Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
No matter what you throw at Anna Corcoran; be it the sound of a blender going berserk in the background of an prominent gig during Liverpool’s Sound City, the raucous and ecstatic birthday celebrations that greeted her as she went on stage to celebrate the second anniversary of Ian Prowse’s Monday Night Club on Mathew Street or even the road system that connects the city that she calls home and the Northumbrian community in which she lives in, she gives her absolute and unfiltered attention to her work.
As she performs with a beguiling, almost entrancing sense of dedication and more than a delicate hint of sensuality and sensitivity at the Unity Theatre for their seventh riveting acoustic night, it was almost possible to hear the eyebrows of those attending the gig rise in awe as she and her music entranced the audience perfectly.
Following on from Dave O’ Grady who had already blown away the crowd, most of whom were catching the young Irishman for the first time, would have been a daunting prospect for anyone but just watching Anna approach the piano from out of the gloom is like watching a bright light being shone against the darkness and the Unity Theatre space and growing steadily clearer revealing this talented and wonderfully vocal woman who give music yet another reason to fall in love.
The hushed quiet of the audience fuelled the fire of Anna’s performance and as her set continued, the confidence and lightness grew with her. By the time she finished the beam on her face would have lit of the meanest and terrifying of black holes. With tracks such as the opener Sail Away, the pleasing Joni Mitchell song Woodstock, the title of her phenomenally cool Anything Better, a re-worked version of Drunk Girl, the new track Tied Up With A Ribbon which thrilled the crowd and the beautifully haunting The Show.
The Show is perhaps one of the great tracks of the year so far and the subtle acoustics of The Unity Theatre only further enhanced this excellent tune and the reputation that Ms.Corcoran has maintained in Liverpool.
A great set by Ms. Corcoran and the applause that rang out around the Unity One would have certainly been pleasing and justified for everyone in attendance.
Ian D. Hall