Archive for the 'Music' Category

Photoblog: Mathew Street Music Festival 2010, Day 1

Anyone know where this Cavern place is?

Anyone know where this Cavern place is?

All photos © Minako Jackson

Great to see the city packed with music fans again for this annual event which continues today (Monday 30 August). We did a tour of all the outdoor stages and caught some good acts. There are also the Beatle Week bands at the Cavern where we saw 2 of the 3 Japanese Beatles cover bands – Chelsea and the Blue Margarets (both all female bands). Also a massive Fringe festival in pubs, clubs, bars and St Lukes.

http://www.mathewstreetfestival.org/

Mike Neary does Elvis Costello

Mike Neary does Elvis Costello

Black Eyed Peaz

Black Eyed Peaz

Hotter Than Hell Kiss Tribute Show

Hotter Than Hell Kiss Tribute Show

Eric Faulkners - Bay City Rollers

Eric Faulkners - Bay City Rollers

Chelsea at the Cavern

Chelsea at the Cavern

The Blue Margarets at the Cavern

The Blue Margarets at the Cavern

This Way?

This Way?

msmf-9msmf-10

Above the Beaten Track and Culturepool Birthday 14 Aug 2010

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This is great. A festival and birthday party in our own city centre. No need for long distance travel or camping in mud, just stroll through Liverpool ONE and enter (free of charge) the wonderful oasis that is the Bluecoat Garden. Those arty, crafty people from LOACA will be selling their wares in the front courtyard too. BBQ too of course! So that’s this Saturday afternoon / evening sorted, see you there.

SATURDAY 14 August 2010, 14.00 – Late at the Bluecoat
Above The Beaten Track is a festival celebrating the creative grass roots scene of Liverpool, featuring live music and DJs, performance art, poetry and audio-visual spectaculars – shedding a bit of light on Liverpool’s cultural underground, all in a relaxed festival-like atmosphere. Moving to a new home at The Bluecoat for our third annual event, Above The Beaten Track’s heart and soul are beating stronger than ever. Free event.

Our philosophy is all about inclusion, not only giving a platform for the oft maligned marginal grass roots musicians of our fair city but letting our friends and partners have a hand in running the festival. In addition to the usual Mellowtone and Beaten Tracks offerings, this year we have stages being hosted by Liverpool Acoustic, Lazy Genius, Bagism and Culturepool (celebrating their 4th Birthday) will be returning once again to add their birthday festivities to our little soiree. Draw The Line, the social art event specialists make a welcome return also, along with newcomers from Loaca.Art and the Bluecoat traders. The restaurant upstairs will be serving food and drink all day, and let’s not forget our BBQ either – join us in the courtyard for some festival flavours in between stages.

We welcome back musical friends old and new this year – Irish whirlwind Atlantic Massey, psychedelic darlings The Wicked Whispers, indie folk upstarts Misery Guts and our favourite Nordic siren Ragz, plus a whole lot more. Our Beaten Tracks DJ team have been busy too, scouring the city to gather up a raggle-taggle bunch of the city’s finest spinners of vinyl old and new – expect a wide range of quality tunes from the hands at the helm of the old 1-2’s.

All in all, we like to have a party. The sort of party that we’d like to go to. With our friends, music that we all love, films, art, food and drink. So here it is, the return of Above The Beaten Track for another year and all we ask is that you come and join us.

If Only… at the Bluecoat

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All photos c. Minako Jackson

‘If Only…’ is the newish Bluecoat monthly ‘melting pot of music, performance, dance, spoken word and the otherwise unclassifiable’. This was the first one I had attended, it was free (but ticketed) and took place in the garden with a barbecue and bar – very nice.

We didn’t stay for the whole show but we saw Noise Club who are always interesting. For this performance they created sounds from their own barbecue (not to be consumed) with amplified chopping noises and cooking utensils being played with a bow.

They were followed by Nathan Jones who read one long poem covering his time as Poet in Residence at the Bluecoat and the birth of his daughter. Typically Nathan, it was moving, funny, serious and well read.

