Review Corner

Category: Live

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    Neil Young: Carnegie Hall 1970

    New Young albums come along faster than the 38 bus to Crewe and the quality can be patchy (including a set recorded as a warm-up to this) but this is superb. It’s the first release from his Official Bootleg series.It’s just Young and his acoustic guitar and piano and there are 23 songs, many classics…

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    Pet Shop Boys: Discovery (Live in Rio 1994)

    The album opens with a brief and tender Tonight Is Forever before Ab Fab’s Edina Monsoon cries: “Lights! Models! Guest list! Just do your best, darling!” and they launch into I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind of Thing. The album then trawls through the hits, Domino Dancing early on, and Rent, Suburbia and King’s Cross…

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    Neil Young: Way Down In The Rust Bucket

    Young is now 75 and more likely bang out a well-meaning but average political album or release an archivally relevant but otherwise pedestrian live album, but this was recorded way back in 1990 at what sounds like a warm-up gig for the Ragged Glory tour, his 18th studio album. If you’re a Young fan and…

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    Buddy: The Regent Theatre, Hanley

    There is musical theatre and then there is Buddy – so full of hit songs that it feels like a concert. Upbeat, energetic and hugely entertaining, Buddy charts the period from musical trailblazer Buddy Holly switching from country music to the rock ‘n’ roll that made his name, to the last day he played. For…

  • Moscow City Ballet: The Nutcracker (The Regent Theatre)

    Introducing ourselves – and our children – to new experiences is a great way to not only understand more but to find more that we can enjoy in life. As a novice to the ballet, this was not only my first visit to see The Nutcracker live, but the ballet in general – and with…

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    Sleeping Beauty: The Regent Theatre, Hanley

    The team behind the popular Regent Theatre pantomime return once again this year for their unique take on Sleeping Beauty and fans won’t be disappointed. Spellbinding choreography, slick performances, a laugh-a-minute script and plenty of audience participation make this a night to remember. With Stoke-on-Trent’s own Jonathan Wilkes appearing as Muggles, Christian Patterson returning as…

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    No mystery to popularity of musical whodunit Curtains

    Curtains is written by the same team that brought the world Chicago and Cabaret — which explains the classy feel of this musical whodunit. A real breath of fresh air if you are looking for a musical with a difference, Curtains brings together the unlikely combination of musical theatre, comedy and murder mystery. Filled with…

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    The Prince And The Pauper (New Vic Theatre, Newcastle)

    Prince (left), Pauper (right). Or is it the other way round … ? The New Vic doesn’t do a panto at Christmas but instead presents a classic story, always with impressive live music and often with gymnastics, from the swashbuckling Treasure Island to the frostier The Snow Queen (aka Frozen). They’re always entertaining and mark…

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    Jon Deak: Symphonic Tales

    This entertaining album stands repeated listens; Deak is a man who clearly enjoys his music. He is the young composers advocate of the New York Philharmonic, where he founded the award-winning Very Young Composers Program in 1995. His interest in making music accessible to younger listeners is clear. Two of the works are for full…

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    New Vic: Wind In The Willows

    The latest Christmas production at the New Vic, Newcastle, is a re-telling of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows — 110 years old this year — the tale of anthropomorphised animals in a pastoral version of ye olde England as progress, in the form of motor cars, arrives. It’s the best Christmas show the…