Live review: Liverpool Acoustic Garden
Date: Monday 31st August 2015
Venue: The Kazimier Garden
Performers: Geoghegan Jackson, Denis Parkinson, Katy McGrath, Martha Reich, Ade Jackson, Roxanne de Bastion, Derek King, Shoes4Brakes
Reviewer: Ian D Hall – Liverpool Sound and Vision
Geoghegan Jackson
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Bank Holidays were not meant for the appearance of a job’s list being presented into the hand of the Human Being, nor were they the opportune moment into which to get frustrated in a 17 mile tail back on Britain’s overstretched motorway system just to catch a glimpse of a wave and the slowly disappearing sensation of another summer gone in the blink of a British eye. What they were made for surely is the chance to listen to local music that might not have been taken in before and to spend time relishing a whole afternoon of it in your own city and away from the nights when the big band decide to play in the biggest venue around.
For those that made the tempting tranquillity of the Kazimier Garden for an afternoon of music hosted by Liverpool Acoustic their goal, the opening slot of the day was one that thrilled and set the tone for all that was to follow.
In Geoghegan Jackson, the gravitas of the vocals and the rather splendid acoustic guitar made for such an enjoyable start to the Bank Holiday Monday that even if the frustrations and rancour of the coming autumn were heavily twisted into the thoughts of the attendees, by the time Helen Jackson and Susie Geoghegan finished, such miseries of darkening nights, heating costs and more leaves covering the slowly hibernating grass, were burned and the ashes tossed far and wide.
It can be easy to find yourself slowly being placed under a kind of spell when listening to these two women perform, even more so in the natural acoustic affinity afforded by the Kazimier and as the crowd drew in to take full advantage of the good music on offer, that feeling of being mesmerized was heightened and fulfilled in a very special way.
In songs such as Catch a Train, Flesh, Praying Palms, Threads, Secret Shop and the entrancing Flatlands Rising, the vocal brought an inner peace to the soul and the guitar took it a long and dramatic ride that was bountiful and full of resounding imagery.
To hear such music is to understand that Bank Holidays are not meant to be driven mad by the sound of a drill and someone telling you that the angles are wrong, nor are they for sound of traffic getting uptight and Satnav’s banging their electronic heads in mock shame at the latest wrong turn; they are solely the preserve of listening to something that makes you happy and to dismiss the fluff that life offers. In Geoghegan Jackson, the music is all.
Ian D. Hall
Denis Parkinson
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Wherever you stand in Liverpool, wherever you care to sit and reflect upon the day and drink in the atmosphere and hum of creativity, it seems that the Liverpool Skyline is changing.
It is perhaps not noticeable from the close up waterfront or from across the beady eyes of the river but inside it, for good or bad, Liverpool is changing, the skyline being bequeathed a different dynamic and yet for a while inside the Kazimier Garden, the skyline didn’t matter, it simply remained still and listened carefully as Denis Parkinson took on his time at the microphone and gave the Liverpool Acoustic Garden songs in which to take pleasure in.
Denis Parkinson’s stunning album that came out earlier in the year, Liverpool Skyline, was more than noticeably running through the minds of the crowd that took a different and more relaxed view to the August Bank Holiday Monday than many others heading for the wide open to elements spaces. They were rewarded with a set of songs that filled the early afternoon with a smile and the rich feeling of truth.
As with the album, catching Mr. Parkinson live is its own particular prize, the depth of mood he stirs, the sense of emotion that breathes as if clambering out of the shell of a dragon’s prized egg for the for the first time and the slight lump to the throat it precedes are there to strike an impression and install belief.
Songs such as Instant Daylight, the fantastically observed Idiot’s Guide To Modern Living, A Life Of Crime, Uncle Joe, King of Worthless Things and the far out The Comet Song all resonated through the bohemian flourishing wildness that is the Kazimier Gardens and took root, the changing Liverpool skyline forgotten for a while, all that mattered was the sense of music faith emanating from the stage.
A generous set and one that fully deserved the huge and faithful applause it received, Denis Parkinson was certainly on very top form; tremendous and musically absorbing.
Ian D. Hall
Katy McGrath
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
There are tales of heroism to be told and battles that are yet to be spoken of in the heart of any performer, for the most part these stories of courage and gallant fearlessness are the sole reserve of the darkened room, the intimate setting of the shut door venue and where the glare of spotlight defects from the eyes of the artist and the slight upturned smile masking some inner torment.
The ambience of daylight, regardless of whether it is joined by slate grey skies that feel as though they have been scrubbed with a Brillo Pad that hadn’t been chucked into a bin, the silver scratches embedded deep into the fabric of the afternoon and the Sun chuckling away as it slams the door and walks out on summer forever, gives a new meaning when the eyes that hold the secrets of the soul can be seen and the blazing iris’ shimmer with a beauty that matches the songs on offer.
