Jade Wright recommends The Threshold Festival
by Jade Wright, Liverpool Echo (10/02/2012)
THE Threshold Festival looks like it will be a great success this weekend – despite the closure of its venue.
Questions were raised over the future of the arts event when the Contemporary Urban Centre announced it was closing its doors. But Threshold‘s team has worked with other venues to ensure the festival will go ahead.
Acts will play at Elevator Cafe, Camp and Furnace, the Scandinavian Church and the Picket, as well as a fringe festival at the Albert Dock.
On Sunday, LIPA graduate Sandi Thom, pictured, will curate a night of new music, based around her Guardian Angels record label.
―We have one of our bands, Mr James, who I love,‖ smiles Sandi. ―They are fantastic, and as Scouse as they come.
―We have Rob Gough, Natalie McCool, Ronan Boyle and a Liverpool band who I love – The Hummingbirds. They aren‘t signed to the label, but they are so good I couldn‘t miss them out. Then, at the end of the night, I‘ll play my set. So you get a bit of everything.‖
Sandi is juggling this gig between her world tour dates.
―I was in the same year as (festival director) Kaya at LIPA so when she asked me I was delighted,‖ explains Sandi. ―I‘m always happy to see her, and it‘s great to be back in Liverpool. Two of my band live here and it‘s where I think of as home, so it‘s always a pleasure.
There will also be a host of free music events on at the Albert Dock this weekend as part of the festival. PanAm, Baby Blue, Circo and Vinea will host a range of music this Sunday, noon-5pm.
Chris Carney of Threshold Festival says: ―With the demise of CUC we were overwhelmed by the support we have received to ensure that the show can go on, and to be able to provide a Free Threshold Fringe will bring a wider audience to support the Festival, we look forward to working with Albert Dock to make this an event to remember.‖
(http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-entertainment/music/music- news/2012/02/10/jade-wright-recommends-the-threshold-festival-100252- 30301282/) Threshold Festival 2012 - review and pictures part one
By Peter Guy on Feb 15, 12 03:11 PM in Louden Up - Live reviews Getintothis on the feast of entertainment and myriad of artists on offer at Threshold Festival 2012.
If Getintothis' review was written on good will alone, then the first night's offering of the Threshold Festival 2012 would have its five stars wrapped up already.
Following the sad demise of original venue, the Contemporary Urban Centre, Threshold Festival 2012 has taken over the Baltic Triangle's criminally underused warehouses and managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat judging by the large amount of smiling faces milling around the Camp and Furnace.
Although the freezing conditions outside ensure there's little evidence of the second part of their name, the Camp and Furnace provides an exciting new warren to explore with stages hidden away in off shoot rooms. All this and there's real ale on tap as well.
Best of all is the huge space which contains both the Liverpool Live Stage and the Under the Influence Stage, which is where I catch the beautiful finger-picking stylings of Silent Cities.
Songwriter Simon Maddison is a superb guitarist but it his extraordinary voice which sticks in the mind, as Maddison channels the intensity of Jeff Buckley through a spooky Bon Iver-esque filter of haziness.
Maddison's intricate style was perfectly complimented with angelic vocals, despite his obvious frustration with technical difficulties on stage. A cracking start to the night and a massive discovery - one of many at Threshold.
Just yards away on the Liverpool Live Stage, few would begrudge festival organiser Kaya Herstad Carney her moment in the sun with her group the Science of the Lamps. With three beautiful female backing vocalists Kaya's songs have an almost burlesque European feel to them, recalling the gruffness of Jacques Brel played out all in front of projections of Wonderwoman.
Sadly the spell is rather broken by guest Dave O'Grady who shouts his way through an ill-advised cover of With A Little Help From My friends.
Back across the room, Liverpool veteran Dave Jackson takes to the stage with his Cathedral Mountaineers. Despite (or maybe because of) an estimated combined age of almost 200, the ex- Benny Profaners put in one of the sets of the night. Their distinctly British slant on dark Americana is pleasingly high brow, with literary and scientific references spewing forth from Jackson's lyrics like a warped version of University Challenge. Fans of Nick Cave will find plenty to admire here with the Cathedral Mountaineers sensitive backing bringing to mind a Stetson-wearing Velvet Underground.
Venturing away from the precious warmth of the heaters is the Newpath stage, showcasing the likes of Fonetiks, MINIONTV and Muto Leo.
The Newpath is the more experimental leanings of Threshold, with its clutch of up- and-coming Liverpool bands showcasing post-rock and math influences - if you witness the deftly-constructed set from Muto Leo, you'll be rooted blisfully to the spot for a good 15 minutes, Cains beverage in hand.
Meanwhile, the impressive drone-y instrumentals of Red Night Cities live up to theirWilliam Burroughs moniker with a set of futuristic scuzzy excellence.
