Noel and Liam Gallagher have largely spent the past decade in the depths of their on-again, off-again, sometimes fake, sometimes real, inter-family feud. The animosity between the two siblings typically revolves around the possibility of an Oasis reunion that seems as equally likely never to happen, as it does to occur sometime late this year.
Outside of Oasis fans having a genie grant their magic wish to see the brothers Gallagher come together for at least one more epic run of Oasis live bombast and rock n’ roll debauchery, the next best thing has been Noel and Liam Gallagher both offering up eclectic studio efforts and live shows that have kept millions of their original band’s fans content as they impatiently wait for the brothers to reunite.
The younger of the two siblings, Liam, is the Gallagher brother who, in a live setting, still offers up the closest thing to an authentic Oasis live experience. Liam plays far more Oasis hits than Noel typically does and he still takes the stage, most nights, with every bit as much Manchester angst and bravado as he once did in the early ’90s.
However, Liam Gallagher’s solo efforts and his time in Beady Eye have seen the frontman produce recorded efforts that never really felt as though they truly had the DNA of what made Oasis great running through them. Yet despite this fact, once the younger Gallagher hops up on any stage on planet Earth, he’s still able to perform at a level that comes across as old-school Oasis even if the music he’s playing, at least the stuff that’s not associated with Oasis, doesn’t necessarily connect. Conversely, Noel Gallagher’s recorded output with High Flying Birds has always aligned much more closely with Oasis’ sonics.
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What’s curious about the elder Gallagher’s latest LP, Council Skies, is that although it lacks the fervid energy of Oasis hits that are more pure, raw rock n’ roll, the album’s lighter tracks eerily have what made many early Oasis tracks such as “Don’t Go Away” and “Half the World Away” so special. When Noel moves to a live setting these days the music and the vibe of his performances are much more tied to ’60s and ’70s soft rock and even at times, orchestral-tinged pop. This characterization might come off as off-putting to a large portion of Oasis’ hardened and loyal fan base but the reality is, all of them should embrace this alternate version of Oasis wholeheartedly.
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ show at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston this past weekend hammered the above point home in spades.
The first half of the performance in New England saw Noel Gallagher stick primarily to tracks off of his latest LP. Council Skies is seemingly a love letter to Noel’s hometown of Manchester. It voices many stories of love, life, loss, tragedy, and triumph in ways that beg the listener to not just pay attention but to connect with what Gallagher is trying to share with them in a very intimate way.
As the first half of Noel’s performance in Boston focused on his solo material there was a bit of a lull and this waning sense of anticipation that hung over the crowd in Boston throughout. This was a damn shame as the band Noel Gallagher has brought out with him for this run of shows is hyper-talented and the spin they’re putting on the High Flying Birds material should be commended, not scoffed at as fans impatiently wait around to sing “Live Forever” with one another for the millionth time.
That said, it’d also be a bald-faced lie not to readily admit that the second half of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds set in Boston was where the show really took flight. Well, that is if you were interested in alternate takes of primarily B-sides from Oasis’ vast catalog.
Noel is not out in the wild attempting to bring the house down with by-the-numbers versions of “Supersonic”, “Wonderwall”, “Cigarettes and Alcohol, et al. Instead, he’s offering up unique, introspective takes on Oasis gems such as “The Masterplan”, the underappreciated “Half the World Away”, and even show closer “Don’t Look Back in Anger” that organically morphed into a beautifully acoustic crowd-wide sing-along.
Fans expecting Noel Gallagher to take to the MGM Music Hall at Fenway’s stage and drop jaws with nothing but two-plus hours of Oasis hit after hit not only didn’t do themselves any favors heading into Saturday’s performance in Boston, most of them were likely paying so little attention at times, that they ultimately missed out on one of the most sublime live rock shows New England has seen this year.
Opening up the festivities this past weekend was another band from the early 2000s that rose to fame in and around the same time Oasis initially did, Canada’s very own Metric. It’s rather difficult to try to pinpoint exactly what genre of music Metric plays in as their records cross the gamut of indie-rock, alternative, new wave, synth-pop, and even of all things, dance-rock at times.
That might sound stigmatizing to most Oasis fans but the reality of Metric’s time onstage in Boston was a far different affair. Fun, upbeat, unexpected, and a damn-good time would be the best way to describe Metric’s high-octane opening set. Any fans in attendance to specifically see Metric must have been elated as they delivered a career-spanning set that included reworked renditions of some of Metric’s most beloved songs like “Gold Guns Girls”, which opened the band’s night in Boston, to the Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World soundtrack hidden gem, “Black Sheep”.
Co-headlining the evening in Boston was the Shirley Manson-led Garbage. Although Manson and company have been comparatively quiet on the recorded front for the past 15 years or so (just three albums since 2005’s Bleed Like Me), they’ve continued to be one of pop and rock’s more engaging and thought-provoking live acts.
The first two-thirds of Garbage’s set leaned heavily into tracks that, unless you were a long-time fan of the band, you likely had never heard before. Despite that condition’s existence, it did absolutely nothing to take away from the sheer force of Manson and Garbage’s performance throughout.
The band’s set was more wildly captivating and entertaining than it had any right to be and that’s before Manson and company got to the part of the evening toward the end of their set when casual fans started paying attention as more recognizable tracks such as “Paranoid”, “Stupid Girl”, and a slow downed, haunting take of “Only Happy When It Rains” were played.
If you missed Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ performance in Boston, I have some bad news for you if you live in the United States, as the show this past weekend was their final performance in North America on this current tour cycle.
Don’t fret Oasis fans. The rumor mill is heating up once again in terms of the viability of a Gallagher Brothers reunion. Hell, even former rival, now turned ally and Oasis reunion hype-man, Blur’s Damon Albarn, is placing real bets on it. Albarn recently told The Sun in the U.K, “I can guarantee they’re going to reform, in fact, I’ve put money on it.”
Whether that ultimately comes to fruition, only time will tell. However, in the interim, if you have the means, by all means, get over to Europe this summer and fall to catch Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds in all their glory.
If you don’t have a passport, or simply are like most and simply lack the financial means and/or time to jet off to Europe for your own personal, pseudo-Oasis reunion. Do the next best thing and simply take out a copy of the latest High Flying Birds record, Council Skies, sit back, open your mind, and pay attention.
You very well may end up falling in love with Noel Gallagher all over again.
Check out a gallery of images from Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Garbage, and Metric at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston courtesy of photographer Robert Forte along with fan-shot videos from Steve’s Concert Corner.
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – “Don’t Look Back In Anger” – 7/15/23
