April 2012

Opinion Be a Scouser Occupy Liverpool Whats next?

The Pool
Is Tesco killing the community?

Reviews Sea Odyssey The Kazimier Waxx GIT Awards

Liverpools iconic sykline has saw some significant changes over the last few years

Contents
April 2012

5 6 8 Cover Story

Opinion Be a Scouser Occupy Liverpool Whats next for the movement without a permanent home in the city?

Is Tesco killing the local community?

Does Liverpool need an elected Mayor ...and does anybody really care?

10

Reviews The Kazimier Waxx Party Leaf Cafe Sea Odyssey

11

Editor Stephen Delahunty

Artwork Paul Burns

April 2010 The Pool 3

Spot the scouser?

Opinion Be a scouser
iverpool is a city that more so than any other in the UK were the inhabitants have such a sense of pride in their own identity that it borders on some sort of ferverous extremism.At matchdays both the red and blue halfs of the city have been known to chant, Were not english we are scouse. But this fanaticism isnt just confined to the terracce, city inhabitants from all genertations and across all areas of the city feel this sense of belonging a feeling unique in that it sets us aprt from the rest of the country. What I wanted to find out was that in a city as diverse as Liverpool is, was it possible to have one coherernt view of what it means to be a scouser? Historically the city was originally a part of Lancashire, as the British Empire expanded during the 18th century this led to the urbanisation and expansion of Liverpool, which itself was a result of the city's status as a major port. By the 18th century, trade from the West Indies, Ireland and mainland Europe coupled with close links with the Atlantic Slave Trade furthered the economic expansion of Liverpool. By the early 19th century, 40% of the world's trade passed through Liverpool's docks, contributing to Liverpool's rise as a major city. Liverpool's status as a port city has contributed to its diverse population, which, historically, were drawn from a wide range of peoples, cultures, and religions, particularly those from Ireland. The city is also home to the oldest Black African community in the country and the oldest Chinese community in Europe. Media representations of scousers in the media are as diverse as the city itself, ranging from then Harry Enfields Televsion programme, his sketch, The Scousers with their permed hair, moustache and shellsuits was based on two characters from the Liverppol based soap, Brookside, which during the 90s was extremly popular. Its hard to remember whether Harry Enfields sketch actually reinforced a predisposed image of scouseness or created one partiulcar representation of scousers that is still felt today. I can say personally that many a first time meetings with people from oustide the sacred border that makes up the city of Liverpool have greeted me with the phrase, calm down, calm down or they do thou dont they thou. Compare that with the more recent Desperate Scousewives which followed the lives of a group of conveniently glamourous twenty somethings as they got on with their lives. For anyone watching the programme they could be excused for thinking that the entire population of the city spent their time between a sun bed shop, a fashion show or in one of the citys many bars. While it may be true for a very small per cent of the citys inhabitants the rest of us mere mortals mostly have to make do with some fake tan, a trip to Primark and a bottle of cheap cider. Ok there is a middle ground somewere but the point is the show presented such a superficial image of the city that it is one I believe we could do without. The Luis Suarez racsim row that at one point had seemed to engulf the entire city, were no taxi journey or late night chat with some friends would be free from debating the subtle cultural differences between Uruguay and France and everywere in between. While personally I place my foot in the camp that language has no fixed meaning, the original stance of Liverpool Football Club in backing Luis Suarez despite any evidence was in danger of depicting everyone in the city, ot at the very least