To the right of Newpath is the cheerful chaos of the Antipop showcase, which lies behind a corridor lined with phallic etchings and warning signs. There's a party in full-swing complete with lurid bunting and endless posters of previous shows held by the label.
It's in these surroundings that we catch a rambunctious portion of The Vermin Suicides' bouncy, slightly ska-drizzled set, followed by In Evil Hour, who tear into their performance at full rasp. In Evil Hour sound like the Distillers would, if they took the hump and relocated to Darlington. Perhaps if the LA sun was a little too much for Brody Dalle, Alice could give her Calpol-starved vocals a run for their money.
As a venue, Camp and Furnace offers much of the same labyrinthine, slightly dream-like atmosphere embodied by the CUC, which was the original venue proposed for the weekend's carousing.
As you glide from room to room, it's never entirely clear what you're about to find, whether it's a troupe of headbanging baldies, post-rock in horn-rimmed glasses, or Lyra Jay in a pert black leotard bravely baring flesh and purring over squelchy dance beats while a room full of people in hats and scarves look on, bewildered.
Folk also featured heavily on the CALM Stage next door, with Matt Kerr's delicate playing suiting the intimate space well.
Over on the Blade Factory main stage, four-piece Fonetiks drew almost as big a crowd as Lyra, (though there were noticeably less cameras - presumably clothed men offering less of a visual touch), with a set full of energy and electric wizardry. Relaxed and with a supercharged atmosphere, the pulsating drumming a highlight of a fine set.
Friday night also saw Elevator Bar host around a dozen artists, including youngsters Quartermaster whose obvious passion was met with somewhat indifference from the small crowd in attendance. A shame, but with so much on offer over the course of the evening, it was symptomatic of some of the smaller spaces.
This didn't stop cravat-wearing singer Sam, whose Beatles-in-Hamburg high energy fused with shredding guitar wasn't just a great listen but a contagious, heart-warming display. Rasta4Eyes made good use of the small stage, packing in like sardines before getting the crowd bobbing with their brass-infused ska - a terrific finale to a feast of fun.
Getintothis' Threshold Festival reporting team: Jamie Bowman Orla Foster, Jodie Schofield and Liza Williams.
(http://www.peterguy.merseyblogs.co.uk/2012/02/threshold-festival.html)
13 February 2012 Threshold festival 2012: In pictures
We‘re absolutely exhausted. We spent the weekend at Threshold 2012 – the city‘s largest, best, and most ridiculously full grassroots music and arts festival. The three- day event saw us hopping from venue to venue catching some memorable stuff, and the Baltic Triangle looked satisfyingly busy after a turbulent few months. Previously held at the CUC, the festival‘s transition to venues like the Camp and Furnace felt natural and – dare we say it – even more fun than the sadly departed multi-floored beast. The Baltic Triangle‘s warehouses, converted spaces and industrial feel aligned perfectly with the festival‘s wallet-friendly DIY vibe.
One of our favourite local snappers, Matt Thomas, was there and has today uploaded a selection of pics – featuring ace local noiseniks Organ Freeman and We The Undersigned, amongst others, to his photoblog. Check out our favourite below, and head over to Matt‘s site for the full set.
(http://www.sevenstreets.com/blog/threshold-festival-2012-in-pictures-matt-thomas/)
Back to the Noise – Threshold 2012
I haven‘t shot a show since December with the Marmozets, but yesterday I managed to catch the last day of Liverpool‘s grass roots festival Threshold in the Baltic Triangle. A festival very much in its infancy but growing year upon year, it‘s a great addition to the city‘s festival rosta. I caught the massive We The Undersigned, who I lost count of how many musicians they had on stage but pulled a big ol‘ dancing crowd. Also The Fifth Movement were clinically tight over at The Picket and Organ Freeman managed to pull off the most memorable, fun and unique performance of the night. Well done Threshold, Ill be back next year for the whole thing for sure. Oh and how cool is Camp and Furnace? First time I‘ve been there, sure to be a solid rock in the Liverpool music and arts scene.
(http://blog.mattthomas.co.uk/2012/02/back-to-the-noise-threshold-2012/)
Threshold Festival 2012 at the Baltic Triangle
February 6, 2012 by Lisa
The Threshold Festival, Liverpool‘s newest and most innovative celebration of the arts, returns for 2012 on Friday 10th-Sunday 12th February with a schedule packed to the brim with bands, big art installations and a vast range of performances that can‘t be pigeon-holed.
Having started in great style last year, this year‘s festival looks to be even bigger – in more ways than one. Threshold 2012 won‘t be held under one roof but several, taking over the entirety of Liverpool‘s Baltic Triangle for a whole weekend, in venues including Camp and Furnace, the Blade Factory, the New Picket, Elevator, the Nordic Church, the Lantern Theatre and the Brewery Tap.
