Bad Boys Do Good

Bickering Gallaghers on their best behaviour at MTS Centre

It's been almost 15 years since they first "arrived" in North America, riding the same wave of critical adulation that accompanied our short-lived love affair with Britpop.

But despite the passage of time -- and the infamous sibling rivalry that's always threatening to overshadow their music, if not sink them outright -- the Manchester-born members of Oasis are still going strong.

Though they've long since put their more controversy-courting antics to rest, bickering brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher still have quite the reputations as two of rock's most prominent bad boys.

But the sibs were on their best behaviour last night at MTS Centre, delivering a no-nonsense set that doubled as a tutorial on how best to survive genre fads and fickle-fan backlashes. Opener Rock & Roll Star -- from the band's 1994 debut Definitely Maybe -- found frontman Liam striking a familiar, cocksure pose, hip jutted out ever so slightly and mono-browed eyes trained menacingly on the crowd.

He traded spiky, assured vocals with Noel on the more recent hit Lyla and drew cheers for The Shock of Lightning -- the lead single from the band's pending new disc Dig Out Your Soul -- before ceding lead vocals to Noel for The Masterplan, first released as a B-side from the mid-'90s.

Guitar-heavy tracks like Slide Away and What's the Story Morning Glory fared slightly better than jangle-pop numbers like Songbird, though fans had to wait for the latter half of the show (which we missed, on account of an early deadline) for singalong anthems like Wonderwall, Don't Look Back In Anger and Champagne Supernova.

Now in theory, opening act Ryan Adams & the Cardinals -- with their alt-country stylings and folksy jam band tendencies -- might seem the antithesis of Oasis' grizzled arena rock.

But as fans know, the two acts share many a hard-edged musical parallel, plus no less an expert than Noel has said he "never got his head around" Wonderwall until he heard Adams' cover version.

The former Whiskeytown frontman wisely chose not to try to beat the Gallaghers at their own game yesterday, but he and the Cardinals did deliver an hour-long set that found them deftly straddling the line between country and rock.

In between mumbled bits of banter, the hyper-prolific troubadour led his band through tunes culled mostly from the last four years, weaving from the haunting, strobe light-enhanced Off Broadway to the nakedly plaintive Please Do Not Let Me Go; from steel pedal-infused country numbers like Let It Ride and Mockingbird, to borderline rockers like Come Pick Me Up and Everybody Knows.

Prior to Adams' set, fellow opener Matt Costa proved he harbours no ill will against Winnipeg, despite the fact some $25,000 worth of his equipment was stolen the last time he played here back in February.

Perhaps hoping to safeguard against another heist, the indie-rocker performed with just a guitarist and a drummer this time, turning in a coffeehouse-appropriate half-hour set.

Source: winnipegsun.com

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