Noel Gallagher Flies Free In Edinburgh














Review: After his turbulent years in Oasis, Noel Gallagher is back flying solo, making his first Scottish show a more relaxed affair on stage. Off stage, perhaps not so...

On first appearances the crowd tonight was much more demure than your average Oasis crowd, though the tributes were certainly there in many of the haircuts inhabiting Edinburgh's Usher Hall.

No sooner had that thought passed my head, when the lights dimmed and the stampede from the bar begun on all three levels. Ejecting their pints forward and squeezing their polo-shirts as close to the perspiration of Mr Gallagher as humanly possible, the hardcore fans rapidly turned the crowd into a pleasantly stereotypical mob.

Entering the stage with a wide-legged swagger in the style of someone who's spent much of their time riding horses, Noel Gallagher and his 'High Flying Birds' give themselves no introduction, beginning from his roots with an ironic Oasis track, (It's Good) To Be Free. The nod to his departure from Oasis after eighteen years had the upper circles of the venue like the terraces of an old firm match, whilst the pit downstairs looked like they were jeering on their best mate in a cage fight.

With fans propelling the rollick of the set, Everybody's On The Run from the collective's debut album is already well-known. Live the track, very much like the more melodic side of Oasis' personality, misses the wash of strings that are on record, though it remains to sound much more serious than previous musical ventures. This could, however, be a product of Noel's stern-faced performance.

Reportedly nervous about his first solo project, If I Had A Gun is dedicated to the Rock 'N' Roll Star's new wife Sara MacDonald. Referring to her as "The Queen Of Edinburgh," it's been reported that the Scot, present tonight, was responsible for encouraging the 44-year-old to fly solo. Lending itself towards the Live Forever, milder persona of Oasis, the track is already a coarsely sung ballad for the crowd.

After a few tracks with his four piece backing band (and none of them actually 'birds' by the way, far from it), Gallagher jumps back into Oasis territory almost playing a cover of a cover with the Ryan Adams acoustic version of Wonderwall. Following the relaxed vocal delivery to make the anthem much more fragile, the Edinburgh crowd just about keep up with the rework.

Before the applause fades, Supersonic is unleashed, the familiar Britpop swagger even more agreeable with the crowd, who he asks, for the first of a few times tonight, " Have you all got your Stone Roses tickets then?" Of course they do...

After a few newer songs, the reborn star, now a frontman serves up a full-band version of Talk Tonight and Half The World Away. Far from exuding the confidence of his brother, the gentler tracks have more sentiment with this delivery and are sung at full lung capacity by the Usher Hall.

Dragging the Oasis jukebox back across the stage for the encore, another three tracks from their back catalogue have the crowd just about throwing imaginary pints in the air. (The bar shut during the performance, hence all projectile ammunition was quickly spent on the hero's arrival).

Like a slightly more thoughtful Oasis, if you liked it first time round, you'd have been in your element tonight. On the other hand, if you were ever in doubt, a more polite version of the brand/ pleasant, folkier retirement home Oasis is not going to win you over Little By Little.

Source: entertainment.stv.tv
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