Curated as a collaboration between promoters Under The Influence and the Contemporary Urban Centre (unfortunately recently closed in physical form but very much still ongoing in spirit), Threshold has been a champion of arts at grassroots level; the ethos at its heart being to engage with the arts, music and performance promoters, providing them with a platform to create and explore.
Amongst the highlights of a bumper line-up is a Performing Shakespeare workshop by Max Rubin (Lodestar, Liverpool Shakespeare Festival) and Script In Hand Theatre at the Lantern Theatre and a Philosophy in Pubs discussion of Culture of Capital at The Brewery Tap.
(http://thereaderonline.co.uk/2012/02/06/threshold-festival-2012-at-the-baltic- triangle/)
Threshold Festival 2012 - Day One
Various Liverpool venues added: 13 Feb 2012 // gig date: 10 Feb 2012 reviewer: Rich Denton
Email this live review Printable version
Liverpool's foremost grassroots multi-arts festival moved on from a difficult separation from its previous CUC home and opened across the Baltic Triangle in style last night. Liverpool Live's Sammy Pollock made her way through the sea of flowers, hugs and bobble hats to give us her views...
Liverpool's Baltic triangle could easily have been mistaken for the Bermuda triangle tonight, an array of bands and artists whipped up in a frenzy. Bands battled each other to fill the space of the Camp and Furnace warehouse, men disappeared into the hugging room (some for longer than others) and the sound waves crashed upon the sea of plastic cutlery that was dumped on the floor in an artistic manner for the headspace exhibition.
Wandering between stages you find youself roaming amongst zombies, walking in the shadows of stilt walkers, ducking from the swinging poi and dodging the flowers that are being thrown in your direction. Imagine going to see your favourite band but needing to negotiate your way through a fun house first, even that only somewhat reflects the extravaganza of Threshold.
The fancy art provides the frills of the festival but these exhibitions simply dress up the real thrill of the live bands. With no spare silence, there is always some type of music being played somewhere in the Baltic triangle. More often than not you're faced with a brewing dilemma of determining what stage is playing host to the hottest talent, the choice of the warmest venue leading me to just that.
The cosy surroundings of Elevator Studios were to be shaken up in style by Welsh trio False Alibi. The rock band had an innocence about them, polite with rare enthusiasm, but this certainly wasn't reflected in their music. With intrusively catchy lyrics, the guys were a storm to be reckoned with as they powered through songs of a pleasant but not too soft nature. It was a privilege to see such a talented band in their freshest and finest form.
Over in the Camp & Furnace the theme was more scattered. From the foot tapping folk music to be heard by David Harbottle and the Friendly Cats - unfortunately minus the Anfield cat - to the punching drums and sharp vocals during Katrine Stenbekk's set, there was a diverse range to suit everyone.
As the festival continues, expect to see more boundaries pushed and louder music played.
For more reviews and pictures from Threshold 2012 visit www.liverpool-live.info
(http://www.music-news.com/showreview.asp?H=Threshold-Festival-2012---Day- One&nReviewID=7853)
Smiles in the Baltic Triangle – Threshold Festival 2012 February 14th, 2012
I‘d been looking forward to Saturday 11th Feb for a long time…I felt a healthy mixture of excitement and nervousness for a good few days before the date finally arrived. It was of course the day of my performance at Threshold Festival in Liverpool.
Not only did I manage to get myself a slot on the Liverpool Acoustic Stage but I was also asked to co-host the stage. This was a fantastic opportunity for me as a new musician on the Liverpool music scene and I am incredibly grateful to Graham Holland of Liverpool Acoustic for asking me.
The day was one of three over the weekend in which Threshold took place. I believe it‘s one of the biggest grass roots indoor festivals in Europe and it overcame some massive hurdles in its second year to even happen at all. After the CUC closed its doors at the start of the year the festival‘s usual venue was pulled out from under the organiser‘s feet but instead of pulling the plug they pulled together managing to talk lots of different venues within the Baltic Triangle area of Liverpool to participate. This created a multi venue event that played host to hundreds of musicians, a great deal of which were up-and-coming unsigned acts. Myself being one of them!
I can‘t express how fantastic it felt to be part of such an amazing creative party! Being relatively new to the music community here I felt very privileged and grateful to be added to the line-up. So I‘d like to say a big thank you to the organisers, the promoters (especially Liverpool Acoustic) and all the people who made it happen from the volunteers to the sound guys.
The festival itself was great fun, unfortunately I was only able to attend on the Saturday but I made the most of the day and saw as much as I could. I performed my twenty minute set at half two in Elevator Bar and then spent the rest of the afternoon introducing other acts onto the stage alongside Graham Holland. It was a great chance for me to meet lots of other acoustic musicians from the local area and beyond. Everyone was incredibly friendly and it made my role as co-host a very enjoyable one. I‘d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who played and also to everyone who came along to watch. One of my personal highlights was a performance by Canadian singer-songwriter Robert Mulder along with his band – lot‘s of energy and very catchy songs! I urge you to go and check out his music if you haven‘t already come across it before.
