Can you think of anything more exciting than hometown gigs? Artist’s jet all over the world and play to a range of audiences but surely nothing beats the feeling of coming home and playing to your town. If one things for sure, you’ll always be welcomed back with open arms and lots of pride, especially in Manchester. Last night was no exception, with one of Manchester’s biggest heroes, Noel Gallagher.
Entering Manchester Arena, it felt like the whole city had turned up to witness Noel Gallagher’s return. I haven’t seen the arena overflowing like that at any show I’ve been to; it was something that any artist would envy. I was interested to see how the crowd would react to Noel’s new album in comparison to the old, iconic Oasis gigs.
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds took to the stage at 9pm to a roar from the thousands that were gathered, eagerly waiting for one of Manchester’s most loved acts. They break into ‘(It’s Good) To Be Free’ and I’m left wondering whether this is a statement from Noel pursuing his own music career. Whatever message you draw from it, it’s quite evident that Gallagher was extremely happy to be home but who can blame him when Manchester is always an enthusiastic crowd.
The crowd were pumped up by all of the new hits from the new album including, ‘If I Had a Gun’ and ‘The Death of You and Me’ and they seemed to go down just as well as expected. The excitement really started with a bang with the classic, ‘Supersonic’ bringing the majority of the arena to their feet. Hits such as ‘Half The World Away’ and ‘Little by Little’ followed and maintained the crowd’s excitement. It seemed that the crowd would love anything that Noel Gallagher does, which goes to show just how talented he is. Both the classic hits and the new hits went down a treat and I’m quite sure the new hits will one day become just as iconic.
The show ended with ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’, which is possibly the best song to end on a high, and there didn’t seem to be anything missing. It can be a risk, playing covers of your old band and sometimes it just doesn’t work but it was still just as brilliant even without the rest of Oasis and the crowd seemed to agree, resulting in many people behind me shouting, “I love you, Noel” and chanting “Noel, Noel, Noel” at various moments during the show.
However, it’s not about the drama you read in the magazines, the constant feuding and competition. It’s about Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, their talent and their show and in my opinion it was mind-blowing.
