Katona Twins, St George's Hall Concert Room, Liverpool

The Hungarian guitar duo giving a 30th anniversary Hollywood-themed concert in the beautiful surroundings of the St George's Hall Concert Room.  Although they began with some compositions of a little known 20th century Italian composer, their move into the works of one of his pupils, Henry Mancini, took us into much more familiar territory, which is where they remained for most of the show,  AS well as film and TV music there was a bit of Django Reinhardt, and a piece written by Peter Katona that opened the second set.

Their technical perfection is in no doubt, the musical empathy between them is obvious, and it's constantly impressive how they are able to seamlessly switch the lead from brother to brother.  The arrangements are clever, with even a weel kent like the Pink Panther theme taking on a new life.  Each number is preceded by an introduction for one of the two, and although their accents remain pronounced they are both informative and amusing - the Carl Bernstein story was a cracker.

Criticisms?   Classical training has it's disadvantages, removing the passion from the gypsy jazz and leaving it impressively accurate but bloodless.  And I don't think I've ever seen anybody bow so much in my life.  It became a running joke to us...

Despite these wee quibbles this was an impressive performance.  I particularly enjoyed Peter's dramatic interpretation of The Brother Karamazov, a Hitchcockian theme that was the most cinematic of all the numbers played.  A tour de force.

Le Vent du Nord, Muisc Room, Liverpool Philharmonic

This 5 man Québécois outfit come out fizzing with energy from the start and never let up.  Joyful and passionate about the music, they can all tell tales about the songs and their origins, a humourous bonus on top of virtuoso playing (and podorythmie) and harmony vocals.  Respect for the tradition  is no rein on exuberance and delight, and they had the audience on their feet at the end.  Unmissable.

Paul Jones and Dave Kelly, Music Room, Liverpool Philharmonic

I don't think I'm being unkind to describe these two stalwarts of the blues scene as veterans, given their combined age of 147!  That also gives them both an unrivalled knowledge of blues history and a love of obscure blues artists through the ages.  They combine those attributes with their own musicianship and ability as raconteurs to deliver an extremely entertaining show with inspiring musical moments and plenty of laughs.

They can both sing too, Kelly the better voice, Jones the better singer.  Kelly's guitar and Jones' harmonica playing combine intuitively, so long have they been playing together, with Dave outstanding in his use of the slide, Paul a master at providing intricate little fills when the strings take the lead.  A mix of well and lesser known classic blues songs, a striking blues adaptation of City of New Orleans from Kelly, breathtaking solos from Jones.  Paul sang a few of his songs too and if they aren't quite up to scratch lyrically he can certainly write a catchy tune.

Both have plenty to say, often informative on the origins of a piece, and full of funny stories from their long experience in the music business.  If you have any love for the blues at all you must see this pairing.