Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

The vibe is assured, the sense of what drove the Summer of Love from the far off beaches of Los Angeles, of the cool sunglasses wearing bohemia that sent out a shock wave of hope across the states of America and in amongst turbulent times, in the fear that was almost catastrophic and inescapable, a light shined brightly, it took hold manifested itself and saw it become a serious movement, one all to brief, one all too short but nevertheless one that burned optimistically for the most wonderful of moments.

The sense of the Progressive, of the allusion to vaudeville and the scenic which is fiercely driven along, is one that is captured with poise and charm by The Cherry Bluestorms, one of America’s most ingenious groups and one that deserves hearty recognition.

In a world where even a video of someone eating food garners more attention socially than a band of high drama and taste, there is something wrong, fundamental, extraordinarily wrong and yet there is always hope and as the 15^th International Pop overthrow laid down its Wednesday night pattern of great music and overseas confidence, The Cherry Bluestorms stood up to the plate and blew the dust out of the valves and the stalking despair and delivered a set of true quality.

Following on the back of the band’s exquisite single release See No Evil/Dear Prudence, it was only inevitable that the sublime Deborah Gee, Glen Laughlin and Mark Francis White would once again grace the I.P.O. and turn on the heat, turn on the seduction and give a show worthy of Liverpool’s embrace of the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Liverpool, it is often quoted, may be in England but only seen from the back, the face of this beautiful heroine on the banks of The Mersey, the strident force and arguably the conscious to which London’s Westminster circus wishes it could ignore, always has its eyes to Ireland and America and it is no wonder that people make their way to The Cavern to see such interesting groups as The Cherry Bluestorms.

With songs such as Daisy Chain, As Above So Below and True Heart Wears A Thorny Crown being played to a huge crowd, the sensation of having seen one of the coolest bands to come out of America in the last decade, finally and forever surely hit home upon those in the audience on a hot May evening.

A tremendous band to be included in this year’s I.P.O., a dream of a performance.

Ian D. Hall