originally published by L.S. Media. July 17th 2011.
Fresh from their appearance at Sonisphere the previous weekend, Los Angeles Punk revivalists Bad Religion arrived at the Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton in the kind of mood that lets you know they were there to still party and entertain in their own peculiar and indomitable style.
Photograph by Ian D. Hall
Originally published by L.S. Media. July 30th 2011.
Two years ago as part of the Summer Pops, Deacon Blue stormed the Liverpool Echo Arena. The audience from start to finish were beside themselves in joy having heard an expansive and top notch set from one of the great bands of mid 80’s. Two years on, they were back in Liverpool to perform for their legion of fans and yet again simply blew the cobwebs out of Liverpool’s lungs.