Tag Archives: Gig Review

Orange Room, Gig Review. Liverpool Calling, St Luke’s Church.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Like The Shadow Theatre, Orange Room remain a secret held close to the chest of their adopted city and whilst the band may hail from the other side of the world, their roots are now firmly fixed in Liverpool. They have bided their time, made all the right moves and honed their set and for those that were fortunate enough to be in the confines of St. Luke’s Church during the afternoon session of Liverpool Calling they were treated to a fine performance that will live long in the memory.

Orange Room, Gig Review. Liverpool Calling, St Luke’s Church. full post

(377 words, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)

Amsterdam, Gig Review. Liverpool Calling, St. Luke’s Church.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

There is something about the majesty; the feel of the past and what the Bombed Out Church of St. Luke’s stands for that just makes it a great place to watch live outdoor music. The gothic look, the refusal of a city to bend its knee towards oppressors, doubters and the shameful is all around the city and the life blood in its people. No more so than Ian Prowse and Amsterdam and as the band come on stage as part of Liverpool Calling, the sound, the joy and defiance from the audience gets notably louder. If ever there was a man who can get a crowd thumping the air whilst placing one hand over their chest in remembrance of the fallen then Ian Prowse is the man and Amsterdam are quite rightly the band of the day.

Amsterdam, Gig Review. Liverpool Calling, St. Luke’s Church. full post

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

Vasa, Gig Review. Liverpool Calling, St. Luke’s Church.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

One thing audiences inside the Bombed Out Church of St. Lukes may not have been expecting as part of Liverpool Calling was for a band to travel from Scotland, to take the long route march south, and perform for half an hour and then make their way back the same day north of the border. It certainly showed commitment and the music that Vasa provided in that short time on stage was not just scintillating but pretty awesome as well.

Vasa, Gig Review. Liverpool Calling, St. Luke’s Church. full post

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

The Shadow Theatre, Gig Review. Liverpool Calling. St, Luke’s Church.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

You can’t keep a musical secret for long in Liverpool. Eventually somebody somewhere will pipe up and say that this band are just amazing, fantastic, unreal or sometimes but thankfully rarely don’t bother they haven’t got a clue. It is the very nature of the city that its long antennae, its fingers ever ready to feel for a new pulse to keep the lifeblood of Liverpool fresh and exciting will come across an act that has been squirreling in a basement venue and thrust them out into the open for its citizens to marvel over.

The Shadow Theatre, Gig Review. Liverpool Calling. St, Luke’s Church. full post

(405 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

Moody Blues, Gig Review. Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

When the Moody Blues come to Liverpool, something magical seems to happen on stage that weaves its way through to the collective conscious of the audience and the spirit of the age. The  moment when the zeitgeist first took a firm grip on a group of lads from Birmingham, is seen once more as the three remaining members of one of the greatest bands to come from the second city give a towering performance that is both regal and befitting a crowd.

Moody Blues, Gig Review. Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. full post

(567 words, estimated 2:16 mins reading time)

The Words, Gig Review. The Shipping Forecast.

Liverpool Sound And Vision Rating * * *

Manchester’s The Words have been much hyped throughout their relatively short time together; however in The Shipping Forecast on a bright Liverpool evening it was not to be their night.

The band, which has just returned from recording in Austria, took to the stage late citing an unnamed “disaster” for their delay. As a result of this, their set was cut short and perhaps it was this unwanted confusion prior to the gig which would ultimately prove to be the decisive factor in a performance which just didn’t really get going.

The Words, Gig Review. The Shipping Forecast. full post

(486 words, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)

The Christians, Gig Review. The Atkinson, Southport.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

To undertake the task of performing two gigs in two very different venues in one day is perhaps something only Phil Collins would have thought of undertaking as part of raising awareness on the starving people in Ethiopia as part of Live Aid in 1985. However laudable, he did some help from all the organisers behind the event and the good fortune to have the luxury of Concorde to take him between London and Philadelphia.

The Christians, Gig Review. The Atkinson, Southport. full post

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

The Hummingbirds, Gig Review. The Atkinson, Southport.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

They are one of the great young bands and artists that call Liverpool their home. Alongside many others that in the last few years have made the city’s music addicts sit up and take notice of the new and tremendously exciting breed coming through, such as All We Are, Stealing Sheep, Path Unknown, Joe Symes and The Loving Kind, Only Child, Mono L.P.s, Matt Breen, Buckle Tongue, Rob Vincent and Carrianne Hayden, The Hummingbirds name has travelled far and wide, beyond the metaphorical city walls and out into the open world. People outside the city have once more discovered what makes Liverpool tick like no other in the U.K. and perhaps in the world.

The Hummingbirds, Gig Review. The Atkinson, Southport. full post

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

Roger Hodgson, Gig Review. Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

The last time Roger made a visit to Liverpool, not only did he give the performance that was filled with humour, grace and style but he left with the glowing ringing endorsement afforded to so very few by the discerning city audience, that Roger is a Scouser. Many musicians and actors, artists and performers, from every sphere and walk of life come to Liverpool, very few walk away with that type of praise echoing in their ears, especially from a Liverpool Philharmonic Hall audience.

Roger Hodgson, Gig Review. Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. full post

(579 words, estimated 2:19 mins reading time)

Crooked Wolf, Gig Review. Oxjam, The Ship Inn, Hoylake.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Wirral based group Crooked Wolf may have only been performing together for around a year but as they bask in the sunlight in The Ship Inn as part of the Oxjam event in Hoylake, the stirrings of something great has grown teeth and chewed its way through the past.

Crooked Wolf, Gig Review. Oxjam, The Ship Inn, Hoylake. full post

(461 words, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)