the red half as a bunch of racists. Bearing all this in mind I decided to take to the streets and ask several of the citys friendly inhabitants what exactly they thought it meants to be a scouser. It was Saturday afternoon and the city was full of thousands of potential scousers mostly heading to or from the citys shopping mecca, ingeniously titled Liverpool One. I headed out of the main hustle and bustle of Chrurch Street and up towards the magistrate courts were outside stands a statue of Queen Victoria, gathered around the bottem was one of the more approachable groups of teenages id seen so far. It was hard to pigeonhole what group i guessed they all belonged usually its easy to tell the chavs from the goths from example but this seemed like such an eclectic mix of styles I was quite surprised. The grandly named George Ellis III, its jus aba like sticking up for your mates an that init, George was 19 and from West Derby and spent nearly ten minutes after that proudly describing how hed found the old early 90s mod jacket he was wearing in a charity shop on Bold Street. His friend Rhys quickly joined in, yeah its aba being proud of the city and not letting anyone give ye any grief an that. I told Rhys that back when I was his age if Id have went out dressed like id Just fell out of an early 90s rap video like he had I probably wouldnt have gotto the top of the rode before getting beaten up to which he replied, mad init. When I was a teenages there was still a strict dresscode of shell suits only, for both the lads and the girls but looking at this group before me I couldnt help but feel slightly envious, when I was was growing up what it meant to be from Liverpool was linked very closely to who your mates were and how you were dressed, that seems to have been replaced with a particular set of values that while most people in the UK would say they have nowere else associates them some so strongly with their cultural identity.

Liverpudlians are gradually being made extinct by Scousers

local comedian Cris Carter once wrote, What happened to Liverpudlians? There were thousands when I was young. Going to school, going to work, strolling through the streets and parks. Now you're lucky to see one or two. It's the red/grey squirrel problem; Liverpudlians are gradually being made extinct by Scousers. This was his response to what he sees as the scousers have come to represent all that is negatively associated with the city. The rest of the article can found in the Liverpool Echo and to an extent I can see his point, Liverppols problem I belive has always been an image problem, negative portrayls in the media together with terrible incidents in the press over the years have done little to help, but despite this over the last few years Liverpool has genreally been a city that has gone from strength to strength. by Stephen Delahunty April 2010 The Pool 5

Occupy Liverpool

Without a permanent home left in th movement?

n Saturday 15th October 2011, a non-violent assembly and protest in solidarity with protests in London, Rome Madrid, and New York. At the same time thousands continue to occupy Wall Street and hundreds of cities from Paris and Madrid to Buenos Aires and Caracas are staging actions and occupations together for a global day of action. A group of 50 plus people marched through Liverpool city centre at lunchtime to assembly outside and inside a branch of Barclays Bank to protest in solidarity against the ongoing economic banking crisis and Government enforced cut backs to public services and social security. 20 protestors staged a protest inside, while numbers of activists and members of the general public grew outside. The event was peaceful and the protestors left at 3pm to cheers and celebrations from the large crowds. Many people held 99% banners and signs, in reference to the 99% of people the Occupy movement says have paid a dear price so that 1% could become the wealthest people in the world. After the inital protest a group of protesters from Occupy Liverpool has taken over an empty city centre building. The protesters, who were camped on St George's Plateau, occupied Tinlings Building on the corner of Crosshall Street and Victoria Street on Sunday. One of the group, James Adams, said they would stay "as long as possible". Merseyside Police said patrols were giving the area "passing attention" to ensure there was no disruption to traffic or pedestrians. At the time, Mr Adams, who looked like the type of person who ran an underground socialist book club, said: "There are about 20 of us in here.

Masked protestors outside the town hall "We're here for an occupation and at the moment we are trying to make the place more liveable and communal." A police spokesman said: "Merseyside Police is aware that a group of people entered a building in Crosshall Street on Sunday, 8 January and are currently re maining inside. world heritage site's Cultural Quarter. They said they were supporting the protests that began on Wall Street and spread to London's St Paul's Cathedral and other cities.

April 2010 The Pool 6

he city whats next for the

Occupy the world

Occupy Wall Street is a protest that began on September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district. The protest was initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters and has led to Occupy protests and movements around the world. The main issues are social and economic inequality, greed, corruption and the undue influence of corporations on government in particular from the financial services sector. The OWS slogan, We are the 99%, addresses the growing income inequality and wealth distribution in what intially started in the U.S. and then spread across the world between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population. To achieve their goals protesters act on consensus-based decision made in general assemblies to effect direct action instead of petitioning authorities for redress. OWS's goals include a more balanced distribution of income, more and better jobs, bank reform, a reduction in the influence of corporations on politics, and forgiveness of student loan debt. The movement quickly spread across the globe, across western Europe and into Asia. For the first time the globe witnessed the emergence of a global conscioussness. With the help of new communication technologies millions of people with the same grievances coming together via social netoworks the challenge herein lies is how to achieve some of their goals before they fade out of the media spotlight. by Stephen Delahunty

