It’s December, and time to deck the halls with boughs of plastic holly and cheap tinsel from one of those temporary Christmas shops. Ah, yes, the season of goodwill, good food, good drink, and good company, is also the season of crap presents, nauseating Christmas music, and chronic indigestion. But we love it really, don’t we?
However, Christmas does tend to play havoc with the schedules of weekly and monthly events, so if you’re planning on going out to an acoustic event then it’s always worth checking beforehand just to see if it’s still due to take place. If you turn up to an event and you’re the only one there you’ll feel like a right turkey, won’t you?
SPOTLIGHT
In the Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight for December 2008 is Campbell Todd. Neil Campbell and Stuart Todd have been performing together for many years in one guise or another. Their collaboration as Campbell Todd came to an end earlier this year, but has since been revived for a series of one-off gigs in December and into 2009. The Spotlight audio show and blog showcases the Campbell Todd partnership and plays four of their best solo and joint songs. You can listen to the show on the Liverpool Acoustic homepage, but if you want to read the shownotes, and catch up on previous shows, then you should visit the Spotlight page.
DIARY
December’s diary is, not surprisingly, less busy than the three months from September to November. However, with the regular supply of open mic nights, folk clubs, and showcase events there’s still plenty of festive acoustic cheer to go round.
If you fancy braving the winter weather then here are a few December highlights for you :-
Monday 1st – Come Strut Your Stuff kicks off the season of advent with a feast of poetry and acoustic music. It takes place at The Egg Cafe on Newington and is hosted by Liverpool Acoustic’s Graham Holland, plus special guest co-host Wesley Byrne. The festivities are free, and kick off at 8pm – although if you want to perform then be there before 7.45 to get your name on the list.
Friday 5th – The Kevin Critchley Outfit perform their final gig of the year at The Zanzibar. However, you might have to flip a coin to decide between that, the Music@Mocha night, and Ragz’s end of tour concert at The Unity.
Saturday 6th – Alistair Said is holding an intimate evening of acoustic music at The Domino Gallery on Upper Newington, with guests Campbell Todd. If you’re looking for something a little bigger then the Family Folk-up are celebrating the season with their Winter Warm-up at their regular St Brides venue.
Friday 12th – With the temporary suspension of the Saturday night Acoustic Bliss gigs (see News and Reviews below) we have to be content with the return of Acoustic Dream, upstairs at The Zanzibar. It’s another great night of acoustic music raising money for a worthy cause.
Saturday 13th – If The X-Factor Grand Final isn’t for you then why not check out The Lancashire Hotpots? Famous for such instant classics as Chippy Tea, Keys Wallet Phone, and He’s Turned Emo, our flat cap-wearing chums from the Red Rose County will be entertaining the masses with a Christmas spectacular!
Thursday 18th – The monthly Canvas night at 3345 Parr Street is sure to be a good night out, with acoustic music and dj sets until late.
And that’s it. Er… don’t forget to check with the organisers before venuring out to an event this month, particularly if it falls on a public holiday!
You can find out more information about any of the above by clicking on the name of the event in the Liverpool Acoustic Diary
NEWS AND REVIEWS
Satori & Song (last Thurday of the month) is on hold at the moment while a couple of problems are ironed out. Hannah Platt assures us it will resume in the New Year, although the date and venue are yet to be confirmed. Add Hannah on facebook or check her MySpace profile for up-to-date information.
Acoustic Bliss has been taking place every Saturday night at the Blackburne Arms Hotel. Unfortunately, due to refurbishment (the pub, not the event!), it’s on hold for the time being, but the occasional Acoustic Dream is still taking place at The Zanzibar.
Jack Roberts’ final residency date at Heebie Jeebies on Tuesday 2nd December has been cancelled. If you were planning on going along, why not go to Mochacoustic instead?
GUESTBOOK
The original Liverpool Acoustic guestbook has been under attack recently by a particularly cunning spam bot, so we’ve moved over to a new guestbook hosted by a different company. This means that it’s currently devoid of lovely messages to make us all at Liverpool Acoustic feel warm and fuzzy inside, so why not spread some love and show some appreciation in the form of an entry in the new guestbook? You’ll go into Santa’s ‘Good Book’ if you do!
EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION
The number of people receiving the News and Reviews posts by email continues to rise. If you want to be included then simply add your email address to the box on the home page and click ‘Subscribe’. You’ll then be sent an email asking for you to confirm your subscription, and once you’ve clicked the link in the email you’ll be added to the list. You can unsubscribe at any time and we promise we won’t cry if you do. We also promise that your email address is NEVER shared with any other group, organisation or individual.
Happy Christmas to you all,
Graham (on behalf of the Liverpool Acoustic team)