Live review: It Takes Two @ Music Room 05/12/18
Live review: It Takes Two: Merseyside’s Best Vocal Duos
Date: Wednesday 5th December 2018
Venue: Music Room, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Reviewer: Ian D Hall, Liverpool Sound and Vision
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White Little Lies
Liverpool Sound and Vision rating 9/10
Some meetings appear pre-destined, it is just a wonder that strikes us all who find such things fascinating, on what kept the magic from happening earlier. It is a magic that is young in its infancy and yet one that seems boldly to go beyond its formative binding with fans, an enchanting experience that Daniel Saleh and Vanessa Murray have both grabbed with eager thought and spirit and found in a world hell bent on the big fib and the posturing falsehood, that the best avenue in which to reside is in the truth of White Little Lies.
Inside barely a year White Little Lies have made an enormous impact, of course it helps that both members of the band have been a staple of Liverpool’s acoustic scene for many years, but that doesn’t prepare the attendee of one of their gigs for what lays in store for them.
It is perhaps understating the possibility and love for the duo when their first song of the evening for Liverpool Acoustic’s It Takes Two evening is titled Everything Is Gonna Be Alright, as by the end of the tune selected as their opener, you cannot be but help feel proud of they way they naturally feel at home together on stage; be alright? it is arguably going to be extraordinary!
An opening act has to achieve something more than just warm up the audience, it has to set a resonance for the evening, it is the moral signpost to which all others are treated with either favour and sparkling anticipation, or in which the fall of the crowd is taken for granted, in which the night air and the prospect of homely fire feels a finer option to look forward to.
Across songs such as the aforementioned Everything Is Gonna Be Alright, Second Chance, Young Love, If These Walls Could Talk, Hurricane, Parallel and the set closer of Lifeline, the selection of the band who have been together the shortest time was seen to be exemplary, bold, imaginative and absolutely spot on.
If time is measured by the impact you make, then for White Little Lies, time is a crater in which the largest meteorite has created, one that brings with it, life, a living, breathing and full of energy entity which for those in attendance at the Music Rooms will surely implore others to investigate fully. A glorious debut at the venue for the duo, one in which can only be hoped to be witnessed again soon.
Review originally published on Liverpool Sound and Vision
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Limerance
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
It would only have to be a whisper of voices and the audiences who crowd Limerance would by instinct demand on mass that the sound be turned up to a level in which their beautiful sense of Americana is more thoroughly deserving.
From a whisper in the mind to the creative flow that greets the Philharmonic Hall’s Music Room’s crowd, Limerance’s Jenny Coyle and Calum Gilligan once again proved that their demeanour and stance is an incredible sight to behold, the full resonance of their vocals is not just a joy, it is a dream to hear, full coloured and alluring, the kind of dream in which you wake from slightly unsure of what room you have woken up in and what day it is, the best type of vision to hold on to as everything is still wonderfully vibrant and possible.
Opening up their particular set for Liverpool Acoustic’s It Takes Two extravaganza with the song My Old Sky, Limerance proceeded to fill the room with the sense of reverie that encompasses My Turn, One Day, Hellbound, I’m On Your Side, Shine On and the finality and creatively desirable Along For The Ride, the sound produced by the pair sat comfortably in the memory, stirring the difference that was resolute across the evening’s four groups, but at the same time holding onto the ideal in which the night’s music was organised.
It does take two after all, the power that is encompassed in a duo is perhaps unlike anything else that can be attained on stage, the yin and the yang of performance, of two soul meeting, blending and becoming one is an aspiration in which life in all its forms is always trying to replicate.
For Ms. Coyle and Mr. Gilligan that sense of uniformed wave of music, ebbing and flowing serenely in the same fashion that one might have previously experienced in the way that June Carter Cash accompanied her husband on stage or in how the pleasure of hearing Loretta Lynn’s voice would make collective knees go understandably weak, the encounter was once again dynamic, a proverbial blessing for the ears as they seek at this time of year escape from the endless cacophony of sterile chain store melodies.
A simply gorgeous performance, watching Limerance on stage is like allowing yourself to fall into a vivid exciting dream, one that never should stop but when it does you feel exhilarated for having been there.