The original idea for this article was to interview one of the leaders of the Occupy Liverpool movement but after several attempts to contact somebody from the Liverpool section of the movement I had no reply it seems after the initial media storm and interest that surrounded the movement has now died down, the

challenge for the movement was to move on from its initial succes into some coherent action but Occupy liverpool like the rest of the occupy movement seems to be struggling. by Stephen Delahunty

April 2010 The Pool 7

Cover Story
Is Tesco killing the local community?

Empty shops on Park Road are becoming all too familiar sign

In 2011 one of the biggest supermarkets in Europe opened on Park Road. Small business in the area are as diverse as the population so what impact has Tesco had on the local community?
there are currently 29 tesco stores in and around liverpool city centre.A few weeks ago our last local butcher closed. When we moved to this suburban Essex town 40 years ago, it had six specialist shops selling fresh meat. The last independent greengrocer disappeared nearly two decades ago. Happily, we still have an independent baker close by, and even a fishmonger a brisk 25-minute walk away. But for how long? Across the country the small retailer is being wiped out. In the whole of Britain there are fewer than 1,000 specialist fishmongers, 7,000 butchers and 4,000 greengrocers, and barely 3,000 independent bakeries. In all these categories, the number of specialists has fallen by 90% since the 1950s, and at least 40% in the last April 2010 The Pool 8

decade alone. They have been driven out by supermarkets, which now sell 97% of our food, with four chains accounting for 76%. Next to the motor car, nothing else has so radically changed the look and texture of our environment over the last halfcentury creating what the New Economics Foundation calls "clone-town Britain" where every high street has the same shops. Until now politicians have had almost nothing to say about it. However, last Sunday the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, was asked about the "Tesco-isation" of high streets a subject prompted by two riots in Bristol over a Tesco store and said: "I think that is an issue, yes, and it is something that we're looking at." Hardly a rallying cry, but an encouraging change from the standard political response, endorsed by the Competition

Commission in 2008, that consumers like the low prices, range of goods and quality offered by supermarkets. An advance too from Labour's position in Scotland: in February it helped defeat the SNP minority government's proposal to impose a "supermarket tax" on retail premises worth 750,000 or more.

Across the country the small retailer is being wiped out

Even the "good for consumers" defence of the big stores requires scrutiny. Supermarkets may offer mangoes and kiwi fruit as a blessed relief to generations who recall the surly greengrocer grunting "no demand for it" when asked for any-

But the option to buy locally grown produce is increasingly closed off; many varieties of English fruit disappeared long ago. Supermarkets stock food not for its taste, but for its longevity and appearance. Conventional economists count numbers, assuming that a huge increase in toilet roll colours represents an unqualified gain to the consumer. They neglect more subtle dimensions of choice. The central issue, however, is whether "what the consumer wants" should close down the argument. What people want as consumers may not be what they want as householders, community members, producers, employees or entrepreneurs. The loss of small shops drains a locality's economic and social capital. Money spent in independent retail outlets tends to stay in the community, providing work for local lawyers and accountants, plumbers and decorators, window cleaners and builders. US research finds that every $100 spent at a local store generates 60% more local economic activity than $100 spent in a chain store down the road. It also finds that, after the arrival of a big supermarket, participation in local charities, churches, campaign groups and even voting declines sharply. As Jane Jacobs argued in The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1960), communities are created by myriad small daily encounters:

getting cooking tips from the greengrocer, hearing about a job from the butcher, recommending a good plumber at the bakery, exchanging opinions in the pub. "The sum of such casual, public contact at the local level," wrote Jacobs, "is a feeling for the public identity of people, a web of public respect and trust." Supermarkets minimise human contact in the interests of efficiency and convenience, most recently by introducing self-service lanes for payment. As one critic put it, they "cut the threads that hold an engaged community together". Such issues should concern the right as much as the left: indeed, the most hardhitting recent report on supermarkets came from ResPublica, the "red Tory" thinktank, and points out that only 12% of Britons hold business assets and that, when monopoly goes unchecked and a sector of the economy is in effect closed to new entrants (as the grocery sector largely is), we start to "practise capitalism without capitalists". Becoming a small retailer once allowed an ordinary working man or woman, and particularly an Asian migrant, to aspire often after redundancy to independence, self-reliance and upward social mobility. by Stephen Delahunty

