Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Occasionally life grants you a moment to look beyond the emerald veil, the eyes of the wizard looking down on you with kindness rather than mischief, a single glance at a performer who embraces a feeling of non-conformity but who has the range to delight and make music seem simple, honest and with just the right amount of poetry in their soul in which to open your heart to them.
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We are only human after all, and we can all be lured by the seemingly ripe berries of another bush but in the end we always return cap in hand and contrite to a love that remains undiminished, one that greets us with a broad grin, a smile that is enchanting and real, not one engrossed in delivering a plastic set of rules. Instead, one who will come out on stage and perform with natural ease that time doesn’t just fly in their company, it purrs like a finely tuned vehicle along crowded British streets and one that the driver is more than happy to show you every single point of interest along the way.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
You can attempt to capture the conscious of a king, you may have the ear of a president but for some the insistence that you cannot capture the soul of a Duke is the most sacred of idioms, the utmost of respects delivered, after all, the soul and image, the words and thoughts of a Duke are surely only ever realised when it comes from the mind of David Bowie.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
There is no greater recognition of the art than that which reflects on its greatness, whilst looking at it from a different angle, of gaining a new perspective.
In an age where music is being redefined by the artist to include remixes, and in some cases what can only be described as adulterations, to the original cause, it is perhaps an idea in which can be seen as beautifully engaging, or arguably bemoaned by others as art for arts’ sake, and one that brought a new dynamic, an innovative flavour to the Liverpool Empire stage, as King Crimson brought their talent to an audience, which for many would have been their first live undertaking.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
In another place, perhaps in one which the overhead skies are permanently blue, the sun shines down with the kindness of a first date in summer and with the sizzling aroma of food being cooked for the hungry but dedicated masses, then having three support acts, or more, is arguably one in which the audiences can really get their teeth into. Aside from the logistics of such an action when held indoors and with limited time available, the feeling is one in which a support act to the main event gets some recognition but doesn’t have enough time in which to truly either leave their mark on the memory of the assembled.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
There were always so many bands that were knocking on the door of the Metal scene as the genre exploded, groups that encompassed the complexity of style and the openness of lyrical exploration. Whilst Britain and America had the monopoly for a generation, if we were to look at the time afresh, would fans struggle of the concept of the big four, where would bands from the rest of Europe, South America and beyond fit into this seemingly timeless conglomerate, would it not encompass a far broader base of Metal as Metallica seemed to take the avenue down and leaving the Thrash behind.
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There is still time, an illusionary discourse perhaps as all things must eventually fade from view but as we approach our own deal with our makers and accept that we cannot go on forever, so we begin to see Time as our witness, our star spectator and possible judge. For Time is the harshest critic and the kindest of opponents, Time is the beat between the strings of the truculent guitar, the pulse in the drum pattern and the throb of delight as the lyrics of a career fill a venue, the volume drowning the thought that in the end, everybody says goodbye one final time.
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Even the sternest downpour on any given day in Birmingham would find it demanding, a grim and tiresome challenge, to attempt to quell the fire in the hearts of Florida’s Obituary and their fans; a monsoon of emotions erupting as the first toll of the metal bell was heard, the swathe of the audience that had made sure of their places for the first act of four to grace the Birmingham Arena, a notice given, the tributes written possibly in advance, retirement for the main event of the evening. For Obituary, the rain that had fallen, the deluge that had swept over the city streets, was soon forgotten, this was a return to the Birmingham public and one that was greeted with heated passion.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
There is no such thing as the background, no place where silence can truly be the dominating factor, not when you are an artist. It matters not where the artist resides, their field, their chosen place of expression, what others may consider to be a place of no production, is in fact a factory of ideas being turned over, modified, refined, tested and worried over; just because you don’t understand the process in which the artist has to find that special muse, does not mean they aren’t being productive.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Extravaganza is a large word to live up to, it holds an allusion in its embracing hands that few can seriously make peace with, that many fold under the pressure of pursuing, the sense of the spectacular image being torn down by the performer as the sentence and expectations of the public become downed by the realisation that nothing truly can ever top the bill to the point where baited-breath and eyes on stalks witnesses such majesty.