Next If Only… is Thursday 2 September 2010 see the Bluecoat website

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DIY Music Day at World Museum – Sat 14 Aug 2010

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All photos c. Minako Jackson

Members of aPAtT were practising playing some of the museum’s collection of unusual instruments when we called in on Thursday. Along with several others they will be performing in the World Museum Liverpool, they may be in the atrium or in random places around the museum for visitors to witness by happy accident.

diy-music-2DO-IT-YOURSELF MUSIC DAY

Visitors can explore the World Museum through music at an exciting ground-breaking free event featuring international musicians and instruments on Saturday 14 August 2010.

The DIY Music Day is a co-production between the museum, music producer Ross Dalziel of SoundNetwork and the PRS for Music Foundation (Britain’s leading funder of new music). The event is part of PRS for Music Foundation’s New Music Plus project in the north west.

Among the attractions at World Museum will be a restored vintage fairground organ outside the museum, thumb piano workshops hosted by Anthony Seydu, home-made guitars, touch activated instruments, pencils generating sounds, electronic drums, a virtual keyboard triggered by the body, a megaphone orchestra and gamelan instruments. Continue reading ‘DIY Music Day at World Museum – Sat 14 Aug 2010′

Akala Performs at Toxteth Library

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Four blog posts so far today – Art, Dance, Poetry and now Hip Hop Shakespeare! This library tour is a great idea and rapping Shakespeare is rather cool.

MOBO winning star wows Toxteth teens at library

AWARD-winning hip-hop star Akala played a special, invitation-only evening gig for young people at Toxteth Library.

More than 120 young people from Toxteth-based music and writing groups were invited to attend the 108-year-old library, which has recently undergone a £1.3m makeover including the creation of a new exhibition and performance space.

His performance was part of a tour of libraries across the country this summer. The tour is in partnership with the national charity The Reading Agency and Akala’s Hip-hop Shakespeare Company: it is part of a major drive to fire up young people about reading and transform the way they think about libraries.

Events will take place in libraries across the UK, with the final show taking place at the British Library in London in November.

Continue reading ‘Akala Performs at Toxteth Library’

Culturepool 4th Birthday Party – August 2010

AboveTheBeatenTrack_2From Culturepool

What?

culturepool 4th birthday do @ Above the Beaten Track

When?

Sat, August 14, 2010 @ 2pm til 5pm (festival is from 1pm til later)

Where?

The Bluecoat, School Lane , Liverpool, L1 3BX (map)

Who?

A range of local musicians we’ve worked with in the past

How?

FREE: just turn up and enjoy!

Well it’s that time of year again when we celebrate of all things culturepool!  Over the last four years culturepool has dipped into the unique melting pot of creative originality that is Liverpool: musically, artistically and culturally. After another amazing year of unique and interesting events working with fabulously talented artists we’re back with our friends from Above the Beaten Track, the one day festival championing all things alternative, marginal and local.

culturepool’s set will showcase some of the musicians we’ve worked with, and we’d like to say a huge thank-you to them for helping us to celebrate:

Continue reading ‘Culturepool 4th Birthday Party – August 2010′

Photoblog – Backbeat Beatles Rooftop Gig

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All photos © Minako Jackson

Ok, not quite on the rooftop, this is actually the balcony of the John Lennon suite at Hard Days Night Hotel, a very nice room whether you’re a fab four fan or not. The Backbeat Beatles performed a few songs to publicise the fact that it is ‘Beatles Day’ this Saturday 10 July. There will be various events happening on the day, you can see full details on the website – www.beatlesday.tv

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I like the background here

People watch a sing along

People watch a sing along

You couldn't actually see much from street level

You couldn't actually see much from street level

Collaborative Listening at FACT

Listeningready

Short notice …

Collaborative Listening
The Box, FACT
88 Wood Street, Liverpool, L1 4DQ
06 July 2010
7pm – 9pm £3

An evening of collaborative music appreciation. Bring along some of your own or other people’s music that you’d like to share and discuss!

www.fact.co.uk