Editorials
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Elijah James & The Nightmares At District; Live Review
With great anticipation, Elijah James and The Nightmares took the stage to a rapturous and warm applause from an extremely healthy Saturday night crowd at The District. And they weren’t disappointed. Showcasing the songs from his new album, Elijah James kicked off a blistering nine song set that had the crowd roaring with approval. Having seen Elijah James as a solo act, it was interesting to me how his notable song-writing would benefit – or…
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Epic Trainer Festival Laces Out Returns To Camp & Furnace
Laces Out! returns to Camp & Furnace on Saturday 29th April. Laces Out! Festival is one of the UK’s best and biggest celebrations of trainer culture. The one day festival brings together thousands of vintage, rare, box fresh and deadstock trainers for collectors to buy, swap or just covet. It is the only major event of its kind in the North of England, a place renowned for its love, appreciation and historic relationship with sneaker…
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Nas Announces Liverpool Show As Part Of UK Tour
Legendary rapper Nas has announced a show at Liverpool’s Mountford Hall as part of his UK tour this Summer. The hip hop icon will bring his tour to the city on 10th July, with a new album potentially coming out later this year which is one of the most anticipated albums of 2017. Tickets go on sale now here.
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Liverpool Is Getting It’s First Ever Food Hall In The Baltic Triangle
The Baltic Market will open in Cain’s Brewery warehouse this summer. What have Lisbon, Amsterdam and soon to be Liverpool all got in common? They’ve all got a food hall. From the guys behind Independent Liverpool and street food legend Tim Haggis, chief hot dog perfectionist behind the beloved Meet Frank – a true foodie revolution is upon us in the shape of a 4 days a week food hall. Its a dream come true…
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New LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner Art Project At FACT
Starting from 22 March 2017, the durational art project HEWILLNOTDIVIDE.US by LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner will be adopted by FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) in Liverpool, UK. A flag emblazoned with the words “HE WILL NOT DIVIDE US” will be continuously live-streamed from the arts organisation to www.hewillnotdivide.us for four years, or the duration of the 45th Presidency of the United States. The artwork is conceived by the artists as a resistance to division, and to the…
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The Shipbuilders’ Debut EP; Review
After giving fans a taster of what was to come, with their first single ‘Feeling In My Pocket’, The Shipbuilders’ debut EP Something In The Water was released at the close of 2016. The four-piece, comprising Matty Loughlin, Danny Lee, Nicky McGrane and Graeme Sully, were busy at the end of last year tying up all the loose strings for their album, so 2017 is set to be an exciting year of gigs and festivals…
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Golf Fang – Crazy Golf In Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle
Golf Fang (previously called Ghetto Golf) opened less than two weeks ago and is proving to be a popular topic of conversation in the city. This indoor crazy golf course really stands out from the average with its banging music, neon painted walls, caravans, boats and toilets to putt through and plenty of cocktails to help you along the course. From the outside Golf Fang is easy to find; fairy lights cover the open gates and…
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Top Ten Things To Do In Liverpool In December
Warning! This list will be quite festive! Independent Liverpool Christmas Festival – The guys at Independent Liverpool really know how to throw a party! They return to the Great Baltic Warehouse to host another spectacular festival bringing together some of the city’s best independent restaurants, bars and craft shops to get you in the Christmas spirit! Family Friendly event. 8th-11th December. Get tickets here. Christmas Cinema at the Palmhouse – The best Christmas films, screened…
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Spinn Set To Release Second Single ‘Bliss’
Fledgling indie band Spinn are set to release their new single ‘Bliss’ on 2nd December, following debut track, the laid back ‘Green Eyes’. ‘Green Eyes’ received attention from Dave Monks, who played the song on his BBC Merseyside Introducing show and has over 5,000 plays on the bands Soundcloud page. ‘Bliss’ is another slice of easy listening jangly guitar pop, with a slightly darker tone to their debut, dealing with issues of betrayal. It is…
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New Single ‘Feeling In My Pocket’ From The Shipbuilders
Categorising their own genre as ‘gypsy scouse surf’, the lads behind The Shipbuilders have definitely hit a unique spot with their music. At their core, the band retains their Liverpudlian roots with a Northern twang rippling through their music. But there’s a low-fi South-Cal vibe mixed in too. New single ‘Feeling In My Pocket’ is uplifting, no matter how low your mood might be from the winter weather. The four-piece – comprising Matty Loughlin, Danny…
