Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
If life is offering you nothing but Blues, then without any argument or sense of guilt the only thing that should be done is too take in the performance of a true link between the golden heyday of Blues, and its natural platinum standard of the 21st Century, that of the ever graceful American, and passionate guitar player, Robert Cray; it is a performance that thrill the bones of anyone, Anytime.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Temptation is either driven by the absolute desire to possess something that should never be yours, or by the smallest introduction to something that is beautiful, the latter not to own, but to at least explore, to take charge of feeling inadequate of not having seen its sparkling joy descend before your eyes before.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Danielle Hope, Luke Walsh, Kevin Kennedy, Lucas Rush, Zoe Birkett, Sam Ferriday, Rhiannon Chesterman, Andrew Carthy, Vas Constanti, Erin Bell, Alexander Day, Joshua Dever, Sinead Kenny, Adam Strong, Bobby Windebank, Saran Webb, Paris Green, Ryan-Lee Seager.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Gerard Kearns, Elinor Lawless, Robbie O’ Neill, Russell Richardson.
In our act of observance, of recording the facts of a certain situation so that if justice needs to be served, it is done so without bias, without favouritism and with impartiality at the forefront of truth, we can find ourselves in the unwarranted position of being accused of being involved with the crime at hand, or finding our name being labelled as a traitor. To observe, to witness history in the eyes of the pacifist is to know that death by other’s actions is always a possibility, it might just depend which side decides to pull the trigger.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: John Wark, Alexandra Guelff, Matthew Kelly, Veronica Roberts, Benjamin Chandler, David Yelland, Robert Mountford.
Almost half a century on from his death, the writing, the conscious of one of Britain’s most revered poets, not only of the 20th Century, but arguably of all time, hangs over the nation like Banquo’s Ghost at the table, accusing in many ways the country of neglecting its soul, of pursuing a course of action in which poems such as September 1st 1939 have been forgotten in their entirety, the message of W.H. Auden becoming an almost whimsy-like fascination. It is perfectly acceptable for the poet to come to hate his own creations, become embarrassed by them, shun them even, but a nation should never forget the deep riches left by the fire, singed, but never completely turned to ash.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
All good memories fade eventually, perhaps not disappearing forever, never completely out of grasp, but they do fade, they might lose their lustre, the moment when you declared a love forever lost to age, responsibility and the unknowing regret of not designed neglect, that is life, a passion for the always in your sight, replaced by the allure of other more tangible and currently immediate passions.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
History is a place where the modern-day eye falls sharply, and arguably with some personal antagonism, into the realm of judgement and criticism. It is a place that people forget the modern age in which we breathe our daily dust in, will also one day be criticised, pored over with unsentimental eyes and the feeling of damned ill-favour. To stand in the way of that judgement, to carry on producing great songs of lyrical poetry, of music that is powerful in its intent, and demanding in its delivery, that is verging on the heroic, it is to remain resolute in the face of those who dare suggest with snide lips, that nothing of the days that have passed is relevant anymore.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
When there are no more worlds in which to conquer, the explorer lays down their map and their compass, and slowly, but surely, disappears into the background, eventually merging with the times and places they have discovered. For many of us that holds true, the vast majority of those around you stop discovering many years before their time, they take out the compass one final time, put the backpack of half ideas formed, and then take root and watch the camp fire flicker with memories that slowly turn to dust and the tear of what was once passed.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Caro Emerald at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, October 2018. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
The Queen of European Jazz waves her hand in time to the motion of the scintillating sound that clutches at the air of inspiration and unrequited love, it is a flourish that gives the audience the memory of Time, of understanding that the genre in which Caro Emerald has become the iconic figure and sound, requires at all times, to flow, to be constantly in flux, that the beat that has carried her towards the figure of 100 live performances in the U.K. alone, is a constant wild animal that needs handling with almost regal, and maternal care.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
A Dutch invasion and surrounded by the scent of intrigue and the possible hint of tulips that hangs in the air, a purveyance, a regal like flourish to the autumn serenade in which Caro Emerald, the undisputed Queen of European Jazz, returns to Liverpool, and alongside her in the carriage of musical expression, something, a passion for expression, a dominating thought of what we might miss as a society if we continue to turn our collective backs on Europe, the artistry of the young, of the timeless, and of the Netherland’s own Loren Nine.