Noel Gallagher

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds

Noel Gallagher. A joyous gig of wonderful melodies and a total feel-good factor.

Wembley arena is a special place for me, since I first saw Pink Floyd there in 1974.This was a very different concert. No lengthy intros or outros. Virtually no lead solos. Just great song after great song.

Noel Gallagher Wembley Arena 14 December 2023

I’m not an avid Oasis fan. I saw them at the stadium next door in 2009, just before they broke up, an occasion remembered for being showered with pee in pint glasses from the seats above. Fortunately, 14 years on Noel’s audience has matured and it was a happy occasion, all about the music.

This was an opportunity to see one of the great songwriters of our times play live, and Noel did not disappoint. Even before he appeared, there was the added treat of seeing the former Kasabian front man, Tom Meighan, in support. Full of energy, as he had been when I saw Kasabian headline Glastonbury, his renditions of the hits LSF and Fire were excellent.

Noel Gallagher

Noel Gallagher High Flying Birds

The High Flying Birds 90 minute set (short but no time wasted by chit-chat) was tight, punchy, full of pace. The set list had three parts, opening with 5 songs from his recent Council Skies album. Then a middle section of earlier High Flying Birds songs. And concluding with a section of Oasis songs, mainly deep cuts rather than the big hits.

Noel is very much the rhythm guitarist in the band, much of the time playing acoustic, and this combined with the excellent drums and the bass guitar laid a solid platform for every song, melody after melody. The overall sound quality was excellent with the band creating a rich, well balanced sound. And to me Noel’s vocals were a revelation. I had always thought of Liam as the voice of Oasis, but Noel’s singing was splendid.

He did dedicate a song to Manchester City (AKA…What a Life!) and he was joined on stage by a mannequin of Pep Guardiola, but I can forgive him that because he and Liam were avid City fans long before City became rich.

I’ve offered wondered why Noel post Oasis has never achieved those heights again, but the 5 songs played from Council Skies are definitely getting there. A great opening sequence with “Open the Door, See What You Find” the standout track for me. In the middle section of High Flying Birds hits the rendition of Heat of the Moment was particularly memorable.

Noel Gallagher High Flying Birds

In the last section, choosing some generally deeper cuts from the Oasis catalogue meant that the earlier sections weren’t overshadowed by the big hits. Every song was great though, with Little by Little and its splendid chorus a highlight. An acoustic version of Live Forever was fantastic, and moving, with the crowd providing the backing vocals. The final song could only be Don’t Look Back in Anger, which of course had the whole audience on its feet singing and sent everyone away euphoric into the Wembley night.

Paul Allen
14 December 2023.