21st century shopping

The Tesco supermarket on Park Road sits conveniently at the top of a peak in the road before it slopes back down through the Dingle area of the city towards the centre. As you drive up towards the store itself it gradually imposes itself on the horizon until the sky is completely blocked out by the all too familiar red white and blue sign Tesco sign that is probably engrained on many a shopper around the country. Luckily I am fortunate to have a car which mans I can find a space in the huge tarmaced expanse next to the store which I imagine could have been used for some affordable ecofriendly council housing for example. Anyway this complete waste of space is full but luckily theres a sub-terranean level were the artificial lighting adds nothing to the unsigthly steel columns and breezeblock finish that make up the foundations of the consumer paradise that awaits me above. Its lucky I only want a pint of milk or this whole thing may seem like a truely laborious exercise. Next I have to make my way through a Gladiotars style assault course complete with several zebra crossings trolly bays and of course a travelator except this time the Wolf sneaking up behind me has been replaced by an impatient single mother and Ulrika Johnson isnt waiting for me at the top. Finally inside first I pass the security guard, stood at his Orwellian control booth he barely glance up for fear of missing a shopper with an overflowing trolley or an unruley baby let loose out of their pram. The store stretches out almost further than I can see in all directions. I set off in no particular direction, firstly down some sort of doemstic goods aisle. Thirty seven different types of washing powder, eighteen types of fabric softner, twenty four different types of toilet tissue, who said western capitalism was a culture of excess? After forty five minutes, dazed, confused and alone I tracked down a staff member clad unflatteringly in a royal blue shirt and navy pants his greeting masked only a seething contempt that left unchecked leads to the sort of murderous rampage you only read about in the newspapers; Disgruntled worker murders 16 consumers and 9 civilians in horrific afternoon rampage. After locating the milk in the artic zone of the store I head towards the checkout area, row after row of people queing excitdly at the final hurdle before their allowed to finally take the goods they desire home. Walking past row after row for an empty checkout the incessant beeping of the checkout scanner becomes the only thing I can hear before aniother helpful employee directs me to the self scan area. Whats always been a faceless shopping experience has literally become a manifestation of itself. After being told politely to place my item in the bagging are an then remove it again by a seemingly confused machine somebody that almost resembled a human came over to asist as I fought the urge to dart out of the store as the anxiety of the whole experience threated to overcome me. Finally allowed to leave I wanted nothing more than to run down the travelator and never come back but my exit was blocked by a middle aged couple who did nothing but congratulate themselves on the fullness of their trolley. Exhausted I got in the car and drove home. by Stephen Delahunty

April 2010 The Pool 9

Does Liverpool need an elected Mayor?

When constituents on Merseyside go to the polls on Thursday only the 319,758 who live within the boundaries of Liverpool will be voting for a directly elected mayor. After proposals for a regional leader came to nothing residents in Sefton, St Helens, Wirral, Knowsley and Halton will all elect a traditional council. Consequently whoever of the 12 candidates for Liverpool's mayor wins, the powers they wield will be far fewer than those enjoyed by a US-style mayoror even Boris Johnson for that matter. University of Liverpool professor of politics Jon Tonge believes the city's relatively small size made this inevitable. He said: "The city itself is not comparable in size to the American cities on which the government is fond in making comparisons. "It is nowhere near the scale of New York, Boston or Chicago. "As there are large urban areas surrounding Liverpool it would have made more sense to have a city region mayor and with the demise of regional government the obvious alternative is city regions." A 2011 report by former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Michael Heseltine and exTesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy examined Liverpool's potential for growth and argued a directly elected mayor should cover the wider urban area. It said: "We believe there would be a wide welcome if the plans were adjusted to create a directly elected leader across the six districts. "The person concerned would need the necessary powers and resources appropriate for such a task and to incentivise the private sector to make its contribution." While the electoral area would have expanded far beyond Liverpool, the Heseltine and Leahy report argued that "in marketing terms Liverpool is a world class brand" and "it would be perverse to do

