Liam Gallagher might be the centre of attention at the moment but Noel Gallagher and his High Flying Birds swooped into an unseasonably soaked Malahide Castle on Sunday night and left their fans soaring.
Dublin largely escaped the buckets of rain that fell upon Munster throughout Sunday but about a half an hour before Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds took to the stage to headline Malahide Castle, the heavens opened.
The precipitation played a significant part in proceedings – a couple of additional downpours greeted the thousands in attendance during the set – and, as pathway met grass at the ticket entrance, the scene became apparent for us excited revellers: this was a mild mudbath of iconic festival proportions.
Nevertheless, conditions (which eventually took on a four-seasons-in-one theme) were wholly embraced as the crowd waited in anticipation for ‘The Chief’, the jovial atmosphere emanating around the pummelled field setting the night’s mood.
Moments later, the best-dressed man in north Dublin swaggered on stage to the mostly instrumental ‘Fort Knox’ (a modern alternative to Fuckin’ in the Bushes); the opening track from NGHFB’ last album, Who Built the Moon?
At 52 and dressed in leather, Noel Gallagher has rarely looked trimmer and fresher and, basically, better than he did during Britpop’s peak, almost 25 years ago.
The substance matched the style as Gallagher blazed through his latest set of psych-rock hits, including ‘Holy Mountain’, ‘It’s a Beautiful World’, ‘She Taught Me How To Fly’ (dedicated to wife Sara) and his newest single, ‘Black Star Dancing’, supported brilliantly by the band’s backing vocalists.
Interacting with the audience sporadically, the main man was in good spirits, bizarrely but quite brilliantly taunting ‘who are ya?’ in textbook 1990s style on more than one occasion (including during the climax of ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’) for no apparent reason and to no particular target. There were no complaints, mind.
Gallagher has been in fine media form of late and was at his ruthless best/worst – depending on which side of the fence you stand – talking about brother Liam while performing at the Isle of Wight festival over the weekend.
When asked whether he would prefer to watch Manchester United win the quadruple or watch Liam perform at Wembley doing “only his new stuff”, Noel introduced a third option, a concoction he preferred, which involved consuming something you never would by choice, before elaborating that Liam “murders” his own songs, as well as Noel’s, i.e. the Oasis songs he once sang.
While a slightly funny response, if not terribly harsh, it is genuinely sad to see two middle-aged siblings bicker so openly and there really does not appear to be any reconciliation on the horizon.
The one positive from it all is that neither Gallagher has ever been stronger from an artistic standpoint and it is us music fans who are ultimately benefitting.
While Noel has taken his music to strange new and interesting directions under the guidance of producer David Holmes, Liam is riding high on the back of his brilliant debut record, As It Was, which is to be followed imminently by a second album, fronted by his highly-regarded new single, ‘Shockwave’.
As for the Gallaghers in Ireland, Liam is up next, performing in Cork on June 23rd.
Back to Malahide Castle and out came the acoustic guitar following a blistering electric mix of NGHFB material. The new instrument signalled the emotional segment of the evening as selected Oasis classics were bestowed upon a most grateful audience.
If you had been following Noel’s 2019 setlist to date, you would have been expecting the likes of ‘Little By Little’, ‘Stop Crying Your Heart Out’ and ‘The Importance of Being Idle’ – all excellently performed and perfectly showcasing Gallagher’s supreme vocal power, seemingly ageing like fine wine.
However, the songs of the night have to be awarded to a couple of ’90s gems. ‘The Masterplan’ and the surprise inclusion of ‘Whatever’ (always a fantastic singalong) were received so warmly by the crowd that it was difficult not to get caught up in the heightened feelings of the occasion, especially as a pink hew in the sky had been interspersing the heavy showers, providing a beautiful backdrop to the stage.
Arguably, ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ were the least favourably-received numbers of the evening and you do wonder how long more these two inimitable tunes – a pair that turned Oasis into global superstars – have left in them from a live perspective.
A special mention for the inclusion of ‘Dead in the Water’, which was recorded in the 2FM studio a few years back (a point Noel made before strumming the opening chords). The penultimate track on Who Built the Moon?, ‘Dead in the Water’ is so drenched in haunting nostalgia, your heart skips that beat faster knowing it was taped on the doorstep of where it was being performed right there and then.
With every loop of the emotional rollercoaster ridden, the gig was coming to its natural conclusion, encore in full motion.
As has become the norm, the swansong of Noel Gallagher’s choosing was ‘All You Need Is Love’, as the crowd started exiting Malahide Castle, thoroughly satisfied on a wild-weathered Sunday night. In this form, all you need is Noel.
And now, over to you, Liam…
Featured image via NME.com.
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