Tag Archives: Liverpool

Yes, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

It was perhaps fitting that the spontaneous applause, the sound of appreciation and love, would fill the vast expanse of the Philharmonic Hall before a note was even played, before the band appeared on stage and took their customary glances and smiles out to a sea of known faces and the curious at heart. This was Liverpool’s night to say thanks to the memory of Yes own heart, its own beating machine of 45 years and the applause was enough to recognise that whilst Yes were in the building, Chris Squire was going to be missed on stage.

Captain America: Civil War, Film Review. Picturehouse, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland, Daniel Brühl, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, Martin Freeman, Marisa Tomei, John Kani, John Slattery, Hope Davis, Alfre Woodard, Gene Farber, Stan Lee.

The world hangs in a deadly balance, the world’s mightiest heroes are being reined in by their own kind and their friends and divisions and sides are being forged and broken; the world is used to such fun and games, countries routinely flip in their pursuit of self interest and government greed but to do this to those charged with protecting the planet, it all gets very murky indeed.

Going Viral, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating: * * * *

Cast: Daniel Bye

The premise behind Daniel Bye’s latest show is a simple one; an aeroplane flies from India to England, everyone onboard is weeping. Everyone except you. There is a disease sweeping the world, it is incredibly infectious and it passes from person to person. Bye explores the issues of viruses and how they spread in his latest show Going Viral currently running at the Unity.

Demolition, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, Chris Cooper, Judah Lewis, C.J. Wilson, Polly Draper, Malachy Cleary, Debra Monk, Heather Lind, Wass Stevens, Blaire Brooks, Gregory Haney.

Grief is a peculiar beast; it affects people in different ways. Some will look at it as a time of reflection, some will plough themselves into their work till they become ill and others will find themselves finding a very different approach to dealing with the hurt, pain and absolute heartache of losing someone they love. The heart will grieve regardless and it is the moment of final deconstruction that most will come through the other side and find a reason to smile again.

Jane’s Got A Gun, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Cast: Natalie Portman, Joel Edgerton, Ewan McGregor, Noah Emmerich, Boyd Holbrook, Rodrigo Santoro, James Burnett, Sam Quinn, Maisie McMaster, Jenny Gabrielle, Alex Manette, Piper Sheets, Celia Kessler, Linda Martin.

It seems the old west is becoming more flavoursome once more, it certainly has had a lot of time to find its niche market again and thankfully move away from the tired and almost disgraceful, fetish like voyeurism of the 1950s and 60s in which generations of cinema goers were treated to the version of events that depicted the wars and slaughter of native Americans and their European invaders. The old west now seems to venture into more realistic territory and yet occasionally it can blow its own trumpet too hard and offer a film that just doesn’t fit in either camp; it is neither truly awful nor astonishingly good but nevertheless it still is a piece of artistic interpretation worth exploring.

Gary Edward Jones, Gig Review. Constellations, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Even the spectre of near biblical sounding April rainfall and destructive wind whistling round the building couldn’t deter the sound that Gary Edward Jones and his band were making in Constellations. If anything, as the heaviest of raindrops fell upon the roof of the building and the wind roared down the Mersey River and into the heart of the Baltic Triangle, it was almost if the elements, the drive of nature was applauding and cheering on The Cabinet Maker. Each droplet heard in time as if the polite ovation of a classical music audience had somehow been thrown into the mix of the night; it was one that was most welcome and assuring.

Eleanor Nelly, Gig Review. Constellations, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision 9/10

It seems to be that the phrase for Liverpool’s Eleanor Nelly is “always continues to impress and astound”; for when you see this young musician perform you forget about many things, Time gets swallowed up, Time finds a way to be its own destructing agent without decaying the fragile and sensitive beauty that is bonded between audience and performer. It is almost as if Time understands the special nature that comes with Ms. Nelly and wants to make sure that those that see her perform now in Liverpool enjoy, take pleasure in and bask in the enormity to come, for six months on from turning 16, Eleanor is surely earmarked to go to the stars.

Error 404, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

Cast: Daniel Bye.

The nature of the Philosopher, the very act of being, is one that is largely ignored and yet remains one of the most telling lines of all William Shakespeare’s plays. To be or not to be, the very nature of existence and the art of acting upon will or allowing events to be dictated to you, to feel alive, to need, to ache, to live, to feel, these are fundamental questions in which truth of reality is achieved and highlighted.

Kicking Off, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Warren Brown, Greg McHugh, Alistair Petrie, Danielle Bux, Mark Bright, Geoff Hurst, Tim Major, Bailey Patrick, Jon-Paul Gates, Robbie Savage.

To many, football is a religion, it is the reason they get up in the morning, it is the devouring of knowledge, the talking point during the day and the bonding across the social strata, football is the motivation and the rationale but when it goes wrong, when the suffering of relegation is experienced, the humiliation of being the worst team possible, some might curse their own personal favourite deity; some might even consider ill will to the man in the middle who may have been the cause of the downfall of the gods, it might lead to the fan Kicking Off.

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.