Liverpool Sound and Vision Raring * * * *
The New Year brings a fresh new gathering of top notch musicians to the forefront of live performing in Liverpool and in Leaf on Bold Street, the year got off to a marvellous start with the cracking sound of Silent Sleep.
Fronted by Chris McIntosh and with a cast of veritable thousands on stage, Silent Sleep made a dull January evening, not always the best time of year with the ensuing damp and bitter cold hitting the city, a night of fun and quiet musical contemplation which was enjoyable and nonetheless beautiful.
Chris McIntosh started the set bravely on his own on stage, however such is the power of his guitar playing, the strength of character in his voice and the generous ability he displays in his lyric writing that the audience doesn’t focus on the empty stage around him, they are too busy taking pleasure in the song as is their right. After Chris finished the opening number of Liked Me After All, the band started to filter through to their various instruments and gave an excellent account of themselves; even with the wonderful self-deprecation of Chris McIntosh insisting that after one particular song, it was the most fun the audience were going to have. Nothing could be further from the truth.
With Graham Jones, Claire Heaslip, John Gibbons, Andrew Donovan, Elaine Sykes and Olly Gorman providing the accomplished musical framework for the great songs, it was impossible to see anyone who wasn’t tapping their feet in delight and satisfaction at what they were watching.
The set list was littered with some cracking tunes and many that were thought provoking in their intensity. Songs such as It Breaks Me, the new single Colour Me In and the epic sounding We’ve Fallen Out all added a certain gravitas to the evening. The band finished their part of the show with the fantastic Black Tide, the nostalgically sounding Bombed Out Church and Walk Me To The Sea.
There can be times when too many musicians on stage can kill an evening; Silent Sleep proved beyond any doubt that it is more than achievable to give a great night out no matter how many are on stage.
Ian D. Hall