Review: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds In Cardiff














Who says Blur v Oasis was the British music story of the ’90s? Fast-forward two decades and two of Britpop’s foremost faces are once again the talk of the town.

A spiky, grungy set from former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon loosened up a testosterone-fuelled crowd, showing how British rock’s elder statesmen still set the bar for the young pretenders some two decades on.

From the moment a black-clad Noel Gallagher emerged there was nothing but unadulterated adulation. Typically stylish yet unassuming, an understated (It’s Good) To Be Free led the way before a huge and harmonious Everybody’s On The Run – stoked by the sonorous backing chorus – saw the arena erupt. The balconies went mad as Gallagher pinged and prodded their adrenal glands, briefly slackening the pace before a beautiful, bare version of Supersonic with a tender piano.

An adoring crowd resorted to boos when the Burnage boy dedicated AKA... What A Life! to “Manchester City fans everywhere, the nicest people in the world” but they were cheering his name again by the track’s denouement.

It felt like a single-fingered salute to crowd-pleasing platitudes – this is a man who has earned the right to gig how he wants, swaggering around with his trademark scarlet guitar slung across a snappy leather jacket.

Soldier Boys And Jesus Freaks went off like a rocket before Gallagher asked his audience to augment a melodic Half The World Away – in truth, they needed no encouragement. After 70 minutes of relentless excellence he and his menagerie of musical maestros sloped off the stage before a four-song encore building to the climax everyone wanted.

A rowdy, reminiscing Whatever tugged at the memories of yesteryear before a punchy Little By Little brought everything back the more recent side of this millennium.

And then, as Gallagher himself pronounced, it was “that time”. As he launched in to Don’t Look Back In Anger 10,000 arms poked skywards in unison, a shared ecstasy spilling throughout the auditorium.

The ’90s may be long gone, but Noel Gallagher’s appeal burns brighter than ever

Source: www.walesonline.co.uk



Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds embark on a UK tour in September and will tour the US and Canada alongside Snow Patrol and Jake Bugg later this year.

More details on the above dates and more can be found by clicking here.
© All rights reserved
Made with by stopcryingyourheartout.co.uk