Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It feels strange to go to a gig in a part of the country not normally known for holding concerts and seeing a group perform with the benefit of a marvellous new album behind them but not hearing any tracks from it. For Gary Maginnis and The Like it was a bold move that worked mainly because the music they played was on par with anything they have put down on Ghost Town Blues and executed with the same deft precision.

For many who made their way to The Ship Inn in Hoylake as part of The Festival of Firsts that was gripping the audiences in the small Wirral seaside town, if they had gone into The Ship Inn in check out the delights of hearing some of the tracks Ghost Town Blues live they may have felt slightly disappointed, however it is an enjoyment that is deferred rather than delayed and that tracks the three lads performed with their guitars humming louder than the ripple and cheers of applause than the sound of the cricket emanating from Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

With their chosen tracks making a powerful statement on the great sound they possess between them, the new songs may have been missed but were soon forgotten for a short while. Opening up with Open Road and Waves Will Break  was a huge plus and would have been worthy of dynamic and prolonged applause had they been performing in front of a larger afternoon audience or in a venue where they were opening up for one of the many established rock bands that the city of Liverpool has now in abundance.

With a short time to impress the group played three more tracks and added to the heat that people were feeling due to the fine summer weather. Walk Home, the excellent Out Of My Way and the great Guide Light showed that the lads were not just able to produce a superb album but able to confound established practice and perform tracks that audiences may not have recognised at all but still managed to charm and ingratiate themselves into the affections of those there to see a sizzling set.

Ian D. Hall