There is a bubbling effervescence to Katy McGrath as she takes the Kazimier Garden audience through their paces and even the threat of rain that was hanging breathlessly in the air like a sniper ready to unload a single shot against the light of a single match, patient, unforgiving, could not dispel the myth like stance that this performer cultivated between each pluck on a guitar string and the look of intense satisfaction in each darting look.
Heroism, a quality not normally reserved for the artistic community, but one that is well deserved in the case of Ms. McGrath. There is a daring to her music that one cannot help fall in love with, even on first time listen which could be seen as tuneful or harmonious lust, is a deep longing to hear the songs on offer and beg upon approval for it continue; it is a love well born.
The natural effervescence that surrounds Katy McGrath is a loaded gun, the smile on her face betrays the secret in the songs on offer and in tracks such New One, Mute, the excellent Three, Smoke and the fantastic Mantra, all that is needed is a willing compliance to be taken down a road that you know exists no map and no return journey.
The Kazimier Garden has played host to many a stirring set of songs but in this fine young musician, the act of heroism, of toiling but having the bravado to smile broadly at all thoughts was one to be honoured to have heard and witnessed.
A terrific set by someone you cannot help but fall for.
Ian D. Hall
Martha Reich
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
There are people around the world that will make their way to Liverpool on the basis of what the city has brought them and made them feel. They will spend time, effort and money getting to know the place and hopefully leave with more than the impression that the area is solely about the four lads who adorn many a shop window and their rightful place in British pop history.
Then there are those who come to the city, from far and wide, from the other side of great and vast oceans or who cross many thousands of trackless sky to perform, even if for just half an hour, and to go home as though the world will never be the same again. It is a performer’s urban paradise arguably unequalled anywhere in England and only Edinburgh during Fringe season can give it a run for its money.
For the tremendously talented Martha Reich, the urge to come across the Atlantic Ocean and take part in a few performances was one that benefitted the Liverpool Acoustic Garden at the Kazimier and its audience completely.
This musical thread that co-existed between wide eyed and appreciative crowd and the backdrop of Santa Fe, New Mexico guitar and ukulele was one that both parties would take home and relish every moment caught in the mind’s eye and be played over and over again until to those whom music booking find a way to bring Ms. Reich back to a city that she so obviously adores.
The rain may have started the threaten to wash other areas of music going on within the city’s boundaries but for those in relative comfort and hearing the wind pick up a pace as it raced through the narrow streets, time stood still and even when the rain did start to drizzle during her set, nobody dared move till each and every song had been played out in full.
Songs such as Elements, Wait For Me, Fadeaway, Gravity and the wonderful Never Be Surprised were played with a sense of serenity and unbridled emotion mixed with a flavour of the deep southern/Latin American search for honesty and memorable groove. In all these aspects Ms. Reich did not disappoint.
A touch of the exotic on an inclement day in Liverpool, there really is no finer feeling. Ms. Reich added a rich texture to the Bank Holiday weekend with her appearance at the Liverpool Acoustic Garden at the Kazimier.
Ian D. Hall
Ade Jackson
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The personification of cool is no matter the set may throw at you or the surprise lurking in the undergrowth, you take it head on, slap the silliness that it threatens to bring and then just carry on playing as if nothing happened.
To watch Ade Jackson on stage is to feel as though you as a listener of music have a song writer and performer fully on your side. It is the equivalent of finding out that a submarine is applying for the job as both your bouncer and musical guide, for nothing seems to phase this gentle giant and the music he performed with diligence and respect at the Kazimier Garden for Liverpool Acoustic was one that was beefy, strong and upheld all the principles of entertaining a loyal and enthralled crowd.
The first half of the four hour music extravaganza hosted by Liverpool Acoustic had already been one in which the songs had taken on an extra meaning, a definition against the background of ever encroaching corporation skylines and the gentle fist of fury raging against the dying of the summer’s light.
For Ade Jackson all that remained was to keep the tight ship on course and to add his own personal flavour to the proceedings and in songs such as My Crazy Lover, Gone Beyond, Past Lives, the excellent Catherine Street and Crystal Jane, the stage was filled with expression, beautifully placed anger and a raging torrent of belief that was impossible to ignore.
It is in the face of adversity, a moment’s pause as something at the very start of any emotional artistic journey threatens to overshadow a day, that a performer becomes a mountain, impenetrable, cool, unruffled and utterly enjoyable. In Ade Jackson a heroic raise of the eyebrows, a collection of songs ready to grip the souls of an audience cheering him on and the steadfast refusal to bow to the elements made this particular set inside the serenity of the Kazimier one to really give a thunderous cheer to.
Ian D. Hall
Roxanne de Bastion
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
To book end a month in Liverpool, to go from the searing heat that infused the Liverpool Loves weekend down at the Pier Head to closing what in some terms may seem like a small residency in the oncoming drizzle of the final chapter that Summer could muster at the Kazimier Garden, is something that very few performers could hope to achieve or even see in the sprawling streets of Liverpool’s musical heritage.
For Roxanne de Bastion though, the high regard she has built up as a performer by the Liverpool music faithful is one that is worth celebrating and trying your damnedest to get to, no matter the venue, no matter the weather.