In a city as diverse as Liverpool can one person really claim tohave thebest interest of all the citys inhabitants? other than embrace the wider area within an identity recognised across the globe." "As off the proposal. The report by Lord Heseltine and Sir Terry Leahy recommended a city region mayor. He said: "A city region mayor would have needed co-operation from each local authority and frankly there are a lot of people in Southport and Wirral who don't want anything to do with Liverpool." "The idea of being governed by a city region mayor is beyond the pale for people who value their local autonomy. "That can't just be washed away. If local government is about localism then people have a right to say 'I don't want to be part of this'. Heseltine and Leahy put forward a case for "a significant devolution of power from central to local government" and "a more entrepreneurial spirit in that local administration". Prof Tonge said without significant local tax raising powers the role "is much more about swapping titles than about swapping responsibilities."

there are large urban areas surrounding Liverpool it would have made more sense to have a city region mayor and with the demise of regional government the obvious alternative is city regions."
However, the idea of a city region mayor found little favour with politicians in areas like Wirral and St Helens, and never made it beyond the drawing board. Prof Tonge believes while putting Liverpool at the centre was important internationally, locally it was key to killing

April 2010 The Pool 10

Its said Liverpool has negotiated a deal with the coalition government to bring in about 130m of investment, along with an elected mayor. A new enterprise zone will be set up and the mayor will chair an investment board with control of land, buildings and assets previously held by the North West Development Agency. All of this sounds well and good but most of the people ive spoke to who have a slight interest in politics either no little about the prospect of a mayor or are struggling to care, maybe this was the resulant lack of a citywide referendum on the subject which would have allowed the city inhabitants to decide whether we though we would need one or not after weighing up all the pros and cons. But as the citys elected representatives decided to push on with the proposal anyway and start the campaigning the only conclusion I can figure is that we could obviously not be trusted to make the right decision ourselves. With such a strong sense of identity its a wonder how little people seem to be interested in a major change in the governance of the city and I struggle to understand how one person can possibly represent all the inhabitants in a city as diverse as ours. Tell anyone, anywhere in the world that youre from Liverpool and theyll reel off a number of facts they know about the city football, music, politics. Most people usually have some sort of opinion about an event or a band or a football team related to the city such is its heriitage.I recently had three friends from America visit recently who were all under strict orders to bring a Liverpool Football shirt home (maybe these new american owners may not be so bad after all). During whichm it took me several hours explaining the intricasies of the scouse language and that Liverpool was one of very few places in the world where the word lid does not necessarily relate to something you put on the top of a jar of coffee. Which brings me onto my case study of Hartlepool. Tell anyone that youre from Hartlepool and theyll mention only one thing: monkeys. Legend has it that, long ago during the Napoleonic wars a French ship was wrecked off the coast of Hartlepool. The only survivor was the ships monkey ships had monkeys in those days, apparently who was washed up on the shore.Having never seen a Frenchman or a monkey before, the Hartlepudlians (for that is what theyre called) came to the not unreasonable conclusion that what had washed up with the flotsam and jetsam was a French spy. That being the case the monkey was tried and hung by the neck until dead. Hence the legend of Monkey Hangers was born destined to follow Hartlepool folk around the world for the rest if their days.

