One of the things I love most about living in Liverpool is the abundance of live music in this city. The sheer volume of gigs going on at any one time is amazing, and I defy anyone not to be able to find at least one gig a month to go to. Obviously having the musical heritage that we do, it’s inevitable that we have a plethora of tribute acts and you can always find someone singing “Please Please Me” somewhere (usually The Cavern Club on a Saturday afternoon). But it’s the new bands and singers that are the life blood of the city.
We have something in Liverpool called Monday Club – it’s run by Amsterdam front man Ian Prowse and it’s a haven for original music and creativity in the Cavern Pub (not the Club – easy mistake to make!!). The rules of Monday Club are simple – 3 songs, no covers. Every week we are treated to 3 hours of amazing original songs by a huge variety of artists – we’ve had everything – punk, folk music, europop and good old rock and roll! We’ve also had poetry and comedians (they get 15 minutes!).
A few months ago I heard Alister from the band Chief Seattle singing at Monday Club. What struck me most was Alister’s voice – soaring vocals and intense lyrics. This was the first time I heard Butterfly. It stuck in my head and just sat quietly in the corner, singing to itself. Then a month or so ago I had the chance to see the full incarnation of Chief Seattle. I went along to the Ship and Mitre on Dale Street and was completely blown away. Butterfly is now singing very loudly in my head, at every opportunity!
Then Chief Seattle started hosting an open mic night at the Liffey bar, on Wednesdays (so glad it doesn’t clash with Monday Club!). Wednesdays in the Liffey are a joy – the rules aren’t as strict as Monday Club so we get to hear covers, but we also get some great original music. Zinney from Sonnenberg this week was wonderful, one of my favourite singer songwriters Thomas McConnell was there last week and is also a stalwart of Monday Club. On top of all that we get two sets by Chief Seattle – you can’t really argue with that.
So to the reason for my post (you knew I’d get there eventually!) – this week saw the launch of the video for Butterfly and I want you to see it. I want you to sit in a dark room and absorb it. It’s truly beautiful and everyone should have Butterfly in their head. Here’s the link to the video on YouTube. Watch it. Now!
“Let’s celebrate the sound and the rhythm……”
Anfield Girl…. 