Mike Flaherty at Zanzibar, Liverpool. January 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

The word interesting is one of the befuddled words that has changed its meaning over the years as each generation turns the English language inside out and makes it its own. Interesting and sick are two that seem to have almost swapped places as if in a Mark Twain historical novel and yet to those who see the words as they originally intended, interesting is a thing of beauty that is motivating and worthy of note and that certainly applies to the presence and appealing magnitude that resides in the soul of Mike Flaherty.

In a night of quality music that is always assured by the Zanzibar Club, Mike Flaherty took the early evening attendees through their musical paces and was not only heart-warmingly interesting but attention-grabbing to the point that the five songs he performed were not nearly enough to revel in.

Even one song though is enough to form the semblance of an idea of how good someone actually is and in Mike Flaherty, one song gets the juices flowing and a smile of expectation firmly rooted to even the most disgruntled of faces.

Interesting is as interesting does, we all have the capability to be more than we are, some just offer it in a different way, some have the sheer honesty attached to their performance to make them memorable, no matter how short a time they appear before your eyes.

With songs, a well versed loop pedal and a guitar that took more knocks than public opinion on election day; Mike Flaherty unfurled tracks such as the set opener Dream Thief, Next To The Sea and Restless Night and gave the crowd an insight into the surefooted capability beating within his musical abstract heart and in the wonderful Isolated Self, showcased a song of imaginative dexterity.

If only time would find a way to slow down at times so that the enjoyment could last a little longer, then interesting might take its rightful meaning back, in Mike Flaherty, interesting is most certainly a dynamic and motivating ideal.

Ian D. Hall