The stage also saw brilliant performances from Dean Elliott, Léon Pearce, Oxtoby, Rob Vincent, The Big I Am, Mary McCombs, Alan O‘Hare, James Munro and Hedda Aronssen. So many talented musicians, so many smiling faces, such a fantastic afternoon.
Once the stage had wrapped I got the chance to visit the other venues, art installations and food stalls! It‘s safe to say the Baltic Triangle was buzzing with activity. It‘s always great to see venues full of happy people so it seems fitting that the rest of the night was spent in the Nordic Church with friends enjoying tea, cake and lots more lovely music!
All in all a great day and a true sign that in harsh times creativity will prevail; music will be heard coming from the old factories, people will dance in the streets and grass roots communities will always thrive and grow within the concrete jungles that so often seem to stifle our imaginations. If you put a smile on one person‘s face your endeavour may be considered a success.
My smile was one in a sea of many. Thank you to everyone who contributed and made it possible!
I have a photo album on Facebook from the Saturday at Threshold HERE. Feel free to download and use the pictures but if you post them anywhere I would be grateful if you could photo credit ‗Georgia Stuart Photography‘. Thank you.
(http://robrivieres.com/wpmusic/?p=620) Threshold Festival 2012 - review and pictures part two
By Peter Guy on Feb 15, 12 04:23 PM in Louden Up - Live reviews
Getintothis wraps up it's Threshold Festival 2012 coverage with a whirlwind of sonic discoveries around the Baltic Triangle.
In a blur it's suddenly Saturday afternoon, with Chelcee Grimes filling the afternoon spot on the main stage.
Effortlessly confident, she's brimming with charisma as she pours her heart out through a set of occasionally sentimental songs, most of which seem to focus on beating the odds through perseverance and self-belief.
There's no doubt that Chelcee is thrilled with the pack of adoring fans who cluster at the front of the stage. 'These are my die-hards,' she beams, before breaking into an ad- libbed tribute song for their benefit. She's not joking - 30 minutes earlier, one of the girls was unbandaging a freshly- tattooed arm adorned with Chelcee's lyrics.
In the early evening, people are winding down in the quiche 'n' wheat beer environs of Elevator Bar while the likes of Alan O'Hare (formerly of The Trestles) and James Munro fill up the air. The bar provides comfortable surroundings for the pleasant, folk-infused melodies of the bands on the bill, but we're determined not to get too comfortable in our seats.
A little later, back at Camp and Furnace, the most anticipated slot for many is that of Laura J. Martin, a Maghull-bred songstress bearing a flute, keyboard and mandolin.
You can take the girl out of Maghull... but you won't find much of the yawning suburbs in her repertoire, it has to be said, flavoured as it is with kung fu films, folk, and a long-running passion for hip-hop. Though she has been performing up and down the country for a while now, last month saw the release of her debut album, The Hangman Tree, which lit up review pages with praise.
She's also a one-woman show, which is why it's frustrating that the noise from the room opposite is blaring uncontrollably into this one. A steward is seen at the entrance after someone calls his bluff, and for a minute or so he stands counting decibels with all the resolve of a cellist on the Titanic. It's obvious that it's down to Laura to pull through the noise barrier on her own, and she sails heroically on, closing with the irrepressibly chirpy Doki Doki and winning round the audience completely. Here's hoping she'll be back in Liverpool before long.
Gil O'Teen, meanwhile features Andy Minnis wielding a melodica alongside a cake perched temptingly on stage. Following his set, Andy announced the set was acoustically-driven due to the absence of a full-time drummer - Getintothis recommends you get your application in quick - they're rather marvellous.
Over in Chai Wallahs, DJ Moneyshot delivers a seriously hot hip hop set throughout the afternoon before Bristol bunch Yes Sir Boss, see in dusk with a killer ska- influenced set. A threeway guitar attack accompanied by a brass section includes the highlight Down By Your Side and Rise and Shine.
We The Undersigned seem to have an open door policy for members - shrinking and growing depending on the gig - and why not? Employing a mountain of brass, they're a riot and the crowd laps up their every honk.
Joe Driscoll infuses Jack Johnson 'roots' and spruces it up with a heavy dose of drum and bass, and Who You Been Lovin'? hits the spot. Away from the music, an honorary mention must go to Bold Street Coffee whose hot drinks and nibbles go down a treat - their mean brownies are rather mesmerising!
