At this time of our life we come to a NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS gig with more than a bit of history and some high flying expectations. Don’t get me wrong, there were fans spreading the age spectrum at Caldicot Castle last night (Saturday) where the band played a sell out show on their current tour. But you come to a Noel Gallagher gig expecting hits, a smattering of new stuff and a nod back to the good old Oasis days. And guess what? That’s exactly what Noel and the guys delivered.
After a couple of songs Noel laid out exactly how the gig was going to go.
‘There’s a couple songs from the new album, we’ve got a few surprises too and then we’ll start going back – way back.’
As he gave a little nod to the front row the place erupted at the thought of some of those old songs.
We got to hear a fair few tracks from the current album ‘Council Skies‘ to kick off with, (‘Pretty Boy‘, ‘Council Skies‘ and ‘Open The Door‘) and the loved, and clearly knew them, cause they are just great songs. I always find with Noel’s new material, they’re all just future classics anyway.
If you were to look at Noel’s pandemic greatest hits album ‘Back The Way We Came‘ and pick your favourites from his 12 year solo career, there’s a chance you would approve of the choice for his live set.
And that’s what we’d all been waiting for – a few of those Oasis favourites.
I spoke to a lot of fans in the audience, and like me, they’d seen Oasis back in the glory days, sometimes incredible, very occasionally not so – I’m referring to the Cardiff Arena gig in 2002, the week Liam had his teeth punched out in Munich. Great show, but a bit toothless (pardon the pun). Part of my problem at that gig was the fact I’d seen probably one of the bands best ever at Lancashire Crickets Club earlier that year.
So yes, I arrived at Caldicot Castle a well and truly, fully signed up Gallagher brothers fan.
What you get with Noel is a real connection with the audience. Listening to the songs is one thing, but hearing the artist talk to us about life, love and everything they put in to creating some of our best known music is another. And Noel is really good at the audience interaction. Although to be fair, his football references landed wide of the net a few times – we’re a bit sensitive about our sport this side of the water (and maybe a little envious).
Redemption however is never far away and with a sing-a-long classic, boy, did Caldicot Castle raise the non existent roof.
I keep talking about Noel but be in no doubt that the High Flying Birds is a properly formed ‘arena tour’ band. They might have risen from the ashes of Beady Eye but they are as much a part of the Gallagher sound now, as he who won’t be named was back in the day.
Former Oasis members GEM ARCHER is on guitar, MIKE ROWE (piano) and CHRIS SHARROCK on Drums. There’s also former Zutons member RUSSELL PRITCHARD and three incredibly talented all-female backing singers called ‘ROXY‘, who Noel claims changed his approach to songwriting. They are really good.
And if you’re wondering where the name prefix for the band came from, Noel is quoted as saying he was washing dishes listening to the album Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, while the latter part of the name is taken from the Jefferson Airplane song ‘High Flying Bird.’
The setting at Caldicot Castle couldn’t be any better and despite the crappy weather we’ve had over the last few days, we got a bit of Monmouthshire sunshine as Newport’s finest GOLDIE LOOKIN’ CHAIN opened up proceedings. We don’t care what you say, GLC know how to work an audience.
Next up was another Newport massive FEEDER, who’ve been touring in their own right, and appearing as special guests all over the country. If ever a band we’re going to warm us up for Noel, then Feeder is it. They were bang on with the music and the old classics, which became their own pop anthems, sounded really good.
Then it was the moment we were waiting for. The sun was setting, with the night time breeze blowing the remnants of our slightly off-key rendition of Wonderwall away. The screens lit, the crowd cheered and there he was, with the castle lit in the foreground, the perfect setting for what turned into the perfect night.
You go to a Noel Gallagher gig and you’re going to sing-a-long to everything, even the new stuff. The band literally thundered their way through the opening of the set, with everyone in the crowd hanging on every chord, lyric and beat. It was a magnificent start and we knew we had and equally great couple of hours of live music ahead of us.
For me, there is something really relevant today about ‘We’re on Our Way Now‘, which appeared early on in the set. A song about resilience and determination seemed to be a pitch-perfect anthem for this slightly off-key world of ours.
With Oasis, Noel was the brother who played guitar, wrote some life-defining tunes and occasionally got to sing. I’ve seen him a few times ‘back in the day’ but today, things are very different. He excels as a vocalist with a voice that has definitely refined over the years. His all round musical performance is off the chart good.
I’m sure Noel knows this, but those songs of his mean so much, to so many, for lots of different reason. I spoke to a couple in the audience who fell in love to ‘Stop Crying Your Heart Out‘ and one woman told me that her late husband insisted that ‘Wonderwall‘ was his send off song. I mention this because it’s easy for an artist to rattle through the classics, like it’s a must do thing. Not the High Flying Birds.
When Noel digs deep into the Oasis catalogue, as he did last night, with some welcome ‘B Sides’ thrown in too, we got songs which clearly mean as much to him as they do us. As I said, he likes a bit of crowd interaction and he adds his usual Noel witticisms along the way. After a chat with some of the front row crowd he ended up dedicating a song to one of them, Alexandra.
A couple of real stand-outs for me were ‘The Masterplan‘ and ‘Half The World Away‘, as much for our performance as his.
Noel closed the set with the Oasis classic ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger‘, by then it was full-on arms in the air, phones alight, and sing-a-long fest. I couldn’t help but look around at the audience and wonder how many have waited for this day, when they get to see Noel perform a song we all know and love so well.
That particular track may be 38 years old now (sorry, but it is), and released at a time when we could flip the single over and play the B-Side too (Step Out, Underneath the Sky, Cum On Feel The Noize if you don’t remember). But everything about this anthemic classic felt fresh and current in the cold Caldicot air, and is easy to see why it remains number one in the NME list of most explosive choruses ever.
As the thousands of us streamed away from the Castle, there was a hope it wouldn’t be too long before he made it back for a repeat performance. Noel was clearly moved by the ovation the crowd gave him, the band too revelled in the well deserved adoration thrown their way. As live shows go, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds should definitely be on your must-see list.
In the meantime, many of us have signed up for Noel’s South Wales return when the guys are back at the Cardiff International Arena on Sunday December 17th, there are still a few available for that date. You can get all the ticket information – HERE.
You can also read our original show feature HERE.
