This past
Sunday evening, the weather was perfect for enjoying music on a beach. Fortunately,
Praveena and I had secured tickets for Noel Gallagher and his High-Flying Birds
at Echo Beach. Praveena’s a big Oasis fan (i.e., she’s a huge Beatles fan); we also
saw Gallagher’s post-Oasis project last May at one of Toronto’s premiere music
venues, The Sony Centre. This was icing on the cake for her.
I’ll be the
first to admit that I’m not a huge Oasis or Gallagher brothers fan. It’s always great to see live music, and attending a show with the love of your life is particularly special. But my favourite part of
the concert was seeing Gallagher’s exquisite showmanship. (It doesn’t hurt that
for an outdoor venue, Echo Beach has pretty awesome sound.)
In light of
recent Canadian concert troubles—Meatloaf
collapsing on stage in Edmonton, Justin Bieber falling through a Saskatoon
stage (thankfully, both are okay)—I was slightly, superstitiously concerned in the
leadup to the show that we might see something alarmingly similar. But the
music and spectacle kept my mind limber and stress-free.
Gallagher is
a professional showman, through and through. While he may play up his asshole
persona to a (sometimes exaggerated) degree, it’s obvious he’s having fun,
especially on stage. He certainly enjoys his expletive-laced banter with the crowd. In
his between-song introductory greeting, he asked what was going on in Toronto
on a Sunday (perhaps hoping someone would say he was THE EVENT of the day?). He
added that the band were still touring their Chasing
Yesterday album—which they’d showcased in their previous Toronto visit,
last May—joking that the tour had yet to turn a profit. He later acknowledged that
the setlist hadn’t changed.
The band’s
music isn’t groundbreaking. But as a consummate showman, Gallagher knows how to
give fans what they want—mainly, great guitar riffs, earworm melodies and
soaring choruses. A three-piece brass section livened up songs like Riverman and The Death of You And Me.
He likes to change
things up, as he did with a heavier live rendition of The Mexican and a jaunty, up-tempo treatment of the Oasis tune Wonderwall. He also offered a delightful
acoustic version of Oasis hit (and standard crowd singalong) Champagne Supernova. Hearing its nostalgic line “Where were you
when we were getting high?” transported me back two decades to an uncomfortable
place that thankfully I’ve moved well beyond. Speaking of which, Gallagher
playfully dedicated the High Flying Birds’ tune You Know We Can’t Go Back to all Oasis fans.
In short,
Gallagher and his mates—Russell Pritchard on bass, Chris Sharrock on drums, Tim
Smith on guitar and Mike Rowe on keyboard—regaled Echo Beach’s near-capacity
crowd. The performance had Praveena bouncing around and shrieking like a girl
at a Beatles concert…uh, wait a moment….Anyway, I loved watching her soak up
the performance of one of her musical icons. Her personal fave number on the evening
was The Masterplan, a majestic,
emotional, minor masterpiece. She loved it not just in terms of performance,
but also for the ecstatic crowd response it evoked.
Alas, the
moment came when Gallagher drolly announced his favourite part of the show,
“the end.” The three-song encore concluded with singalong finale Don’t Look Back In Anger, which gave the
crowd the closure it’s designed to provide.
With his
music and his endearing crustiness, Gallagher knows how to appease a crowd,
whether casual fans like me or diehards like Praveena. And who knows? Had he
fallen through the stage, he probably would have found a way to turn the moment
into entertainment.
Setlist
Shoot a Hole
In The Sun (pre-recorded intro)
Everybody’s
On The Run
Lock All The
Doors
In The Heat
Of The Moment
Riverman
Fade Away (Oasis Cover)
The Death Of
You And Me
You Know We
Can’t Go Back
Champagne
Supernova (Oasis Cover)
Ballad Of
The Might I
Talk Tonight
(Oasis Cover)
D’yer Wanna
Be A Spaceman
The Mexican
Half The
World Away (Oasis Cover)
Listen Up (Oasis Cover)
If I Had A
Gun…
Digsy’s
Dinner (Oasis Cover)
The
Masterplan (Oasis Cover)
Encore
Wonderwall (Oasis Cover)
AKA…What A
Life!
Don’t Look
Back In Anger (Oasis Cover)