Over in the Blade Factory Gallery, Mitford Rebel played to a smattering of people. They resemble last-pick-of-the-school-team types or loners who have found their BFFs and started a band. A couple of geeks, a goth and a punk. They sound awesome. They can certainly wail those girls and the tunes were nifty too.
There's a jam-packed evening over at the New Picket kicking off with Ronan Boyle. Amid an icy-atmosphere, this was the first outing of his new band with Sam on stand up electric bass and Anthony on guitar, they combine rasping blues vocals and heavy does of strums - it's addiction and hopefully a good sign of things to come. More please.
The Fifth Movement are an orchestral collective complete with fiddles, flutes, clarinets, a cello and pretty much everything else to boot. But they skilfully avoid cliche-ridden Mumford barnhouse faux-folk or second-rate Arcade Fire with vocalist Kevin utilising every possible ounce of the Pickets acoustics to remarkable effect. A Threshold high no doubt.
Mr James is a three-piece featuring a rather good looking fella on lead vocal. He can also belt out a good tune - bonus! Recalling Elton John with opening track Fragile and then Gary Barlow on Remedy, we overhear one audience member whispering 'If someone that talented can't make it in music there's no hope for anyone!' We can kinda see her point.
The Hummingbirds are 'four guys and a box' and Getintothis had been looking forward to their set since their Cavern date last month. They didn't disappoint. Treating Threshold to a host of new tracks from their upcoming EP Doesn't Really Matter, their skiffle-infused toe-tappers sees lead vocalist Jay Davies impressing alongside breezy lead guitarist Mic Kountis who makes for a great wing man.
Headliner Sandi Thom opens with a bluesy set which wilfully confuses some of the crowd expecting her hits. But it's not long before that song is unleashed much to the delight of the gathering throng.
Other highlights of the evening include Dan Hayward's New Hawks and All We Are, both of whom offer up lively, barnstomping performances.
The South Bound Attic Band over in Elevator provide some rattling bluegrass while The Romleys treat Getintothis' tired ears to Honeypie. The Bear Beats Band sprinkle some Nashville harmonies over Threshold which brings roars of approval from the beards gathered in the crowd.
Dan Hayward, meanwhile, puts paid to any waning audience members by occasionally puncturing the gentler songs with a huge bellow, and the women dancing at the front certainly help keep up momentum. In the room opposite, another of the most-talked about sets comes from Paddy Steer, whose fondling of synth, vocoder and fun robotic playthings is met with mountains of applause.
Getintothis' Threshold Festival reporting team: Jamie Bowman, Orla Foster, Jodie Schofield and Liza Williams.
(http://www.peterguy.merseyblogs.co.uk/2012/02/threshold-festival-part-two.html)
Graeme Lamb Media Blog Threshold Festival 2012, Day 2 – Liverpool, 11th February 2012
Another great day at Threshold 2012 for day two, with particular favourites for me being Manukah, who had underwhelmed me at a previous gig, Rob Rivieres, Robert Mulder and others.
I spent the evening of this day shooting for A Culture Less Ordinary (put together by Rebel Soul and Audio Voyeur) and will do a separate post for that evening.
Artists Featured:
Chelcee Grimes Christina Malley Clare Green Coffee & Cake at Funerals Geoghegan Jackson Manukah Mary McCombs Ogo Rob Rivieres
(http://www.graemelambmedia.net/blog/2012/02/threshold-festival-2012-day-2- liverpool-11th-february-2012/)
New Guitarist more Gigs and more Stuff ... 2012/02/10 - 16:06:18
Hey Monettes!!
Just recovering from last nights Threshold Launch Party which went rather well even if we do say so ourselves. It was also the christening of our new guitarist Luciano!!(check out him out at the next gig). Big thanks to Dave of Mellowtone, Laura Davis,(our sound gurl) Chris, Kaya and the rest of the Threshold crew for the nights merriments... Photos of Last nights gig is here... http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.286023161465427.71267.142767952...
Our slot on THRESHOLD2012 is tomorrow at 9PM! Last night we viewed the stage we are playing on and its massive!!!( you gotta love a big stage)We are very excited now, it looks so good!!!!!!. If you haven't got your tickets yet then you can get them on the door at all the venues on the festival. Its gonna be mega boys and girls so you really have to get down there early!!!
We are on just before the new liverpool pop sensation of Chelcee at 9pm so there's gonna be an a nice mix of sounds flying out of the Furnace on Saturday.
This is her singing... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2C3xfpp2j8 (http://www.themonolps.com/news/new-guitarist-more-gigs-and-more-stuff)
Review: Threshold Festival! (Part 1 - Friday)
@ Baltic Triangle - 10.02.12
22.15 Minion TV
Even as I was picking up my passes I could hear Minion TV in the next room. They were producing their own crafted sound which has become so familiar to me over the last few months. It was the Blade Factory stage that they were on and they provided the perfect background to my meet and greets but once I was done with that they started mysteriously pulling me in to their world of sharp electric guitars and minimum vocals. Think of a Lexus advert. Lexus did when they heard them!…
22.20ish maybe?
