Being the youngest child of arguably the city’s most dearly-missed son, it would be expected that Sean Lennon only has to make an appearance in Liverpool to generate an audience. But he did much more than that when he brought his much-perfected array of jazzy-rock ensembles to the Carling Academy. With an appearance uncannily like John Lennon’s late 60s peace-look, with a wild wavy mass of dark locks, patchy beard and symbolic rounded specs, even the least cynical spectator may reckon that Sean trades off his dad’s image. But he really is a genuinely talented vocalist; his ranging, wispy voice worthy of carrying the Lennon flame with pride. Sean’s ability on both acoustic and electric guitar was rather outstanding too, as was his well-drilled 4-piece backing band. In promoting his first album in eight years, Sean’s “Friendly Fire” tour was just three dates old as it landed in the Academy’s small-but-perfectly-formed Stanley Theatre. And you could tell. “It’s only our third show so we’re still ironing the kinks out,” Sean admitted after opening with an out-of tune “Wait for me”, “but we’ll play that again later if you want,” he added.  | | Sean Lennon |
Despite this slight hiccup, an instant rapport with the crowd was struck when he declared: “I’m a bit nervous about playing in Liverpool because I don’t know if you know, but my dad was born here.” And he wasn’t joking… Sean was nervous. He looked uncomfortable in between songs and despite some chatty banter with the attentive audience he never quite looked settled. So he let his music do the talking. A distinctly James Taylor sounding “On Again, Off Again” and another tale of heartbreak in “Falling out of Love” portrayed Sean’s seemingly eternal relationship struggles, with the latter building into an epic piano crescendo. The immensely catchy but deeply haunting “Dead Meat” followed, and Sean’s cover of obscure T-Rex track “Would I be the One” had a possibly unintended but still unaccountably present Beatles flavour. Then before performing a solo encore of yet another lost-love song “Tomorrow”, Sean said just how much it meant to him playing in Liverpool. So perhaps his early nerves were understandably emotionally-driven. A double encore ensued from well-earned rapturous applause for one of Seans oldies “Mystery Juice”, resulting in some nostalgia for fans as he finished his set with the almost decade-old “Spaceship”. It was the end of a show that had been dreamt up via a barrage of influences, a life of experiences and a mind of deep, thoughtful creativity. And as he walked off the stage, you nodded to yourself and thought “He’s a Lennon alright.” | 