Most Hartlepudlians or Monkey Hangers if you must take this on the chin even to the extent that the Hartlepool United Football Club mascot is called HAngus. He is, if you hadnt already guessed, a monkey. I mention this because, when it was decided that Hartlepool should have its own elected mayor, the mascot stood for election to the position alongside representatives of all the three main parties and promptly won the election. The promise of free bananas for school children got lost somewhere between the election manifesto and HAngus, or Stuart Drummond as he is better known, taking office; as did a heroic pledge to build a rail track to Durham, something that would have cost somewhere in the region of about five billion quid by my reckoning. But Drummond did not campaign or court votes he didnt try. He was, purely and squarely, a joke candidate. The anger of town MP Peter Mandelson amused me for weeks. People still puzzle about exactly how a town of 100,000 people came to repeat what seemed like a simian-based feat of idiocy, but after my despair had worn off I came to see it differently. People in Hartlepool were never going to vote for a Conservative or Liberal Democrat mayor and their anger with the egofuelled nonsense and tribal battles at the Civic Centre, where Hartlepools council people waged petty wars(sound familiar?) and commissioned self-aggrandising projects, was palpable. And, while Mandelson had been duly voted in as the Labour MP, there was no real fondness for him; his arrival was greeted with a certain amount of irritation that a party bigwig had been parachuted into a safe seat. Drummond is no chump he has since been re-elected twice, albeit on turnouts of barely 30%. But I hardly see the role as a success and I view the Hartlepool mayoral election results as a rejection of the overall notion and a determined kick to the balls for the local political hierarchy. When faced with an apparent Hobsons Choice the people of Hartlepool managed to find a third way. Probably few people anticipated that it would involve electing a monkey. But Drummond was a nice lad. He rejected party politicking and he wasnt one of the faces spotted in the local newspaper shaking hands with property developers. He was free of political baggage and agendas and fiercely apolitical (put another way, he didnt know the first thing about politics). He was, people must have felt, someone they could relate to in a contest they perhaps neither understood nor cared for. The case for elected mayors has always seemed rather woolly and has rarely been well communicated. Thats a favourable environment for a joke candidate.

Which brings me to Herbert Howe, flamboyant (media shorthand for gay) hairdresser to Liverpools stars and owner of a salon where you can drink champagne while they put your rollers in. Herbert has thrown his hat into the Liverpool mayor ring (political gossip suggests he may actually end up being endorsed by the Liverpool Conservatives, surely a death knell in Liverpool). Anyone who sat through the lethargic nature of more than one town hall meeting will have witnessed the same old faces, the same old battles, the same old agendas, the same old egos. Joe Anderson, Warren Bradley, Mike Storey have passed leadership of the council around for years their faces in the Post and Echo are as unwelcome as a turd on a doorstep and a supporting cast of characters like Frank McKenna and Phil Redmond throwing their hat in do not fill me with optimism. Im fairly ambivalent about Liverpool having its own Mayor. We are told there is more money available. But is there? There may be money available sooner, but its not clear that its extra cash that Liverpool wouldnt get anyway, mayor or not. There may be more opportunity for Liverpool to spend money where it sees fit to spend it, which is something in its favour. But the cast of potentials thus far can be split into joke candidates (Cilla, Ricky, Doddy, Pete Price and yes, our favourite Jimmy Corkhill) or the same ghastly old tribal councillors. Do people in Liverpool want an elected mayor? Has anyone asked them? Do they understand the benefits, the opportunity that it could represent? Liverpool Labour may adopt the same approach that Hartlepool Labour did all those years ago and simply assume that theyll win due to partisan alignment. But look what happened there. Liverpool politics will always have the shadow of Hatton looming over it too. And the Lib Dems place in the coalition and their piss-poor management of the council over the years will not endear them to voters. Its potentially a rather toxic situation. I sense no firm views on whether Liverpool needs a mayor; frankly theres little knowledge that the prospect even exists. Nor do I sense much appetite for rubberstamping Joe Andersons mark on Liverpool, nor the out-of-favour Liberal Democrats. The likes of Herbert and Phil Redmond will benefit from any public angst about these backroom deals, just as they will benefit from a shorter election process. How the people of Liverpool react to all this remains to be seen. But sometimes when you treat people like idiots, people behave like idiots. Just ask a Monkey Hanger. by Stephen Delahunty April 2010 The Pool 11