I first walked in and saw who I think must have been one of my highlights of the weekend, Crash Amber’s Party doing a cover of Gotye’s ‘Sombody I Used To Know’. I could have stayed, sat and listened to her all night! Vocalist Jo Shelbourne was incredible. Unfortunately that was the only song of theirs I caught. I was dragged away by bloody ‗pals‘! Wasters (*huffs and puffs*)…
22.30 Elmo and the Styx
I went in to the ‗Antipop‘ stage to listen to a bit of the heavier side of Threshold. Elmo and the Styx were stood at the front, entertaining a crowd of punks showing their appreciation in the way punks do. Heads were banging, a few people were being consentually pushed and a stool was getting kicked around between folk like a football. Gavin from The Guillotines was looking after that stage but he said my jumper was a ‗fishermans jumper‘ so I thought I‘d drop him in it. I also managed to get groped by a girl who thought I was her boyfriend sneaking up behind her. In actual fact I was just trying to take this photo…
21.40 Shona Foster
I walked on through to the Liverpool Live stage to get a glimpse of Shona Foster play her last few tracks. Stood up on the stage it was almost as though she was preaching to the audience. Her direct lyrics and ‗in your face‘ beat echoed the notion! All you need to do is listen to ‗No.34‘ to understand what I mean!
22.30 Lou Lu & The Boy
After a few beautiful tracks from Shona I bumped in to Threshold‘s Andy Minnis who was still obviously still in awe of the woman. Even now as I go on to her fb page I am bombarded with ads in the side saying ―Andy Minnis listened to ‗Love and War‘ by Shona Foster on Spotify‖. As much as I enjoyed her I was eagerly awaiting Lou Lu and the Boy setting up on the stage behind me. A threesome of (Unsurprisingly) Lou (Louisa Roach), Lu (Lucy Styles) and a boy (Roy Turnham). I first set eyes on the local band about 8 months ago at Club Lazy Genius and have been a fan since. With partially Rocky Horror Show-esque vocal patterns at times mixed in with a Les Paul and a tad of rock star bass it would be hard for these guys to disappoint. There‘s a real refreshing punky feel to their lyrics and it‘s almost as if each of their songs is a story being told by Lou. The anger and passion in her voice makes it impossible to not ponder about what she says.
23.00 Louis Barabbas and the Bedlam Six
At this point I was at the bar asking for a pen because yours truly had been a twerp and made the old school boy error of forgetting my much needed stationery. I worked my way out of the fiasco only to be slapped in the face as I turned around to see the strategically hairy Louis Barabbas and the Bedlam Six. Literally, as soon as I‘d finished jotting I turned around and the blog favourites threw a hell of fiery acoustic guitar-ness right in the face of me and the crowd, transporting us in to what felt like a pub brawl/piss-up/a party world away from Liverpool. We‘re really whisking over things here but if you want something more in depth on the guys you should check out the review of them we did a few months back here. They‘re an absolutely fantastic band!
23:30 Fidel Afro
I thought I‘d dive over to Elevator Bar to see Fidel Afro. These guys are a band from Widness involved in a lot of things at the moment including Mako Records which ManGone partnered up with a while back. Musically these guys bring to the stage what you want from a guitar band, full throttle hard passion. Take a listen…
The stage must have been running late because they started just I as I thought they would be finishing to so didn‘t get to chat to the folk (Sorry Pete). I was on a tight schedule and I‘d just got a call from my mate to get back over to the Blade Factory to witness ‗The Elementals’ which features members of the ever roaring and never boring ‗We, The Undersigned‘. I got my ‗Stahnk‘ on for as long as the briefness of night‘s stay would let me and left with a smile. Threshold day one really did get me excited about the future of Liverpool‘s music scene.
Words: Joe ManGone
(http://mangoneblog.tumblr.com/post/18015988787/threshold2012reviewpart1)
Review: Threshold Part 2 - Saturday
14:30 - Chelcee Grimes
The day started early on the Liverpool Live stage with local hip hop gal Chelcee Grimes and a crowd of her adoring fans. One of which showing off her newChelcee tattoo!! That‘s how much of an impact this girl is having on her scene. I always say I‘m not particularly a fan but you can‘t deny this girl has got a voice. A lot of her songs reflect life and growing up as teen which, just by looking at the faces in the crowd, you can tell these girls and boys can relate to. In between songs her on stage banter with the audience is awkward but she‘s learning. She‘s an amazing talent but as a whole she‘s still growing on me if I‘m honest… 15:35 - Miles Carrington
Over in the Nordic Church was Miles Carrington. I hadn‘t heard of this guy before but with retro seasonal tones to his pieces it was a good change from some of the stuff I‘ve been hearing in general over the past few weeks. It brought music back to it‘s roots; no frills and story telling with a strong classic rock vibe to it. A great crowd warmer and alternative to the nippy weather outside.
