Monthly Archives: August 2012

Peter Gabriel, New Blood. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. October 11th 2011.

L.S. Media Rating: ****

If you are going re-imagine your own songs and much loved tracks then do it with an abundance of style that will confuse the critics who were ready to reward any hard work with derision and scorn.

That’s exactly the result that Peter Gabriel has achieved with his latest look at music from his colourful andwide ranging past, the phenomenal New Blood. From the off, it has a dramatic new edge to it that will make you think of his music in a completely new way and with no qualms about his decision to use an orchestra to remake such classics as Red Rain, Digging in the Dirt and the ever popular Solsbury Hill.

Peter Gabriel, New Blood. Album Review. full post

(409 words, 1 image, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)

Chris DeBurgh, Gig Review. Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

Photograph by Ian D. Hall

Originally published by L.S. Media. October 10th 2011.

L.S. Media Rating ****

There can be no doubting Chris DeBurgh’s appeal and delight in performing to a crowd of fans, old and new alike, his amiable and very likeable character not only come across when he is talking to the audience about his life but also in the way he presents his music. Completely professional with just the right of Gaelic charm that has endeared him to audiences world-wide, even places where other artists’ would back away from playing, Chris DeBurgh makes sure that nobody is disappointed when they leave one of his sold out nights.

Chris DeBurgh, Gig Review. Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. full post

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

It’s Uniformation Day, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool

photograph by edinburghfestival.list.co.uk

Originally published by L.S. Media. October 12th 2011.

Cast: Britt Jurgensen, Ben Philips, Mary Pearson.

One of the fascinating and tremendous things about spending the night in the theatre is that occasionally you get challenged to think outside of the metaphorical box and tackle something that will really get the imagination going and the fingers poised over the top of your head ready to scratch just in case you might not realise what’s going on.

It’s Uniformation Day, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool full post

(351 words, 1 image, estimated 1:24 mins reading time)

Touchstone, The City Sleeps. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. October 12th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

One of the new big two of Progressive Rock, Touchstone, makes a superb comeback with the stunning new album The City Sleeps. With the last album Live in the U.S.A. still very much in the minds of the band, this new offering carries on the outstanding work that the group have created and have been admired for by their peers and fans alike.

Touchstone, The City Sleeps. Album Review. full post

(370 words, 1 image, estimated 1:29 mins reading time)

Evanescence, Evanescence. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. October 16th 2011.

L.S.Media Rating: ***

There was only one way that Amy Lee could go after 2008’s The Open Door and that was to gather herself together, forget the past and strive to regain the delight in performing and making records that would match the ideal and superb debut album her band Evanescence achieved in what seems alife time ago.

Evanescence, Evanescence. Album Review. full post

(380 words, 1 image, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Amsterdam, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

photograph by Ian D. Hall

Originally published by L.S. Media. October 16th 2011.

L.S. Media Rating *****

Two acts with the same intensity, drive and showmanship sharing the night as a double header is rare but with Damien Dempsey kicking off the Liverpool Irish Music Festival in fine form, there was only one way Amsterdam could go in a very atmospheric o2 Academy and that was to match the whirlwind that is the popular Irishman and give the local and travelling fans a night to really let go and be proud of.

Amsterdam, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(509 words, 1 image, estimated 2:02 mins reading time)

Damien Dempsey, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool.

Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Originally published by L.S. Media. October 17th 2011.

L.S. Media Rating *****

There is no two ways about it; a Damien Dempsey show is always going to be special, when it’s part of a double header involving Liverpool’s own Amsterdam then it’s going to considered the type of brilliant evening that anything else going on in Liverpool that night may as well resign itself to being relegated to small talk the following morning.

Damien Dempsey, Gig Review. o2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(435 words, 1 image, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

The Straits, Gig Review. Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

Originally published by L.S. Media. October 19th 2011.

L.S. Media Rating ****

In the 80’s Dire Straits were by far one of the biggest bands on the planet. They were loved by people who just bought one album, adored by millions who had followed the band’s career and adulated and remembered for one particular song that had a cutting edge video, insanely brilliant riff attached to it and lyrics that resonated with an audience ready to throw off the shackles of the 1970’s.

The Straits, Gig Review. Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. full post

(405 words, 1 image, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

Withering Looks, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. October 23rd 2011.

Direction: Noreen Kershaw.

Cast: Sue Ryding, Maggie Fox.

LSMedia Rating: ****

The company’s name may be Lip Service but the two actors who make up this wonderful duo do more than pay the barest glimpse into the lives of two of the leading literary lights of the 19th Century, they bring Charlotte and Emily Bronte to life in a way not thought of but in a style that was highly original and warmly greeted by all those in attendance.

Withering Looks, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(371 words, 1 image, estimated 1:29 mins reading time)

Thomas Dolby, Map Of The Floating City. Album Review.

L.S Media Rating **** Stars

Thomas Dolby has never really been a man who let convention get in the way of anything he wanted to achieve or put out for his fans to take part in.  From the start of the new wave of keyboard and synthesised music explosion Thomas Dolby was there messing around with the rules and defying expectation with ground breaking music such as She Blinded Me With Science and the 1984 hit Hyperactive, both these songs still sounding deliciously odd but with a certain wonderment to them.

Thomas Dolby, Map Of The Floating City. Album Review. full post

(398 words, 1 image, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)