Noel Gallagher (Photo: Live4ever)
An army of Liam Gallagher lookalikes have descended on London’s Kentish Town, filling the pubs and spilling out onto the street. This was the closest anyone would get to seeing the man himself as tonight the spotlight was on his older brother, Noel. Talk of both himself and Liam – both now settling into their post-Oasis projects – was high on the conversational topic agenda and for many this low key affair was the first opportunity to see just what Noel is capable of on his own.
It’s not often you have the privilege of seeing Noel Gallagher play in a venue that is probably no bigger than his swimming pool, and the touts were rubbing their hands with glee as extortionate amounts of money continued to be exchanged right up until showtime. This was certainly not a problem for the man who Noel beat to the number 1 album spot last week, X Factor‘s Matt Cardle, who was spotted in attendance. Tonight’s masterclass in songwriting would have shown him exactly why Noel trounced him to that coveted chart position.
Noel Gallagher fronting a band is not a familiar sight, having admittedly perfected his role in Oasis as “that guy who stood at the side of the stage and did a bit of singing”. Starting all over again at the age of 44 has been a healthy change of circumstances for him. The ‘…High Flying Birds‘ album is a resounding success that finally fulfills the potential he had tinkered with on the last two Oasis albums, ‘Don’t Believe the Truth‘ and ‘Dig Out Your Soul‘.
This time round there was no songwriting democracy and what we have been delivered is an album of pure Noel Gallagher which has made for the finest record he has been involved in since ‘Be Here Now‘ (on a songwriting level, at least).
Opening the set list with two Oasis songs was not the most confident statement of intent. Everybody expects him to play songs from his former band, but returning to the live stage under a new guise with a brilliant new album in the bag, and kicking things off with not one but two Oasis tracks is playing it a bit too safe. ‘Everybody’s On the Run‘ would have been the smarter, more fitting choice. ‘(It’s Good) To Be Free‘ did go down a storm, and ‘Mucky Fingers‘ – a song far better live than on record, gave Noel a chance to rock out a bit. Even with the absence of strings or choir, ‘Everybody’s On the Run’ still bulldozes its way onto the set list; a dramatic entrance that gets the audience pumped, bellowing out its anthemic chorus, officially opening the High Flying Birds live account for tonight’s show.
‘If I Had a Gun‘ was greeted with the reception of an old classic and is clearly on its way to becoming the flagship Noel Gallagher tune of this new chapter in his career. The crowd belted out the dreamy chorus in unison, which gave it a spine-tingling quality that marked the crowning moment of the gig. ‘The Good Rebel‘ – a mediocre b-side when measured up against the ilk of songs on the album, surprised by taking on a new lease of life.
For those that had become quite familiar with the album already, the real treat of the evening was ‘Freaky Teeth‘ – Noel’s self proclaimed ‘Bond theme’. Dropping a brand new song into the set is the sort of behaviour we’ve craved from him for years. It tore the roof off the Forum and provided a moment that’s a rarity these days – a Noel Gallagher guitar solo. Its screaming guitars, pounding drums and ‘House of the Rising Sun‘ inspired versus have whet the appetite for his next Amorphous Androgynous-produced album which it is set to appear on.
Rather unsurprisingly, the acoustic renditions of Oasis classics ‘Wonderwall‘ and ‘Supersonic‘ sparked huge sing-alongs and an insane level of unanimous adulation. What’s reassuring is that they didn’t steal the thunder from the new batch of songs which were also greeted with open arms. ‘AKA…What a Life‘ may have lacked the bite of the studio version but in time should become a staple song in the set list once they’ve turned up the keyboard in the mix. Nevertheless, the crowd sang back every word to Noel who put in a consistently impressive vocal performance and laid to waste any doubts that he couldn’t pull off singing for an entire gig night after night. It may still be early days but he’s showing no signs of slowing down and is definitely at the peak of his vocal abilities.
The mood tonight was one of excitement, nerves and reassurance – pretty much in that order, not only for Noel but perhaps for the fans too. Unlike David Cameron and the population he is in charge of, we were actually all in this together. This was a man comfortable in his skin, in a jubilant mood and demonstrating the body language of someone who is more enthusiastic about being on stage since God knows when. We never really doubted him of course, but the interviews that preceded the tour painted the picture of a man who was not his usual charmfully arrogant and confident self. There had been an air of uncertainty and sense of the unknown. That was all put to rest during the first verse of ‘If I Had a Gun’.
Playing the new album in order and sandwiching in the classics was a wise move, but his decision to close the gig with three Oasis songs was a little disappointing. These are pastures new and the likes of ‘...Record Machine‘ would have deserved their place in an encore which consisted of ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger‘, ‘The Importance of Being Idle‘ and ‘Little by Little‘.
There is no doubting that these were all textbook performances of three fan favourites and Noel even played the solo on ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’, which was quite a spectacle. Whether you’ve heard it a million times or not, it still justifies its place in the set list and will probably never leave it.
Nobody expects Noel to turn into Jimi Hendrix overnight, nor will he ever be a ‘showman’. Anyone that is familiar with the Noel Gallagher live experience will know that he usually lets the music do the talking. Tonight’s show presented the challenge of scaling down some of the songs on his new album that are begging to be blasted at Wembley Stadium – and that’s most of them. ‘Everybody’s On the Run’ without strings? ‘…Record Machine’ without the choir? Somewhat predictably, it was a hurdle he leaped over effortlessly as these songs stand up on their own without the backing of the album’s lavish production.
If this tour teaches Noel anything, it should be that this collection of new songs are of a standard that he hasn’t achieved since cassette tapes were cool, and nobody would blame him for showing them off a bit more and giving them the platform they deserve. Despite the questionable running order of the set list, the show was an absolute treat from start to finish for both the ageing diehards and the new generation of fans, including those who heard ‘AKA…What a Life’ on the radio a couple of months ago and questioned whether this was really the man who had become so strongly associated with stadium rock over the years and not the thumping, catchy as hell dance floor filler that has opened the door to a new fan base.
(Matt Humphrey)