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Lawoftheland Fill the Expanse With Their Instrumental-Only Sounds
It’s not an easy job for musicians to paint a picture with their songs, harder still if a song is devoid of lyrics and stripped back to just instrumentals. That’s where Lawoftheland have struck gold though – their songs fill an expanse that most musicians can only hope to. The Liverpool trio, Stephen Miceli, Adam Caine and Teddy Smith, evoke a progressive landscape in their title-track opening of EP Dancing Explosions. During the five minutes…
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Archie’s Burgers & Shakes; Review
Archie’s is the latest burger joint to shake up the Liverpool food scene – a pink paradise of extravagant burgers and decadent milkshakes – and last week I was lucky enough to try it out. Perched on the corner of Ranelagh Street, it’s the third venue in the Archie’s family (there are already two well-established restaurants in Manchester) but this is the first one outside of the M60, and also the biggest. And it’s not your stereotypical American…
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Five Guys Liverpool; Review
So Five Guys has arrived in Liverpool!! Many people including myself have been waiting for this moment for the last few years. It has a good reputation in London and of course the USA, oh and also the Trafford Centre. It is a fast food concept but the burgers are restaurant quality I had been told. So, I thought it was about time I found out what all the fuss was about at Five Guys. Me and my eating…
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Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015); Review
Kurt Cobain is a man that refuses to die. Even when all possible back catalogues, journals and interview subjects appear to have been exhausted, another wave in the oceans of culture will land the shriveled corpse of the revered icon back on the beaches of popularity once again. “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck” is the latest biopic on the grunge godhead, released within a week of the anniversary of his death. The question on…
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Still Alice; Film Review
Still Alice, featuring an Oscar winning performance by Julianne Moore, tells the story of Alice Howland (Moore) a highly esteemed linguistic professor at Columbia University whose world is rattled when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Still Alice is essentially a fairly good lifetime movie elevated by a truly great performance by Julianne Moore (she deserved her Academy Award – although, I wish it had been won for Maps to the Stars). The direction is…
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Blossoms at The Kazimier; Review
Seeing that The Kazimier was offering a line-up that featured both The Vryll Society and Blossoms, it was an obvious choice to get to a gig guaranteed to brighten a cold, Winter Sunday night. For once I managed to get to The Kazimier in time to see all of the bands on offer. The first support Hidden Charms were a very pleasant surprise. Melodic 60’s style pop/rock topped by vocals just coarse enough to give…
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Baby Strange And Slaves At The Shipping Forecast; Review
Fessing up at the beginning of this review is going to save a lot of time later and, hopefully, go some way towards placating the Slaves fans out there. I went to the gig to see Baby Strange. They are one of my favourite bands. The bias is all mine, because I know I was in the minority. Having said that, I go to gigs with an open mind and have been won over before,…
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Pattersons Bar; Review 'Serving Up Chicken & Tunes'
With Independent’s popping up left, right and centre in Liverpool at the moment, it is no surprise that the variety of places to eat is so broad. Whilst there has never been a shortage of chicken here in Liverpool, something has always been missing – Pattersons. As it remains one the best-hidden gems of the city, it’s time to share the secret. Chicken restaurant by day, bar by night, these chicken experts have revolutionized the…
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Inherent Vice; Film Review
Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s novel of the same name hits cinemas this week and it has caused quite the stir. The Guardian has reported mass walk outs with audiences accusing the film of “being boring and not making any sense”. However, the film has found its defenders with some US critics hailing it as a postmodern masterpiece. I would argue that both and neither camps are correct. The plot, as much as…
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Whiplash; Film Review
The question shared by all – “how much can I enjoy a film about drumming, when I don’t know the first thing about it?” Whether you like music or not, Damien Chazelle’s Oscar nominated WHIPLASH is electrifying, gripping, and shocking in so many ways. It is story of the relationship between 19-year-old Andrew Niemann (Miles Teller), a male protagonist that astounds the audience with his devotion, and his complete dedication to drumming, and his unpredictable…
