The Rialto Burns at the Zanzibar Liverpool - Review

The Zanzibar in Liverpool is our venue tonight for what promises to be a great night of music. Supporting  The Rialto Burns, are a great act who we first saw at the Liverpool Music Awards nominations, The Mono Lps. 

They are an infectious band and was good to see a set from them longer than 3 songs. The band seem to enjoy themselves always and the fact they had a giant panda dancing along with them front of stage, made it a little surreal to say the least but a great full on set from the band and look forward to giving them a review of their own. 

But tonight is set aside for The Rialto Burns. As the light dim and the glow from the set surrounded by strategically placed lamps giving it that homely feel , the guys take to the stage. There are no stage antics with this band, no set performance, no gimmicks, but their stage presence is captivating and alluring. Kicking straight into their first track and you are reminded of the obvious similarities in their music to Joy Division and New Order but thankfully with less melancholy  Lead singer Adam's vocals dark deep and brooding. Going swiftly into Cold Hands, the crowd now starting to move forward the band getting into their comfort zone a bit and by the time they get to their new single Hibernation the band seem oblivious to the ever growing mass in front of them.

The whole sound is rich and strangely draws you in. You find yourself staring hypnotically at the band as they themselves wrap themselves up within their music and obviously well thought out lyrics.

The Zanzibar is an ideal setting for this band. You need to be close up enough to almost reach out and touch. An enrapturing performance from the band and one that certainly had me leaving satisfied and warm inside.

Hibernation is out 28th October on Itunes
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/hibernation/id569885345?i=569885597

The Rialto Burns to play The Zanzibar Liverpool 26th Oct

The Rialto Burns have announced a show at The Zanzibar in Liverpool on the 26th October showcasing songs from their new album Learning To Fight

During the Toxteth riots of 1981 the burning down of the Rialto ballrooms made newspaper headlines. This destruction of a local hive for entertainment, artistry and community gave rise to the alarming yet explosive newspaper headline The Rialto Burns. Now, almost 30 years later it is with the sentiments of this iconic building that Liverpool’s latest and most innovative sound has evolved.

The Rialto Burns are the five strong Adam (vocals), Pottsy (bass), Alex and Cogsy (guitars) and Shaun (drums). The group met after a rekindling of old friendships and fortunate chance meetings on musicians’ forums. After the band nurtured and developed material, and sorted out who was going to play what, a high-octane live show burst its way onto the Liverpool circuit.

After just a handful of gigs, the band attracted the attention of record labels and signed with ambitious Dance/Indie label Gung-Ho Recordings, home to amongst others, The Japanese Popstars. In 2011 the band released three singles, 'Radiate', 'For The Asking' and 'While You Sleep' - all to critical acclaim and ended the year with the release of their debut album 'Learning To Fight' on 28 November 2011.

After a summer of writing, 2012 sees them return to the live circuit, stronger than ever and showcasing their new material.

 For tickets to the gig follow the link below

https://www.ticketline.co.uk/order/tickets/13275156/the-rialto-burns-liverpool-zanzibar-2012-10-26-19-30-00

http://www.therialtoburns.com

Review - Day one of Soundcity 2011

On the first day Liverpool created Soundcity and they created over 300 bands at various venues around the great city and they saw that it was good. I started my 3 day pilgrimage at the bombed out church to see Ragz only to find out the she was no longer playing.

So it was with heavy heart, that I decided to head across to the Masque theatre to see the Wicked Whispers only to find an empty theatre and the band still setting up long into when they should have been playing. I was beginning to think someone had played a grand practical joke and no bands were actually playing the festival. Luckily in the Ink room I finally found a band that were on stage playing and this happened to be a London band called Jimmy's Parade, who turned out to be a little gem. For a young band they had a lot of confidence and the tunes were upbeat and infectious.

My spirits rose. So I headed over to Mojo to catch The Liberty Vessels, the Liverpool band making quite a stir on the scene and I can see why. There guys are about 17 or 18 but they sound and play like people twice their age. Lead singer's voice sounds like it should be emanating from a 30 year old man. The energy pouring out of him as he leaps and bounds around the tiny Mojo stage, kicking glasses across the stage and reaching out to the audience pleading for them to join him in his angst and them mesmerised at what they were witnessing. For me though.it was time for a quick dash over to the o2 to see another band getting rave reviews,The Rialto Burns. A great band that I've been meaning to catch for some time now.They played a storming set though far too short in my opinion.

Then it was time to hot-foot it to the Bombed out church to see The Kooks. I was greeted with the site of a queue going half way round the church Once inside the place was only half full. Not sure what the deal was there but I put it down to that old faithful, health and safety.
The Kooks though didn't fail to please. In the glorious surroundings of the bombed out church,Soundcity surely have a gem in a location here.The Kooks played a lot of their new album which they informed the the ravenous crowd was the first time they had played it live. Their were a few epic songs from the new stuff but overall a more sombre collection of songs. The old faithfuls were pulled out though in the form of Naive and Ooh-la-la much to the screeching pleasure of the crowd.

Last, but not least, it was over once again to The Masque Theatre for Steve Mason. The last time we saw him he played a storming set at the Kazimier and this time round only the decor had changed. Steve emerged in a heavily padded jacket to start off with a solo acoustic track and once completed the other members of the band joined him to kick into "am I just a man" and "Lost and Found" but not before urging the crowd to move forward towards him "come to water,come to water" he chanted. The crowd warmed up,Steve warmed up and I relaxed, knowing that day one had been completed and from a jittery start had been a great first day at Soundcity

To be continued......