Review originally published on Liverpool Sound and Vision
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Two Black Sheep
Liverpool Sound and Vision rating 9/10
In an age of disagreements and conflict, of homogenous mingling and beige uniform, to follow your own path is to be admired, to insist upon your own space and not follow the herd is to be congratulated, to reject the conventional is respected; nothing and no one is truly identical in thought and deed. When it comes to Two Black Sheep, the tune they play is one consistently pure, so against type and yet one on which can count upon, to stir the chops and get the fans talking of the combination at the heart of the matter.
It Takes Two, but sometimes six is better, a duo and a wonderful arrangement of violin strings and the Commander of the Bow keeping time on the side, it is a three ringed professional application in which Two Black Sheep’s Amy Chalmers and Ian Davies join forces for the evening of acoustic music at the Philharmonic Hall’s Music Room, a passionate display of well suited guitar and voices, puncturing the air with authority and in which on this celebrated evening of Liverpool’s much loved duo’s, is taken further in terms of enjoyment as they showcase a couple of songs from the soon to be released new album.
Joining Ms. Chalmers and Mr. Davies on stage for the evening is the presence of Gwen Burgess, Jordan Garbutt and Lara Simpson on violins and the ever-graceful figure of Vicky Reid on cello. It is a balanced affair, a gentle kiss on the cheeks of life but also a feeding of the mind with intrigue and realism.
Like all acoustic performers, there is a form of poetry circling the music as it is performed, and for Two Black Sheep that often-delicate prose is in the realm of Dylan Thomas or T.S. Elliot, honest, unashamed, firm and able to pull in different directions, a shape shifting behemoth whose only desire is to pull the reader and listener out of their pre-festive apathy.
In songs such as Ghosts, the melancholic beauty of Another Lonely Winter, Glasgow Train, the hard-hitting neighbour argument that encloses Beech Tree, Angry Boy, Home and a true sense of cultural appreciation in the cover of The Pogues/Kirsty McColl hit single Fairytale of New York, Two Black Sheep excel, already well versed and enjoyed by many, this performance was yet another reason in which to stand proud with the acoustic fraternity in Liverpool.
A great set of music delivered by six musicians with passion for the night and its meaning.
Review originally published on Liverpool Sound and Vision
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ME and Deboe
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Innocent faith may be examined, others can find ways to test your belief, make you question the foundation of all that you know and have come to hold dear; for some that faith is the epitome of their existence, for a small refuge of lovers and attendees, faith is about watching Britain’s answer to America’s finest ever duo, Simon and Garfunkel, and understanding that the two women on stage now have reached a point where they can be considered true heirs, recipients to the crown of beautiful and insistent music.
The faith shown comes from listening to one of Liverpool Acoustic favourite bands ME And Deboe and taking their music as an analysis, an investigation of how the dynamic of the two voices moves with the two guitars at hand, a fast beating pulse, cast iron structure and placing of lyrics, poets come in many forms but like the great Simon and Garfunkel, it is being able to write for the person standing beside you and knowing they will treat your thoughts as sacred, that you are comfortable with them but also the element of friction is like fire, it burns fast and creates havoc, it inspires excellence.
You can perhaps be too close to the machine that beats inside the soul of such beings, to attached to get to grip with the range of emotions they put you through, but for Mercy Elise and Sarah Deboe being attached and allowing the fuse to burn is all part and parcel of attaining beauty, of thrilling the audience, and as part of the Liverpool Acoustic evening of duos, going beyond the thrill is expected, being superb is the least they could ever be.
Such praise can always be a cause for concern, once you have reached a certain level people instinctively find ways to knock you, it is after all a rather British thing to do, it is unfair, but it is also natural.
There should be no such concerns regarding ME and Deboe for as long as they want to play together their tenure as Britain’s premier Folk duo is arguably assured, and in songs such as Culture Faith, the new single Knowing, the fan favourite Mother Shipton, Friend, Go Live, Forward and Glass Face, the ethos of the evening that it takes two was advanced and greatly enjoyed.
To live with the lives of Simon and Garfunkel forever in their ears must be consuming, however as their set continues to evolve and their sound consumes the audience, it is a comparison that bares weight and fruit, to be in their presence is to know that and rejoice.
Review originally published on Liverpool Sound and Vision
Reviews © 2018 Ian D Hall, Liverpool Sound and Vision
liverpoolsoundandvision.co.uk
Main photos © 2018 Shawna Rodgers
shawnarodgersphoto.com
Group photo © 2018 John Manning
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