Tag Archives: o2 Academy

Simon Townshend, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Just a little over a 24 hours since he went on stage as part of a phenomenal line up at the Echo Arena, Simon Townshend graced the Liverpool o2 Academy with a set that burned with excellence and unequivocal energy.

As part of The Who alongside Roger Daltrey and  Pete Townshend, Simon had rocked and stormed the large arena in town and given those present one of the loudest concerts they are likely to hear all year. When stepping onto the stage at The Academy though, he was more sedate and laid back but funnily enough just as intense and creatively thunderous, it was almost as if the spirits that had guided him as part of the much loved British band were still hanging around and urging him to continue the good work.

Simon Townshend, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(376 words, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)

The Stranglers, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

The sweat and perspiration was still dripping off the audience’s clothes as they filed out of the Academy, Liverpool after yet another feast of relentless and pulsating music by one of the most potent and loved bands to come out of Britain in the last 40 years. For the Stranglers, nights such as they experience in Liverpool, are amongst the finest they can surely experience and for the fans that bounce and rock with them, the admiration is mutual. The tour is called Feel It Live and by the end of the night everyone had certainly felt that request.

The Stranglers, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(571 words, estimated 2:17 mins reading time)

The Hummingbirds, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

If 2012 was a year that for The Hummingbirds was unreal and full of exciting times then 2013 has surely already surpassed that and made the coming year so full of expectation and burgeoning exhilaration. Already tipped as one to watch by the Liverpool Music Awards, the band have recently performed at The Alarm’s famous Gathering in deepest North Wales and now they have kicked off March by opening for the Welsh Punk Rockers at the o2 Academy in their home town.

The Hummingbirds, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(340 words, estimated 1:22 mins reading time)

The Alarm, Gig Review. O2 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

There are homecomings for local heroes and then there are homecomings in which the performers on stage know that even they are from another town, another country, another place that they are so well thought of, so in tune with the indigenous psyche  that they are welcome back time and time again. Such is that honour bestowed upon Mike Peters and The Alarm that to see the elder generation of fans who took the band to their hearts over 30 years ago, bouncing and enjoying the gig with a generation of fans young enough to be forgiven for following so called fashion rather decent quality is heart-warming and astounding.

The Alarm, Gig Review. O2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(475 words, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

Buckle Tongue, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Merseyside undisputedly produces some great bands of every music genre that it is possible to list and yet somehow in amongst the maelstrom and cacophony of disparate tunes and compositions, heavy metal doesn’t get that much of a look in. Very few bands have touched upon the field of crashing and brutal guitars placed within the heart of a superb drum beat and told the tale in Liverpool. From out of the darkness come the Wirral’s Buckle Tongue and one of the new great bands to watch out for in 2013.

Buckle Tongue, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(383 words, 1 image, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

Path Unknown, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

Ben Jones of Path Unknown. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

 

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

To perform your debut gig in the spotlight of the o2 Academy’s glare takes some supreme effort and fortitude, to achieve the appreciation of an audience when you are effectively a band member down and still sound extremely good takes a band that have a great future in front of them. For Path Unknown, all bodes well and they certainly won’t be unknown for long.

Path Unknown, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(336 words, 1 image, estimated 1:21 mins reading time)

Space, Gig Review. O2 Academy, Liverpool.

Tommy Scott at the 02 Academy, Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

If you are after a spectacular party to round off a fantastic year of music in Liverpool then you should look no further than the city’s own band, Space. The personnel may have changed since the heady days of the 1990’s but there is no doubting the essential and unique brand of cool that Tommy Scott, Franny Griffiths, Allan Jones, Phil Hartley and Ryan Clarke bring to the stage for the audience to have some serious fun too.

Space, Gig Review. O2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(456 words, 1 image, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)

The Mono L.P.’s Gig Review. O2 Academy, Liverpool.

Ste Reid at the o2 Academy, Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

As The Mono L.P.’s took to the stage at the o2 Academy, Liverpool, it was almost possible to see in the eyes of the five musicians, Luciano Verghini, Chris Barlow, Dan Beech, Ste Reid and Vicky Mutch, just how far they have come in the hearts and minds of Liverpool audiences in such a short space of time. Nothing is beyond them collectively or individually it seems, nothing much fazes them when they stand on stage together and it is great credit to the ability and tenacity of the group that they have become so well admired during that time.

The Mono L.P.’s Gig Review. O2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(422 words, 1 image, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

Mike Peters, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

Mike Peters at the o2 Academy, Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

It has to be said that Mike Peters really is the epitome of musicians who never know how to sit still and take in their place in society, nor can he ever be accused of giving anything less than 100 percent when he is on stage. Whether as part of one of the finest bands to come out of Wales, The Alarm, his occasional forays into the world of Big Country of which he has done a splendid job fronting or when it is just him, a guitar and a harmonica; he never ever gives less than the crowd deserves.

Mike Peters, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(511 words, 1 image, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)

The Wicked Whispers, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

photograph by Ian D. Hall

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

When the Wicked Whispers play their music on stage, the most advisable thing to do is stand back, close your eyes and wallow in the excellent atmosphere and dream of more halcyon days.

One of the most unique bands to have come from the Liverpool area, the Wicked Whispers, have just finished a tour that has taken in London and Newcastle and now the group have come back home to show just exactly why the word is spreading beyond the confines of the home of popular music.

The Wicked Whispers, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(384 words, 1 image, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)