Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Michael Bennett at Constellations, Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

It seems only right after all that the velvet tones of Michael Bennett should be on show at some point during this year’s Liverpool Calling, a weekend of music held across several venues and with even greater scope than perhaps had been imagined when the team behind the festival started out. What has always been a certain fact though is just how good Mr. Bennett has become over the years, the sound of velvet doesn’t come by accident, it takes dedication and hard work, the muster of any serious and patient performer.

If you had caught Michael Bennett at the original Liverpool Calling’s when they were held in the auspicious gaze of the bombed-out Church of St. Luke’s, or even anywhere in the city over the last few years, then all that was once – still remains, a reassuring presence, a mind that you can only suspect has the ability to go at a 100 miles an hour and yet be so patient that each song is lingered over till it becomes spotless; a clean and inspiring memory to hold onto for dear life.

Competing against a major sports tournament is one thing that can decimate any city’s cultural aspirations, whether in one day or across a month, that being said, Liverpool is different, the town that draws its life blood from its ability to go against almost everything that the rest of the country often dictates, people will still come out and uses to, because it is fair and it is right, and by doing so an early afternoon crowd can be found in attendance and giving the attention that someone like Michael Bennet fully deserves.

With songs such as Roll Up, Tuesday, Asking The Questions, Creeping Around, Soundless Plea and Red Jeans Supersonic all leaving a considerable mark on the afternoon’s indelible soul, what was striking about the time on stage was just how serene it sounded, an ache of times past perhaps caught up in the modern world where life is too busy to stop and listen with care; whichever way it goes, Michael Bennett is a man to whom a song is a work of art, to whom must be framed and live by the canvas no matter what.

A serenade of passion on an early Saturday afternoon, when the world’s attention is on the other side of the continent, Liverpool still comes out to see Michael Bennett perform. A gorgeous and unhindered set of songs that captivated the ear.

Ian D. Hall