Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
If there were medals for coaxing the sunshine back into the day and dismissing the rain that soaked Liverpool for the best part of a couple of hours, then Shoes4brakes would be arriving home with more decorations than Usain Bolt coming back from China with his tied around his waist and with Mo Farrah’s secretly stashed in his holdall.
The weather of course is but a side show to the main event, the collective power of wonderful persuasion that the twosome bring to the stage should not be easily dismissed, for to do so plays scorn upon the whole Liverpool music experience and that is something which should be sought out and spanked for its impudence and dishonour.
As the afternoon’s musical entertainment at the Kazimier started to wind itself naturally down, the final upbeat hurrah of the day could not have come at a more opportune moment. The grey skies lifted, the Sun found a reason to bleed through the cracks in the clouds and the day which had already been a huge highlight for those who had taken time to support the Liverpool Acoustic Garden, became a shrine to endeavour and well played music.
Shoes4brakes took the crowd on a final enjoyable journey, one that resonated across the gravel, through the gated door and onto the streets. This was the sound of completed glory, of vindication and justification and one that the feeling if the opportunity came to put on a similar event every week during August’s lax period on interest, it would be just as well attended and appreciated by the Liverpool acoustic scene.
With songs such as the apt I Can See The Sky, Hearts on Fire, The Flame, Icarus, Minnesota and the encore of Winner Stays On bursting for all their worth to played before the final tolling bell called time on the British summer, Shoes4brakes were the natural party finishers that went down a storm and dismissed the clouds in equal measure.
Homely, very enjoyable to watch and just as cool to listen to, Bank Holidays in the dog days of August have rarely been better, Shoes4brakes are a winning combination.
Ian D. Hall
