Red Winter in Bootle, July 2016. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Life will always throw a curve ball, you don’t need to find yourself at any American Baseball park to understand that, you just need to know that at times what the day may have held in store, can turn out to be infinitely more interesting and filled with more passion than a 21st century television version of Wuthering Heights or Lady Chatterley’s Lover.
You cannot help but be drawn to Red Winter, there is a savagery and collected cool that combines together as if plotting to take over the world and leave the sky burning in fire; it is an ethic that is deliberate, cunning and fully warranted as the band progress through their energy charged set and the glimpse into a realm that is not only real but justified to be sang about.
It is a world in which Bootle perhaps can be seen as being part of, the drain of people as they leave to move further north up the coast, or just that little bit south to enjoy the full benefits in which a 21st Century city like Liverpool can provide; people forget some towns because they must but as the rage, hidden so well in the lyrical groove and pounding heartbeat of instruments settling scores with Time, went on unabated, as the smooth sound of grace made the Bootle sky weep, Red Winter took the day into their own hands and made an offering of greatness to the crowd.
It was the rush of blood, the synapses burning with the tangible thrill that caught the attention and one that must be repeated as often as possible, lest the feeling becomes dampened and left to grow weary. In songs such as Fault In You, Reckless Abandon, the cruelty and harshness that seeps out in Some Friend and the finale of Real World, Red Winter dominated the scene and looked at it with finite glory. The broken windows on the old Johnsons factory, the neglect of St. Andrews Church, all tie in locally with the feeling of being forgotten as part of the local culture and national thought; yet resurgence comes and as these songs made clear, by having one day, just a brief moment for the local crowd, hope can spring, can flower where previously only despair and rust stood.
A tremendously enjoyable set by Red Winter who basked in the Bootle summer sun!
Ian D. Hall