International Pop Overthrow Liverpool is nearly upon us. This will the 14th IPO event in the city and I have not missed one yet. (I’ve even dashed to the venue direct from the airport after a holiday to catch a show).
The event rolls up to the Cavern Club and Pub on Mathew Street for eight days and features well over 100 bands each of which get a couple of slots over the event.
It is impossible to see everything so there’s a handy schedule here at the official IPO site, which includes links to find out more about each artist. There’s also a free programme at the event with short bios for the bands and the schedule, but you need to keep an eye on the running lists outside each venue too as any last minute changes are to be found there.
The main thing is that there is always something going on, so if you a band isn’t to your taste on one stage, there are alternatives. And who knows, you may be in the right place at the right time to discover your new favourite band.
The whole shebang is free, apart from the regular door charges at the Cavern Club. (Details here) Sadly there is no “frequent flyer” type deal with the venue other than buying daily tickets for weekends in advance. I have to say that the door charges do seem to affect how some of us plan out who we will see, particular at times with no pass outs available.
I am unable to do as much of the event as I used to these days, mostly because I have a day job, but I will be trying to post from the event. This will depend on the extremely dodgy free wifi in the Cavern Club (unless they’ve improved it immensely since last year) or whatever phone data signal I can get while underground.
I’ll edit any “live blog” posts as and when I am at a keyboard rather than a mobile device and photos should be uploaded daily to an album at my flickr account. (Be warned, there will be fuzzy phone pics posted throughout the week too)
It all kicks off on Tuesday 17th. More details on the Facebook event page and the Official facebook page. Also keep an eye on Minty and The Beeb’s blog for far more detailed updates from the event.
