Liam Gallagher by Tom Oxley
Liam Gallagher is back in London upon the release of Knebworth 22.
Amidst this (so-called) Summer Of Britpop, one man has been conspicuous by his absence.
As such there’s a palpable sense of excitement in north London, from Euston station to Camden, for Liam Gallagher‘s first UK show for nearly a year and his only indoor gig of 2023 at the 1500-capacity KOKO.
Admirably armed only with acoustic guitar, Rifles frontman Joel Stoker proffers some choice cuts from his forthcoming solo album The Undertow in his support slot. Less upbeat than his band’s output, Stoker has a world-weariness to his voice that reflects his experience, and harnesses the power of one man and a guitar while also boding well for the album.
His brother may have written the songs, but Liam undoubtedly maintains the spirit of Oasis, which is reflected in the behaviour of the crowd.
Chants of ‘Liam!’ start immediately after Stoker leaves the stage, creating an atmosphere that hits fever pitch as the house lights drop (although the venue is lit up by phones only) and intro track Fuckin’ In The Bushes precedes the arrival of Gallagher and his 9-person band, including Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs.
Arthurs, who was forced to miss the mega-shows in 2022 because of cancer treatment, adds the required heft to the Oasis material in the early part of the set (as he always did) but is a part-time presence on stage, otherwise standing side of stage to oversee proceedings. Yet it’s a joy to see him attack the chords on the likes of Morning Glory and Rock ‘n’ Roll Star.
As is his wont, Gallagher appears indifferent in posture and attitude (although the early part of the set is marred by frustrations with his sound, frequently giving direction to the engineer side of stage), only really becoming animated during a monstrous rendition of The River, with his son Gene assists on drums. His only form of crowd entertainment comes in drinking a cup without lifting it from its position atop the keyboards, or playing shakers, tambourine and recorder as one.
As such the crowd is given little praise apart from a ‘nice one’ after a suitably boisterous Cigarettes & Alcohol, yet that matters little when The Voice is as powerful as ever and can deliver the goods (as it does tonight). His backing singers make up for his lack of animation, swaying and dancing away. In the presence of a less captivating frontman, the trio would steal the show.
Although ostensibly a promotion for the Knebworth 22 live album (although no acknowledgment is given apart from on the merch), the set spans the entirety of his solo career, from Wall Of Glass (which, although well-received, could perhaps do with a rest having been a mainstay in his set since 2017) through a wired Shockwave to the slinky, AM funk of Diamond In The Dark.
Indeed, the anthemic Once sits comfortably alongside the singalongs like Slide Away while Paper Crown is dusted off for an acoustic performance (the only respite in an otherwise relentless 90 minutes of rock music).
In contrast, the Oasis numbers remain untouched, aside from a doubled vocal outro of Live Forever and a topical twist to Wonderwall (‘there are many things that I would like to say to you but I don’t speak cockney’).
After a gracious farewell (‘Thank you for coming and all that bollocks’) Gallagher leaves us with a new treat: a chugging cover of Are You Experienced? by The Jimi Hendrix Experience which, sadly due to its unfamiliarity to the young crowd, ends things on a quieter note.
But otherwise, in the world of Liam Gallagher, everything is still electric.