Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There are many lyrical geniuses walking the Earth, and long there may be so, for the world would be a place of desolation and rampant fettered hegemony controlled by those with no sense of humour or in some cases not an ounce of poetry in their soul. Their main concern the next big hit that has been written somewhere in a mansion and something that appeals to the wallet rather than the feeling of what the lyrics and music combined mean.

Whilst there are lyrical masters, no matter what genre they ply their wares within, as long as their poets who can place their trust in words, no matter how bizarre the component of the song, there will always be those willing to listen to someone who makes madness of the alleged normative world and with a sense of style and outrageously unrestricted smile.

For the fans of Graham Gouldman who made their way to the Epstein Theatre in time to hear the support act Vinny Peculiar, this unhampered sense of musical freedom set the night up as wonderfully as you could ask.

Vinny Peculiar is no stranger to the Epstein Theatre and the last time he was on stage he gave a superb account of his and Paul Arthur’s band Parlour Flames. With Ollie Collins and Rob Steadman beside him, Vinny Peculiar took the avant-garde, the sense of anti-pop establishment and let it roam as free as a great gag on the internet. The artist is certainly not obstructed in his lyrics and where some might wonder where you go in a song talking about the sought after refuge of a clothing catalogue, Vinny Peculiar understands that the everyday should be spoken about, lovingly if possible, scathing and the swift brutal kick to the musical underbelly if not.

The half hour set, which included great songs such as English Village, the superb Judy Wood, the excellent and with the uniquely British sense of humour, Catalogue Trousers, the nod to the giant of culture that stands proudly erect between Liverpool and the Scottish border in Anthony Gormley and the wonderfully titled Jesus Christ stole my Girlfriend, was well received and a genuine touch of disappointment ran through the aisles as his set came to a close.

With the tantalising temptation of a new album out at some point, surely it won’t be long before this magician of the surreal poetic tale will be back thrilling the audiences and giving them something new to think about. Fettered hegemony never had a better antagonist in which it had to be wary of.

Ian D. Hall