Waxx Off
If Skins ran a nightclub it would be here, this isnt a good thing
The flyers for this latest Waxx gathereding call on people to remember the spirit of 88. Dole queues getting bigger, the Conservatives in power and class war on the streets. But at the same time, shining out of the gloom, came the birth of Acid House, a significant cultural movement at the end of the 20th Century. This was before corporate clubbing in faceless venues with bland promoters always looking at the bottom line, this was community, creativity and spirit. Now the Tories are back and the number of unemployed is rising again. But thankfully I was too young to remember the first time round and so were most of the clubbers at this event. In a disused warehouse in the Baltic District of Liverpool City Centre and bring together the old and the new to celebrate the best of Acid House. The line up was pretty impressive with the legendary Andy Carroll (not the footballer). He was the original innovator who introduced the hungry people of Liverpool to Acid House way back in 1987 in the State Ballroom. He went onto become a resident with Quadrant Park, Cream. He has played to well over a million people in clubs from Ibiza to Chicago, Miami to Melbourne. Andy has become synonymous with all that is great about House music. He will be playing a mammoth set from the State of 88. Andy will be joined by his modern contemporary in the shape of James Rand. Despite his tender age, James is resident at Chibuku. He is well known in these parts for tearing it up to a receptive Liverpool crowd. While I enjoyed the music the crowd was full of the type of people who judge someone by the amount of festival wristbands you still had around your arm and I couldnt help but fell the majority of the people in there were trying just a little bit too hard. Stepping out into the early moring chill a little after 4am I realised I had a strong urge to go straight home which for meis usually a sign of a dissapointing eveing after hearing so much about Waxx since it opened I left with a strong sense that I wouldnt be attending any future gatherings. by Stephen Delahunty

The Kaz-unassuming pretention free fun

The Kazimier
The Phenomenal Handclap Band
Weekends at The Kazimier are becoming a regular occurence these days, as I enetred into its familiar warmth I noticed a friend at the bar and my way across the dancefloor. One of the things that gives the Kaz its charm that on any given night your never quite sure if its fancy dress or not, with venues such as The Masque and Le Bateau closing down recently its becoming incresingly hard in Liverpool that hasnt submitted to Scouse brow mediocracy. .The unusually named band in question is the Phenomenal Handclap Band - a moniker which we'd become tired of repeatedly explaining to people so god only knows how they deal with it - and after being a massive fan of their first album, I was interested to see how they translated into performing live. The support act were a local band, The Winter Falls, who provided the warm up duties and did it particularly well considering the lack of audience. A four-piece outfit comprised of three lads on instruments and a pretty girl on lead vocals, they're working with a road tested formula while still producing fresh catchy guitar pop and they riffed chattily throughout, when they left the stage and the roadies took a good 50 minutes to set up for the headline act. I took this slightly longer than brief pause in precedings to join a fellow smoker outside, unfortunatly the smoking shed was full of 30-something casuals who still think its cool to smoke hash and opted instead for a bench underneath the shark that bursts through the wall above us.By the time they did come on the Kaz was mostly full and havApril 2010 The Pool 12 ing seem them before a few years ago at a festival I was expecting a good performance.When they tipped up, our first thought was how varied they all looked as if they belonged to different bands and had been brought together by some musical hipster exchange programme. Starting with You'll Disappear, they moved swiftly into Following, taken from their recently released second album Form and Control. The set list is a well thoughtout mixture of both albums with Father James Park sounding brilliant, 15 to 20 completely invoking the Pinball spirit and Born Again and Let The Right One In utterly epic 70's style strung out discofunk. They are unbelievable good as a live act and their initial visual incoherence matters not a jot once they pick up their instruments. The audience recognise this though, judging by the outlandish dancing on display. Urged on by the band 'because no one cares what you look like!', there are some serious moves being busted. Standing still during this is an impossibility and you can forget about sitting down... When the last track arrived - a heroically marathon effort in rocked out soul which has large helpings of cowbell through out and as the assembled start to pull on their coats and make towards the door, the band announce the merchandise stand will shortly be opening - manned by themselves which allowed myself and several others to tell them how great they were although I draw the line at actually buying anything. by Stephen Delahunty

