Category Archives: Live

Thom Morecroft, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

The vibe is just as important as the aftermath, the importance of feeling something in the air begin to glow, to shimmer with excitement, the build-up of atmosphere. The sense of the occasion grow like vines from the ground up, that vibe is what makes an evening become an event and when that event takes the attendee to places they thought they might not see again, when they feel the fine hairs on the back of their neck stand on end and the mind is completely transfixed to the point where they don’t know if anyone else is the room, that is when the vibe breaches the soul, that is when they know they have been taken to Heaven and back.

Thom Morecroft, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. full post

(525 words, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)

White Little Lies, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Celebration, we arguably don’t do it enough, or if we do then we do it for the wrong reasons, we find the excuse to congratulate almost anything and we often neglect the purposeful and the driven to our own cost.

It is in the resolute and focused aim that White Little Lies took to the stage at Studio 2, not even the spectre of November’s horrendous weather, the grey skies leaving its sternly fixed gaze over the Liverpool skyline could deter Daniel Saleh and Vanessa Murray from delivering a set full of mastery, poise and the squeal of delight from the audience.

White Little Lies, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. full post

(424 words, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

Two Black Sheep, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

In the right hands the combination of guitar and violin is one of extreme beauty, they complement each other, they add a mournful dynamic to joy, they imagine upbeat righteousness in the midst of passion and yet they also bring a sound of hope to a place where life is in need of comfort; it matters not if the sound is one of the ethereal or inscribed with a regimental jig, what matters is that the heart and soul of a song is joined together by the players and their instruments.

Two Black Sheep, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. full post

(393 words, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

Midge Ure, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2019).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

You always hope to catch the effervescent in a performance, the sincerity of the lively and the dynamic in the same thread of the act, whilst understanding that it is the memory of a certain time, of nostalgia, making the hairs on the back of the neck stand firmly to attention and the whisper of the music fall in love once more.

Midge Ure, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2019). full post

(497 words, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

Cal Ruddy, Gig Review. Studio 2. Liverpool. (2019).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cal Ruddy at Studio 2, Liverpool. October 2019. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

There is no greater sense of satisfaction in the eye of the gig attendee or fan than to witness the musician-songwriter emerge fully into the light, the cocoon shed, the wings spread out as wide as possible and the flight they are about to urge you to join them on. A journey that has been practised and perfected upon and then with visible joy etched upon the faces of all who present, the artist earns their wings; all you can do now after  all the support, all the concerns and applause is to wish them well, for the next time you hear about them it might be with a personal postcard sent from Elliston Place.

Cal Ruddy, Gig Review. Studio 2. Liverpool. (2019). full post

(527 words, 1 image, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)

Jimmy And The Revolvers, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. (2019).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Jimmy And The Revolvers, Studio 2, Liverpool. October 2019. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Such is the music provided in the last ten years by what was once Liverpool’s fledgling music community, it would be forgivable to admit that you might not have been able to see every band that has frequented the pubs, the back stages and for some the recognition afforded by the larger venues that the city has to offer. However, there will always be a part of Liverpool that will belong to Jimmy and the Revolvers, a voice that emulates that of one of Liverpool’s favourite sons, Gerry Marsden and a vibe that sits at the heart of modern transposed joy, and to witness it live, for a first time, for a hundredth time, or perhaps for a last time, is to understand what you loved about music in the first place.

Jimmy And The Revolvers, Gig Review. Studio 2, Liverpool. (2019). full post

(378 words, 1 image, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Alice Cooper, Gig Review. First Direct Arena, Leeds.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Pure theatre and the exotic pleasure of the captivating soul. There are many ways you can perhaps look at the life and performances of Alice Cooper, undoubtedly, he is first and foremost a showman, the ringmaster to whom nobody can rival, except maybe P.T. Barnum himself.

Alice Cooper, Gig Review. First Direct Arena, Leeds. full post

(401 words, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

The Stranglers, Gig Review. First Direct Arena, Leeds.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

It is possible to let the music-driven mind deliver itself to a conclusion that nothing can ever truly stop The Stranglers, not even silence.

The sound of the stirring anthem, the call to arms that resides in the heart of the band’s much loved intro, Waltz In Black, came to pass with anticipation and delight; it was palpable, the arena in Leeds matching the expectant buzz to come from the main performance of Alice Cooper and arguably the same sense of passion that older fans of the city’s football team once wrapped themselves in as they pushed on their support to the eventual top flight league title at the start of the 1990s.

The Stranglers, Gig Review. First Direct Arena, Leeds. full post

(430 words, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

Belinda Carlisle, Gig Review. Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

It takes stamina and fortitude to tame the strength of Runaway Horses, however, on the odd occasion they can also be brought to heel by the grace and beauty of a performance which has never diminished from the first faltering steps and through to the accomplished portrayal of one who has seen and done it all with fire coursing through their veins.

Belinda Carlisle, Gig Review. Symphony Hall, Birmingham. full post

(443 words, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

Eagles, Gig Review. M & S Bank Arena, Liverpool. (2019).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

It would have always been at the back of the mind of the Eagles fan, that if they didn’t see them perform in Liverpool on their 2014 tour, it was quite possible they might never see them again. After all the band had not called in to the city for quite some time before that, and with the passing of Glen Frey in 2016, that performance was to be likely the last time in which an audience would see them.

Eagles, Gig Review. M & S Bank Arena, Liverpool. (2019). full post

(575 words, estimated 2:18 mins reading time)