Observing amongst the chaos on this Sunday evening for Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, the Utilita Arena is packed with many generations of people, a testament to the legacy of Noel Gallagher’s career. There are some discernible categories of people here: Britpop zealots to ex-football hooligan boys, diehard dad-rock patriots who can recite every word to even some of the beiger Gallagher tracks. There’s a real sense of laddy solidarity here.
Opening tonight’s High Flying Birds performance with recent album favourite Pretty Boy, the frontman fails to stir the bucket-hatted children in the pit – although in fairness, Gallagher has never claimed his newest music was written for moshy Gen Zers.
This set develops with a litany of new music played, with matured vocals on Council Skies and Open The Door, See What You Find. Yet the pace is somewhat lost with Easy Now. 2015’s In The Heat Of The Moment sees the crowd gaining momentum as Gallagher leans into his older discography: “We’re gonna keep going backwards. We’re gonna end up in the 90s!” The crowd erupts.
Unfortunately, Gallagher’s rock‘n’roll essence has been replaced by a sometimes-prickly, apathetic man, and we’re paying for £8 pints to watch him on a school night. In post-Oasis present day, musically, Gallagher is excellent and he undoubtably still carries the heavyweight title for songwriting. However, his crowd engagement in this performance has left a lot to be desired.
Still, even with his tamed middle-aged outfit, the frontman knows how to provoke his audience. “This next one’s for Manchester City supporters only.” A sea of blokey boos fills the airspace as a cardboard cutout of Pep Guardiola stands proudly on stage. AKA… What A Life! transforms the arena into a more collective party, uniting fans old and new.
In this latter half of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ set, the crowd get what they’ve been waiting for. Swaying bodies, joined arms and belted lyrics are prompted by Oasis tracks like The Masterplan, Half The World Away and Little By Little –this is what they’ve been waiting for. Looking around, this crowd is enthralled in a reminiscence which concludes with Live Forever. That’s my cue.
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Utilita Arena Cardiff, Sun 17 Dec
words TERESA DELFINO photos JONATHAN HERRON
