Category Archives: Live

The Bodacious Balalaika Band, Gig Review. 92 Degrees, Baltic Triangle, Liverpool. Threshold.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The Bodacious Balalaika Band, Threshold 2019. photograph by Ian D. Hall.

You have to go a fair distance to find yourself in Runcorn, it is not just a case of crossing a bridge out of the country of Merseyside, it is the will to hear something new and unusual and then think back to that the moment in just a few short years and see how influential it was. The first airing of the Russian instrument the balalaika, that debut moment when the astonishing aspect of power that three strings can bring to your soul, to fish in the waters of a memory that delighted you and now makes you completely hooked and wanting more.

The Bodacious Balalaika Band, Gig Review. 92 Degrees, Baltic Triangle, Liverpool. Threshold. full post

(512 words, 1 image, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)

Camilla Sky, Gig Review. 92 Degrees, Baltic Triangle, Liverpool. Threshold.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Camilla Sky at the Baltic Triangle’s 92 Degrees. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Above us there is only sky, if the songwriter is to be believed, and yet down to Earth Sky exists in harmony with her surroundings, the gentleness of a voice that is not afraid to conquer, to soar and float as if possessed by a butterfly caught on the breath of the wind but who can control the path of a hurricane, a Sky that can illuminate their surroundings must be praised for the beauty it reveals.

Camilla Sky, Gig Review. 92 Degrees, Baltic Triangle, Liverpool. Threshold. full post

(373 words, 1 image, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)

Kathryn Roberts And Sean Lakeman, Gig Review. Music Rooms, Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The winter is behind us, from across the southern moor that acts a warning for what is likely to befall the unseasoned and weary traveller as they venture into England’s two remote counties of Devon and Cornwall, comes a sound of majesty, of the calling card of the Folk tradition and beauty that regales in tales lost and wars won; all with the testimony of the odd murder here and there which really lights up the room as the clocks steady themselves to bring nature and the wisdom of standing still together in a fashion of tranquillity.

Kathryn Roberts And Sean Lakeman, Gig Review. Music Rooms, Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. full post

(446 words, estimated 1:47 mins reading time)

10CC, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2019).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There is a gracefulness to be thanked for, saluted even, when it comes to enjoying an evening in the presence of one of the finest songwriters of British Pop/Rock history; for when you are in the company of Graham Gouldman and 10cc you instinctively feel the elegance and accomplished hand of musical professionalism resound throughout the venue and reflect the light like diamonds of the faces of the sell-out crowds that give any evening its permanent vibe.

10CC, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2019). full post

(452 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

Joanne Shaw Taylor, Gig Review. O2 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There is nothing reckless about Joanne Shaw Taylor, wild and as full of tempestuous cosmic storms that erupt from the Sun as it gives into its cycle of moods but never reckless, never irresponsible with the hearts of those who seek to spend their time in her company. She is attentive to the soul with a smile beguilingly appearing as the notes hang in the air and the manner of expression is savoured, it is the dedication to her craft that has created such an explosive sound and one that is cared for on both sides of the stage.

Joanne Shaw Taylor, Gig Review. O2 Academy, Liverpool. full post

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

Steve Harley, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Steve Harley at the Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. March 2019. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

There are moments when you recognise just what the simple act of singing as an audience to the performer who has had you gripped in their words and music for a couple of hours can do to them, the acknowledgement that love is mutual, that this simple act can reduce them to a stunned state of happiness and perhaps sees them leave the stage with their emotional state of self-criticism reduced to the point of non-existence, lost for words but thanking all who can see their face as they move to the wings with the symbolic gesture of the nod of the head, the motion of reciprocated appreciation.

Steve Harley, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(515 words, 1 image, estimated 2:04 mins reading time)

Mackenzie James Cregan, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Give someone the chance to surprise you and they will undoubtedly take the opportunity provided and then credit it you when it matters, in their performance, in the way they stand up on any stage the world will provide, and then act with absolute decorum and pleasure.

Mackenzie James Cregan, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Brit Floyd, Gig Review. M & S Arena, Liverpool. (2019).

Liverpool Sound and Vision rating * * * * *

Ian Cattell of Brit Floyd, M & S Arena, Liverpool. February 2019. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

The zeitgeist can often be over rated, its meaning shrouded in a warped sense of nostalgia as we attempt to put our fingers on a pulse that stopped beating when we were no longer paying attention. We search in vain, we grasp the remnants of what made us tick to the clock buzzing inside our minds and we see Time as a complete picture, and not the fragmented illusion that it is, one in which we attempt to place the jigsaw pieces back together, seeing an all-embracing, beautiful sunset, not realising that the picture on the front of the box is actually one that bears no resemblance to what we remember.

Brit Floyd, Gig Review. M & S Arena, Liverpool. (2019). full post

(672 words, 1 image, estimated 2:41 mins reading time)

Mike And The Mechanics, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2019).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Mike and the Mechanics at the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool. February 2019. Photograph taken by, and used with the kind permission of Alan Hewitt.

Perhaps a first for a Liverpool audience, a sight of the strange turned talking point, to be greeted by the physical image of representations of four hot air balloons above the Philharmonic Hall stage, a symbol maybe of the heights that Mike and the Mechanics have strode for, to see beyond the horizon, a depiction feasibly of Phileas Fogg and his earnest wish to prove to the world that the impossible can be achieved with the right attitude and cast iron will.

Mike And The Mechanics, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2019). full post

(460 words, 1 image, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)

Only Child, Gig Review. Music Room, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The Music Room at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall has played host to the great and the good, it has become a place where a spiritual journey is undertaken, where reactions and passions run high, a meeting place perhaps where the Emotional Geography of the land finds a way to be paid out and given the detailed scrutiny once only available to those with a keen interest in ordnance survey, the peaks, the troughs and the places of interest that are always within walking distance but so few make the effort to explore.

Only Child, Gig Review. Music Room, Liverpool. full post

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