Tag Archives: Liverpool

Rumplestiltskin, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Aiden Lee Brooks, Cameron McKendrick, Dora Colquhoun, Shaun Roberts.

There are creatures out there whose only aim is that of self-gratification, assuredness so overwhelming that it is blackened, cheap and nasty and an arrogance that sits and festers at the heart of a life like a sweating, bulbous spider on fly filled web, heavily pregnant and with a seething desire to take anything that isn’t theirs. These creatures may still be recognised but the more as a species we have galloped towards a consumerism that is more consuming than helpful, the less chance we have remembering old tales passed down, tales of not accepting help from a creature of the neglected forest.

Rumplestiltskin, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Joe Symes And The Loving Kind, Gig Review. District, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

To perform in Liverpool should be a nothing less than an honour. It is the rightful home of the birth of British Pop Music, the most successful city in the U.K. where music is concerned and in many way it is home to perhaps the most diverse variety, with even the glimmering of the heavier side of Metal and the coolness of Progressive Rock having its fans in the Merseyside areas surrounding the heartlands of venues such as The Cavern, Parr Street, The Academy, District, The Lomax, The Brink and The Epstein. To perform in Liverpool should be an honour, to watch Joe Symes and Loving Kind is a special kind of privilege.

Joe Symes And The Loving Kind, Gig Review. District, Liverpool. full post

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

Shamanarchy, Gig Review. District, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

It might not quite be Anarchy in the U.K. but the spirit of women with attitude, the delivery of a demon and the manner of a Greek god chewing through the finer points of why Humanity is at the beck and call of its sisters lives well and with some tremendous flowering agility in the heart of Shamanarchy .

Shamanarchy, Gig Review. District, Liverpool. full post

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

The All, Gig Review. District, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

There are times when to hold back your emotions and perhaps even your stringent, occasionally narrow, mind and let in a music argument that night not have been on your mind when you go into a venue. You might go in expecting one thing but then the support kicks in and you are left with a further belief attached to your many quivers and multitudes of bows.

For The All, the sound they produce is one of an unusual quality, a starkness which is endearing and coming so far out of left field that if donned an Everton kit and yet banged in a hat trick every week for Liverpool at Anfield nobody would be more surprised.

The All, Gig Review. District, Liverpool. full post

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

Fables: The Mean Seasons. Graphic Novel Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The war is over and now the stirrings of a Civil War in the family has begun to grumble down every side-street and political office in Fable Town. It is though a Civil War that will have to take place without either Snow White of the father of her children Bigby Wolf.

Fables: The Mean Seasons. Graphic Novel Review. full post

(730 words, estimated 2:55 mins reading time)

The Rock ‘N’ Roll Panto, Little Red Riding Hood, Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Jocasta Almgill, Jonny Bower, Tom Connor, Jessica Dives, Zita Frith, Sam Haywood, Ben Mabberly, Adam Keast, Nicky Swift, Francis Tucker.

There is no place like home; even if you have got used to the décor of another place, to come home, put on the fairy wings, let the wolf have the run of the back yard and immerse yourself into a great night of magical comedy, mayhem and misrule is to have your heart filled with joy.

The Rock ‘N’ Roll Panto, Little Red Riding Hood, Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(621 words, estimated 2:29 mins reading time)

David Gray, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8/10

Touring with his new album Mutineers, this was David Gray’s first performance at the recently refurbished Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and his second overall since becoming one of the most sought after British artists of the last two decades. As soon as David walked on stage the crowd were on his side. Rightly so too, as David Gray’s career has been a long lasting one, with 11 studios albums under his belt; he has been performing live now for over 20 years.

David Gray, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. full post

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

Wallis Bird, Gig Review. Leaf, Liverpool.

Wallis Bird at Leaf, Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound And Vision Rating 9/10

There is something uniquely endearing about Wallis Bird as she takes to the stage, something deeply fascinating and mesmerizing. It is as if the room upstairs at Leaf on Bold Street, known more perhaps for its gentility and courtesy has been suddenly transformed into the Liverpool Echo Arena. The mesmerising power of the individual to make the room appear so vast, to make the sound generated that of a collection of Concorde’s taking off simultaneously next to you and yet the true focus of attention appear so larger than life that their essence makes Wembley Stadium feel like a match box is one that makes you feel compelled to believe in power of mass hypnotism. All of this and yet the only weapons of choice is an acoustic guitar!

Wallis Bird, Gig Review. Leaf, Liverpool. full post

(560 words, 1 image, estimated 2:14 mins reading time)

DANI, Gig Review. Leaf, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8/10

The eye of the storm is the most wondrous place, it is the moment’s serenity before the wall of sound assaults every sense possible and leaves you breathless and hungry for more. It is a storm of its own, it is the quieter but no less important, nor less impressive, time in which letting your guard down might just result in the surprise of your life and in the spirit of singer/songwriter Dani, that quiet repose was granted and yet with the power of a pre-rumbling earthquake, something seismic was unleashed inside Leaf.

DANI, Gig Review. Leaf, Liverpool. full post

(441 words, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

Jeff Wayne’s The War Of The Worlds, Live Review. Echo Arena, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

It is one of the most profoundly moving and stirring pieces of music ever captured for posterity, taken from a story by H.G. Wells which has captured the imagination since it was first published and in which Jeff Wayne has for over 35 years brought to life in its deserved glory. However music aside, the death knell for The War of the Worlds has been sounded across the void of space.

Jeff Wayne’s The War Of The Worlds, Live Review. Echo Arena, Liverpool. full post

(645 words, estimated 2:35 mins reading time)