The Leaf Cafe

the Scouse Mercury Music Prize
Situated at half way up Bold Street, The Leaf Cafe has built up a solid reputation as a result of its large selection of teas and reasonably priced food in the daytime and its almost as large selction of beers and laid back vibe of a night. It was no surprise when it was annouced that it would be here that the inaugural Getintothis (GIT) Awards, dubbed the Scouse Mercury Prize were held here on 27th April.Winners indie/ambient act Loved Ones were chosen from a shortlist of twelve acts and scooped free recording time in Sandhills Studios, a gig at 'Vice' magazines bar The Old Blue Last in Lon don and showcase performances at Liverpool Sound City and Liverpool Music Week. Any genre of music was permitted to be entered for the prize but had to have a clear connection to Liverpool, whether via production, writing or recording. Named after music blog 'Getintothis', originated by Liverpool Daily Post journalist Peter Guy, the ceremony, presented by music writer/Goldblade musician John Robb saw ten of the twelve acts perform on the night. Nominees included female psych/folk trio Stealing Sheep, former Coral guitarist now soundtrack composer Bill Ryder Jones, much-tipped indie quintet Outfit and prog/space rock band Mugstar. The dozen acts were drawn from almost four hundred submissions, with the judging panel made up of writers and promoters directly connected to the citys music scene. The winners trophy was designed by Sam Venables of The Royal Standard collaborative group of artists, and was presented to the winners by Liverpool born music journalist and founder of 'Mojo', Paul Du Noyer. Local venue The Kazimier, which recently celebrated its fourth birthday, won a separate gong, the Inspiration Award for their role in revitalizing the citys live music scene. The venue stages its own unique events including theatre and themed nights in addition to shows by local and touring bands. Liverpool has a celebrated musicical heritage and hopefully it is recognition at local events like this that will keep both new artists and venues interested. by Stephen Delahuntyt

The Uncle gracefully ambles through the city centre

Sea Odyssey
A touching tale of a fathers lost letter to his daughter captivates the city
London had its Sultan's Elephant in 2006, and Liverpool had its spider, La Machine, in 2008. Merseyside has clearly developed a taste for street theatre and decided that outsized puppets are not just for a Year of Culture. Some may claim that Royal de Luxe's Sea Odyssey, which saw a 30ft little girl and her playful dog, Xolo, travelling Liverpool's streets in search of her 50ft diver Uncle who has a letter for her from her father, retrieved from the Titanic where he perished, is mere eye candy. But not anyone who was there to witness it. Looking around the faces in the crowd and their is generally a wonderous gaze on most faces. Yes, this is a spectacle, but one that in its simple storytelling, skilled manipulations of the lifelike puppets (the little girl seems steeped in watchful sadness; her dog gamboling through the streets, his tongue lolling) and playful changes of scale offers a theatrical experience that is both epic and intimate, joyful and sometimes sad. Follow it through, rather than just glimpsing it as a carnival-style parade, and you become as much invested in it as you do in King Lear, and as admiring of the craft and imagination employed to put it together. It's certainly a marvel, but it is not just the extraordinary feats of engineering that hold the attention. These giants may dwarf us and even our great cities, particularly the rows of tiny boarded up terraces in the narrow streets of North Liverpool, but it is human endeavour that animates them. Tiny figures in wine-coloured coats crawl across the bodies of the little girl and diver like Lilliputians. Each step of the diver takes gargantuan human efforts. The result is inclusive theatre where young and old rub shoulders with the giants. We walk together in their footsteps, and we walk taller because they are with us.The story was played out over three days, to the backdrop of some of Liverpool's best known landmarks. It was led by artistic director Jean Luc Courcoult, who took an unscheduled dip in the Mersey at the end of the event. The giants departed the city on Sunday by boat up the River Mersey He said: "I want people to find again the spirit of their childhood when they see these public images. "I want there to be a real ownership of the story with the population of the city. "There is a history and past to Liverpool that gives the city an identity and civic pride."It belongs to them and their family." After watching it pass by my skeptism had soom faded and I found myself being able to appreicate mot just the amount of skill and efoort that had gone into making each puppet, but the whole thing also left me wondering as one of the operaters how do you learn such a skill were do you go to practice ? by Stephen Delahunty

April 2010 The Pool 13

Banskys collection in in Liverpool contiues to grow