16:00 - Tom George
Right after Mr Miles Carrington was everyone’s favourite busker, Mr Tom George. Not too long back from Berlin, Tom George was playing his tracks once again to a Liverpool audience. His tracks are built up of nice simple chord progressions accompanied by a voice I can only describe as ‗human‘. Even off stage Tom is a really nice guy but you can really feel the personal attachment he has with his songs.
17:00 - Some Say Nothing (SSN)
Now for something completely different. Californian/French/hip hop/rap crew Some Say Nothing have unbelievable energy and retro vibe that takes you back to the ‗A Tribe Called Quest‘ days. Donning a relatively new local female vocalist (who doesn‘t appear on their Soundcloud tracks she‘s so new), the 7 piece ‗rap and roll‘ group bounce around, throw some hefty guitar licks out, show off their head banging bass player and spit like that‘s what they were born to do.
19:25 - TJ & Murphy
Next to attract my eyes and ears were local country twosome TJ & Murphy. The day‘s musical antics was either hip hop or acoustic for me today but TJ and Murphy brought Country zest that I love with acoustic guitar music. The guitar picking is humble yet exciting but then also relaxing. Plus, the guys‘ voices compliment each other perfectly. A few tracks seemed to be missing a little umph sometimes but that really didn‘t bother me. You don‘t always want umph. Sometimes you just want a couple of guys and a guitar and these guys were that but in their own special way. And they do at times provide umph! Vocals were spot on, guitar was b-e-a-utiful and they were something different. Scouse Americana is the way forward!
20:30 - Jeramiah Ferrari
A band I recently heard on Radio 2 (I think) and fell in love with and couldn‘t wait to see. I‘d apparently seen them before which I didn‘t know about? I suggested to Sam Garlick of Everisland he booked them for Tighten Up‘s relaunch at Blade Factory to which he said they played the actual launch launch and I was there?? I don‘t know. But anyway, the afro bounced and the reggae vocals came and the crowd was pleased. I‘m not going to lie, I was just waiting for ‗Mindless Riot‘ which was the song that got me following them but saying that their whole set blew me away. Big up to the boys.
At this point I had to get home for my girlfriend‘s 21st (She was already pissed I was going to be late!) but I enjoyed what I saw up to that point on Saturday. Friday for me excited me a little more but that‘s not to say the music wasn‘t up to parr on the Saturday, just Friday was personally more up my street and, to me, seemingly more ‗diverse within genres‘. All in all, Threshold part 2? A good day!
Words: Joe ManGone
(http://mangoneblog.tumblr.com/post/18071671284/threshold2012reviewpart2)
Review: Threshold Festival (part 3) - Sunday! (Part 1 - Reviews)
This is a really short review down to the fact I was on the ‗Culture of Capital‘ panel talking about venue closures (Sunday: Part 2) so I missed the days action. PLUS! It was my girlfriends actual birthday (not the party I had to rush home to on the Saturday) where I had to have a meal with her family for the first time. Little muso me with the whole clean cut family. Terrifying!! But thats another story. On with the reviews…
21.40 - Organ Freeman
I wasn‘t going to miss these guys! One of Liverpool‘s most innovative, exciting, fun and personally one of my favourite local bands, Organ Freeman, were let loose on the Blade Factory stage and in to the Blade Factory crowd.
Turning chart song medleys in to probably the coolest tracks ever to be heard and mixed them all in with original concoctions such as ‗The Wirral Crab‘. However there was a bit of tension on the night as the Organ Freeman track, ‗We’re Not Getting Payed‘, seemed to go over their alloted time. A tad bit of beef went down in regards to this situation so I‘ll leave it at that but when the guys were doing their thing they did what they always do. Put on a show and entertained the crowd.
I thought I‘d add a video I made back when I first met the folk. Twas an interesting night…
22.00 - The Hummingbirds
We‘ve covered quite a lot of Hummingbird happenings so I was tempted to skip reviewing this set in the fear of repeating myself but there is no way you can avoid a band with one of the fastest growing fan bases in Liverpool. With a traveling nostalgic sound and a general feel good vibe to their music it‘s hard not to like these guys.
Good strong catchy licks and riffs along with a humble tempo and down to earth lyrics help get people tapping feet and nodding heads. The crowd was no where near like the craziness of their EP launch but the turnout was as healthy as you can ask for and the main thing is we were happy. Great band.
