Tag Archives: 02 Academy

BlackWolf, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Very few groups with the musical background of BlackWolf get the type of reception that this quality band received at their support slot to The Union at the o2 Academy. Liverpool rarely does the harder, more extreme side to rock, it is an area that usually gets left down the other end of the M6 Motorway in Birmingham and Wolverhampton or jets past and finds itself up in Scotland. So when the members of BlackWolf came on stage, it was with a gladdened heart that the crowd, still suffering with the cold that the Spring day had bought to them, took as readily as they did to the five piece and their blistering, head banging set.

BlackWolf, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(432 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

The Crucified Twins, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

There was an extra bonus for the fans that took a chance on turning up early for The Union’s debut gig in Liverpool on a very cold spring day and as bonus’ go they don’t come much better than The Wirral band The Crucified Twins.

The Crucified Twins, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(360 words, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)

Trillium, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool.

Amanda Somerville of Trillium. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It’s a long way from Flushing in Michigan to the delights of one of Liverpool’s major music venues but there is something that the two areas have in common and that is the adoration Amanda Somerville is able to command as part of the Symphonic/Progressive metal group Trillium.

To open for the premier Midlands Rock band Magnum is a huge honour and one that is not given easily but Amanda Somerville and her creatively intelligent band have more than earned that right and proceeded to prove the point over and over again during the early part of the evening.

Trillium, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(390 words, 1 image, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

Magnum, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool.

Tony Clarkin of Magnum. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

No matter how times Magnum come to Liverpool, the five members that make up the premier Midlands rock band give a show worthy of their incredible pedigree and vivid and descriptive music.

The o2 Academy in Liverpool has played host to Bob Catley, Tony Clarkin, Mark Stanway, Al Barrow and Harry James on several occasions and each time the five men step out on stage the reception they receive is akin to any of the local bands that make Liverpool the burgeoning powerhouse of 21st century music. On the back of the band’s latest release, the critically acclaimed On The Thirteenth Day, Magnum were once again lauded by their fans of the North-West.

Magnum, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(389 words, 1 image, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)

Citizen Fish, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It can be completely absurd sometimes to see a band so geometrically at odds with the ethos of the main act that a casual observer may question the ethics of putting two such disparate groups together on the same bill. With the fantastic Citizen Fish supporting The Levellers at the o2 Academy, Liverpool on an impassioned night, there were no such worries at all.

Citizen Fish are sublime, a welcome antidote to pop greed that stutters and skulks its way through mainstream television and subverts the national conscious. In this there couldn’t have been a finer band to perform their anti-corporation music than the Bath group.

Citizen Fish, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(359 words, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)

Levellers, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool.

Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

A darkened o2 Academy is a place of wonder, the expectation can come filtering through the shadows and the tension is almost palatable and worth bottling for sale. A band can, in the time that it takes to walk from the downstairs dressing rooms to the exposed stage in front of a capacity crowd, become kings for the night or drown in their sorrows after the evening has ended. One such group that always plays at the very highest of their ability and performs incredibly well live is the men that make up The Levellers.

Levellers, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(409 words, 1 image, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)

Electric Six, 02 Academy. Gig Review. Liverpool.

The band have been termed as “genre blurring” by some members of the music press and it’s easy to see why; not only do you get the visual of early rock bands plying their trade and some guitar riffs that would make any self respecting rocker proud to call their own but you get the disco prog, high camp feel of Mott The Hoople infused with parts of metal, Garage and new wave. Certainly a band that covers every taste!

Electric Six, 02 Academy. Gig Review. Liverpool. full post

(383 words, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

Hippy’s On The Hill, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. June 23rd 2009.

From time to time if you are lucky, you get to see a young band on stage who just simply blow you away. Sometimes you think they might be a flash in the pan, that you just got fortunate enough to catch them on a good night. Not so with Hippy’s on the Hill.

These four local lads have got talent by the bucket load and an attitude that is refreshing and unexpected, especially when you see that that the average age of the foursome is just 16.

Hippy’s On The Hill, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(244 words, estimated 59 secs reading time)

The Levellers, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool.

otograph by Ian D. Hall

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 4th 2011.

In the space of five days The Liverpool Academy plays host to three bands that symbolise the desire and want for change that permeates through the news in these austere times. With Liverpool’s own Amsterdam playing on the Saturday and then one of the finest bands to ever step foot on a stage, The Stranglers, on Tuesday, there couldn’t have been a better band to open up this three day mini spectacular than The Levellers.

The Levellers, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool. full post

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

Funeral For a Friend, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 29th 2011.

With five studio albums to their name, Funeral for a Friend can be considered at the top of the game right now when it comes to giving intimate, sweaty and fast tackling gigs. With a new studio album, Welcome Home Armageddon, not long released, fans of the Welsh band may have found it hard to get to grips with the direction the band have taken, but rest assured on stage, they are as cool, driven and manic as they ever were.

Funeral For a Friend, Gig Review. 02 Academy, Liverpool. full post

(350 words, estimated 1:24 mins reading time)