Anna Corcoran at the Unity Theatre, Liverpool. September 2014. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

This is the show, arguably the only performance in town that would grab the attention of so many on a night when the news, both local and international, in which could prize the heart away from what used to be called despairingly interesting times. For Anna Corcoran, the sweet deftness of a long lingering caress on a keyboard that responds with a nod of approval and its own commendation, is an hour of time that goes by so fast and yet you feel its effect long after you have got home and played the gig over in your mind as dreams embrace your quivering soul.

Despite Ms. Corcoran living away from Liverpool now, her home crowd will always welcome her back with so much love, that young teenagers would recognise the signs and carefully compose prodigious sonnets; such is the recognition of Anna’s wonderful arrangements and her take on several classic songs.

With Mike Smith’s sublime sax, Tom Cowley, Etienne Gerard and the beautiful cello playing of Stephanie E. Kearley, the set was strewn with music in which a rampaging beast, snarling and in the mood for the fight of its life, would stop in its tracks, pull up a comfortable chair and soon become a ticklish, inquisitive kitten.

Songs such as And Winter Came, Bat for Lashes’ Laura, the superb Anything Better, the newly rechristened Horizon’s Waiting, Ever The Pain and Anna’s crowning moment so far, the unbelievably good The Show being performed to within an inch of their lives, the depth of love for each song and Ms. Corcoran herself was taken to a level in which The Unity Theatre’s audience could only marvel at the spectacle unveiling before them.

Anna and her two support acts then completed the evening with a stunning version of Steve Winwood’s classic song Higher Love. To go out on such an astronomical moment of musical heritage was a brave but ultimately fulfilling, tremendously uplifting, choice.

Anna Corcoran will be launching a pledge drive later this year in support of releasing a new album. With her past recording history and her sheer ability to hold an audience’s attention, this particular pledge drive is one in which to join.

The Unity Theatre has had the fortune in the past to host some incredible nights, music, art, theatre and spoken word, with Anna Corcoran’s headline show on a deeply hot September evening, that list was more than ably added to. A set delivered with the caress of the softest velvet touch. A show in which to hold yourself within its special type of comfort for as long as possible and regale to as many as will listen, for beauty is always worth paying tribute to.

Ian D. Hall