The one crucial difference between Roxanne de Bastion’s appearance at the Pier Head and the one that saw the heavens decide that water effects were a suitable addition to the Liverpool day was in the form of Stuart Irwin on bass. This superb supplement to the set gave an extra meaning to the music and whilst nothing can ever take away from what Ms. Bastion brings to the charm and sense of fun that lives between the chords, Mr Irwin brought a sense of opening up the hidden meaning, of finding a small key for a box that sits in the copious and intriguing trunk and to one then all becomes clear.
Listening to Roxanne de Bastion is one of life’s pleasures that should never be taken lightly, a voice that is reminiscent of the great Nancy Wilson with its full depth of character and super vision, she and Mr. Irwin played the songs Some Kind of Creature, Butterfly, Seeing You,Wasteland, My Shield and the fantastic Red & White Blood Cells without any sense of being drowned out by the prospect of a tropical storm crashing down from high and with acoustic greatness being thrust into the crowd.
Some performers naturally exude a smile from an audience when they are playing, it is only to be expected that perhaps the biggest smile on the audience’s faces for the Liverpool Acoustic Garden show as they sat comfortably under the canopy or in the wooden carriage was for Roxanne de Bastion. A woman of tremendous character and who enraptures an audience completely!
Ian D. Hall
Derek King
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Rain must fall into the everyday; it is what after all makes the grass on the right side of the fence lush and green. The heavens may have opened with the feeling of the torrential storm homing in like an angry pigeon toting a bad attitude and blistering for an argument but in small corner of Liverpool, out of the rain but very much enjoying the sound of water hitting the small rounded gravel stones and the bouncing off the wooden tables, the Kazimier Garden’s audience wallowed in the beautiful sentiments offered by Derek King and the sly shake of the imagined fist as he dared the weather to do its worst.
Even if the day had turned into the kind which buffets low laying islands in the tropics and soaks the feet no matter how sturdy the shoe, the grinning defiance, the calm measure of a man composed of generous musical goodwill would have won through and by the time he finished his set for the Liverpool Acoustic Garden, the sense of August throwing in the wet and bitter towel was all but forgotten.
It is easy to forget the elements when a musician such as Derek King shows the way, for in his charming and proactive songs that capture life as it is meant to be seen and not never endured, the inclemency, the harshness of such dark skies cannot help but be envisaged as being a wonderful shade of clear and clarity tinged.
Tracks such as Sometimes, To Be A Boy, the exquisite Summer Rain, the brand new track inSeasons and the apt Perfect Days floated above the grenades of clear water smashing into the crowd and the threat of gloom dispelled.
Liverpool quite rightly has many musical heroes, many sovereigns of the acoustic scene but as he played and smiled and played without impunity and mocked the weather Gods. The realisation that there is only one Derek King was more than enough to know, no matter how much rain came down on an August bank holiday, the memory will make it remember only the rainbow reflecting brightly on stage.
One of life’s true pleasures, Derek King holds sway over a court and doesn’t disappoint.
Ian D. Hall
Shoes4Brakes
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
If there were medals for coaxing the sunshine back into the day and dismissing the rain that soaked Liverpool for the best part of a couple of hours, then Shoes4brakes would be arriving home with more decorations than Usain Bolt coming back from China with his tied around his waist and with Mo Farrah’s secretly stashed in his holdall.
The weather of course is but a side show to the main event, the collective power of wonderful persuasion that the twosome bring to the stage should not be easily dismissed, for to do so plays scorn upon the whole Liverpool music experience and that is something which should be sought out and spanked for its impudence and dishonour.
As the afternoon’s musical entertainment at the Kazimier started to wind itself naturally down, the final upbeat hurrah of the day could not have come at a more opportune moment. The grey skies lifted, the Sun found a reason to bleed through the cracks in the clouds and the day which had already been a huge highlight for those who had taken time to support the Liverpool Acoustic Garden, became a shrine to endeavour and well played music.
Shoes4brakes took the crowd on a final enjoyable journey, one that resonated across the gravel, through the gated door and onto the streets. This was the sound of completed glory, of vindication and justification and one that the feeling if the opportunity came to put on a similar event every week during August’s lax period on interest, it would be just as well attended and appreciated by the Liverpool acoustic scene.
With songs such as the apt I Can See The Sky, Hearts on Fire, The Flame, Icarus, Minnesota and the encore of Winner Stays On bursting for all their worth to played before the final tolling bell called time on the British summer, Shoes4brakes were the natural party finishers that went down a storm and dismissed the clouds in equal measure.
Homely, very enjoyable to watch and just as cool to listen to, Bank Holidays in the dog days of August have rarely been better, Shoes4brakes are a winning combination.
Ian D. Hall
All reviews © 2015 Ian D Hall – Liverpool Sound and Vision
Originally published at liverpoolsoundandvision.co.uk and republished with kind permission
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Live review: Liverpool Acoustic Garden @ Kazimier Garden
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