The lush surroundings of St George’s hall provided the perfect setting for this Halloween production of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein by Liverpool composer and classical guitarist Neil Campbell. The rain lashed down outside the imposing venue as inside the select gathering made their way through the grand entrance hall and upstairs to the opulent concert room.
The night opened with one of Neil Campbell's previous compositions 'Ghost Stories - A Night Opera'. Originally performed in the eerie setting of St Lukes bombed out church last year, the collection of sketches for guitar set the mood for the main performance with Neil's guitar work combining with Anne Taft's dark wordless vocals to chill the audience to their bones.
After a short break, the room's beautiful chandelier faded out as the members of both the Neil Campbell collective and Liverpool's own Sense of Sound choir filtered onto stage. 'Frankenstein' was split into eight parts and each piece was accompanied on the large screen behind the stage with awesome visuals designed by George Jones and Italian born Valeria Di Matteo which produced a fitting backdrop to the tale.
Anne Taft joined Campbell on stage once again along with other members of the collective Cellist Nicole Collarbone, drummer Mark Brocklesby, Bassist Andy Maslivec and Chris Bradshaw on keyboards. It was clear throughout the performance that these guys really enjoy playing together with all of them wearing smiles as broad as the Mersey.
As the concert progressed Campbell's intricate fretwork and guitar artistry came into it's own and highlighted his undoubted talent to the maximum. Assisted by a number of effects pedals the composer's semi-acoustic classical guitar became an axe of monster proportions as the tale unfolded.
There were slightly uncomfortable silences between each of the eight pieces as the assembled crowd, including many family and friends of the performers, refrained from applause. I found myself biting my lip at times as I wanted to scream my approval for the performance of all the artists and most notably the choir whose contribution turned this from a good composition into something really special.
There were a couple of minor problems with the sound and unfortunately the pre-recorded narration from actor Brian Dodd, which formed a key element to the progression of the storyline, was pretty much inaudible throughout.
The finale Rainstorm II, was a sonic delight and without doubt the highlight of the evening. The track, originally featured on Campbell's debut album 3 o'clock Sky, was updated with the inclusion of the choir and credit to drummer Mark Brocklesby whose fast contemporary rhythms raised the piece to another level. During this final piece the visuals played backwards to the very beginning giving the audience another chance to see the stunning artwork. The crowd's ovation was also saved until the very end as many were brought to their feet as the concert reached it's climax.
It was great to attend a concert with no preconceptions and have a completely open mind as to what I was about to witness. This was one of those nights that you enjoy at the time, but reflect back on with even more pleasure.
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