23.00 - Sandi Thom
It‘s as though Sandi Thom has brushed off the music styles (what I remember anyway) of her charting success of the past and started making music for people to enjoy rather than buy and enjoy. Saying that she still brought out the hits which got me a bit giddy inside but I‘d never realised how much cool Sandi has. As soon as she took our her acoustic she really did strum some really good music. If you‘re a chart snobby muso put off by ‗I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker‘ then fool on you. Her set list brought out a depth of bluesy rock and a voice to match and, in a lot of ways, she and her music was pretty sexy!
(http://mangoneblog.tumblr.com/post/18196053093/review- thresholdrestivalpart3sundaypart1)
Review: Threshold Festival (part 3) - Sunday! (Part 2 - Culture Of Capital)
(Image of a previous panel from our friends at The Double Negative. That’s me with the green hat. #famous)
This is basically just a follow up with my views from my contribution on the Threshold Festival‘s Industry Panel last Sunday (12.02.12) where I joined Rich Pontefrat (Another Media/Calm), Philip Hayes (The Picket), Gemma Smith (Snub Fest) and Mo Maghazachi (Aurora Media) to talk about venue closures and surrounding issues. There is a lot of focus on the negatives of the local music scene‘s state at the moment and understandably. But we need to look at the bigger picture, past scenes and natural inevitabilities…
I think that this is a great time for this city. Opportunity wise at least. Ofcourse, it‘s a shame how it‘s come about and my thoughts go out to those who it has effected for the worse but I think now the current scene will grow in to itself. What we are experiencing with venues is natural selective survival. This is a more positive notion that has been thrown around a lot lately but it does seem like the quantity downsizing of local venues has been a natural adaptive evolution that has provided us with a scene that is more compact and sustainably effective. Plus it has given locals on the scene the incentive to take our old things one step further, expand or be innovative. For expample, Lazy Genius who put on the incredible, local band friendly Monday nights at Mojo is now in the process of a large expansion at Bumper which will introduce more non musos to the scene. This would never have happened without Mojo‘s decision to stop live music. Once you chat around you find the current cimate has led to a lot of stories like this and when you hear these things it‘s hard not to believe the forecoming year will either be host to a new stronger scene or atleast set the foundations for one the year after. I think it has been an economical kick up our backsides that has made us realise that we got a bit lazy. The worst is over. Now‘s the time to innovate.
Words: Joe ManGone
(http://mangoneblog.tumblr.com/post/18196059387/review- thresholdrestivalpart3sundaypart2)
So what happened in February 2012? Filed under: News by Rain Child — Leave a comment March 1, 2012
POW! Let‘s have a re-cap of this pretty busy month!
10th to 12th February: Threshold Festival 2012, the second edition of Liverpool‘s multi-arts grassroots festival! The universe and the lovely people working at Threshold put us in Chai Wallah‘s Sunday line up! WtU was pretty excited to play after the truly boss Yes Sir Boss and before the very talented Joe Driscoll. Thanks to everyone who made it down to our set and everyone who made it down to Threshold! Hell Yeah!
Woo! Thanks for this lovely little review:
―My personal highlight though was the voodoo that We The Undersigned worked on the crowd with even more people throwing funky moves than previously, including many in what seems to be the unofficial Threshold 2012 accessory of an unusual hat. (Hint: How about a stall next year?!) There really should be more people in these hats and the band were on that list too, with the sax player attracting many flash lenses over the course of the set. ‖ – http://thresholdofficial.tumblr.com/post/17558431156/threshold-diary-day-three
For everyone who missed our set you can watch us on youtube. And, if you like to get the links to listen to the audio recording of the entire set then sent us an email to [email protected] and tell us why.
(http://wetheundersigned.wordpress.com/)
ENTERTAINMENT: Liverpool Threshold Festival Words by Alex Martin
Threshold Festival takes place in Liverpool this weekend, with live music across the city throughout Saturday and Sunday. Kicking off with a flash mob yesterday, acts from DJs to metal bands are set to play across several venues in the Baltic Triangle, a full list of which can be found at http://www.thresholdfestival.co.uk/.
The festival has had to improvise its venue this year due to the closure of the original venue, the CUC, but this has only drummed up more support for the organisation, making it a bigger event than ever before.
Tomorrow afternoon will feature a fringe festival at the Albert Dock. Free events will be taking place at Circo, PanAm, BabyBlue and Vinea from 12-5pm. Scottish singer Sandi Thom, who graduated from LIPA in the same year as Event Director, Kaya Herstad Carney, has curated a set including two Liverpool bands from her label and a closing set of her own.
A unique feature of the festival is the ‗Yarn-bombing‘ project. Over the weekend, organisers aim to knit around the Baltic triangle, covering everything they can, from lampposts to drainpipes, in the short period. So if you‘re a dab-hand with a knitting needle, or just fancy taking in some live music and Liverpool atmosphere, get down to the Threshold festival this weekend.
(http://thelooprevilpress.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/entertainment-liverpool- threshold.html)