"High Flying Birds" in "Council Skies".

Raise your hand if you've never heard of Noel Gallagher or the iconic band Oasis from the past. Well, if you haven't been living under a rock for the past 30 years, it's unlikely you'd raise your hand.

The mastermind (and arm, since he’s the guitarist) of the formerly world-famous Manchester band has arrived at the release of the now fourth album together with his current band that also bears his name: this summer, "Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds" in fact returned with the new "Council Skies" after years of absence from a long-running project. A few months later, the announcement of a European tour that would also touch Italy on November 8 would leave little to the imagination: as a good madferit (slang for Oasis fans), somehow, I was going to see Noel Gallagher. The result? Exactly as I expected:

Performance

It may probably turn out to be a choice not appreciated by everyone, especially in today's age where less is more is no longer a popular concept, but the choice to show up "only" with the band and a small female backing choir turned out to be an apt one. Noel Gallagher is not a man of many words, never has been, and certainly will not be in the future. We can safely say that he preferred to let his music do the talking rather than dazzle the audience with lights, videos, and supporting special effects.

Incredibly minimal stage, just a couple of flower pots and plants adorning the front of the stage. However, there was no missing touch of class: a box positioned at the back of the stage lit with a digital hologram of Manchester City's colors and crest, and a giant cartoon of Pep Guardiola at his side, carefully illuminated throughout the performance. A man of sound principles and steadfast values, to put it mildly.

What about the concert? One song after another that gradually ignited the enthusiasm of the attendees. By the way, despite being almost 60 years old now, Noel shows that he still has an enviable voice in terms of power, cleanliness, and resemblance to studio recordings. Starting off almost quietly with some of the singles from "Council Skies," certainly the least known to the public due to the recent release, the High Flying Birds then made way for their best-known and most appreciated hits that have been well received over the years and in that night's concert. Of course, the last part of the concert could not but be dedicated to some Oasis songs he wrote and (in this case) sang.

Since he has never been much of a talker, Noel did not have much interaction with the audience. In fact, most of the songs were played without a real break. Nonetheless, since we are talking about an artist who is sophisticated in terms of irony and character, he certainly did not deprive himself of some memorable and, at least from my point of view, rather funny moments. 

Indeed, how many artists could simply say "Sssssh" to the audience after being acclaimed and have everyone burst into thunderous laughter? How many artists could play with the fans' feelings and say things like "Have you ever heard of a song called Stand By Me?", "You know Champagne Supernova?" and, after the understandable general delirium, turn off the enthusiasm and exclaim "Great, too bad we won't be playing it tonight" without the risk of lynching? I think very few. Noel Gallagher knows he is an asshole. The audience knows that Noel Gallagher is an asshole and is amused by his cynical and sarcastic humor. And that's exactly why it comes really hard to remain indifferent to his charisma and, at least for those in attendance, to not love him madly.

As mentioned earlier, on November 8th, Noel Gallagher let his music do the talking. And in some cases, he even let the audience sing along without intervening, a beautiful display of love and connection to those in attendance. In general, I don't think there are many frontmen who can hold the audience's attention so much by doing so little and having an "employee-like" attitude during various performances. It takes no small amount of charisma to build a concert like this without the fear of not being enough, and Noel Gallagher certainly does not lack that.

Setlist

Being the good inquisitive person that I am, I couldn't help but take a look at the setlist before the concert, and I must say that Noel managed to fit all the different eras of his career into a balanced hour and a half that was appreciated by the various bangs of the audience. 

After the singles from "Council Skies", most of the setlist was taken up by the hit singles from "Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds" and "Chasing yesterday", the first and second albums made with the eponymous group. Of course, it could not miss "Dead in the Water", the only track taken from the third (and less successful) album "Who built the Moon?" but no less appreciated. I was never a big fan of that song, I appreciate it but it doesn't drive me crazy. Still, it was impossible to remain indifferent to the audience's involvement during this acoustic piece that was as simple as it was direct and emotional, especially when Noel stepped back from the microphone and let people sing along with a transport that is hard to repeat. 

Personally, I knew I would be moved mainly by "If I Had a Gun", one of the few love songs that I adore madly. Simple, melodic, enveloping, poetic, profound: singing such an anthem live was truly a revelation.

In the second part with Oasis songs, Noel decided to focus on strong songs such as "Live forever" (in an acoustic version, surprisingly even more beautiful and exciting than the original version), "The Masterplan" (to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of the self-titled album consisting solely of B-sides) and "Don't look back in anger." but he was also able to make room for less popular singles such as "The Importance of Being Idle", "Half the World Away" and "Little by Little", choices that the audience was nonetheless able to quietly appreciate and sing along with from the first to the last syllable.

Of note was the choice to put "Don't Look Back in Anger" as the final song, which conveyed to the audience that mix of joy and nostalgia that only great artists and great songs can leave you with.

Production

Although the venue was not exactly the smallest in the world, simplicity ruled the day. In addition to the aforementioned minimal stage set-up, Noel Gallagher made use of an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, the women's choir (who mainly intervened at the beginning of the concert) and the sound of his band to entertain the crowd.

If I had to make a small criticism, I might say that at certain moments the guitars gave me the impression of going a little too "over the top" and being excessively loud. I would have preferred more balance and sharpness between the volumes of the various instruments, but I honestly do not have the expertise to say how much was actually the fault of the band and how much of it was the fault of the acoustics of the venue. In any case, this detail certainly did not affect the beauty of the concert, as I only became aware of it during certain moments, such as those of the loudest refrains of the High Flying Birds' songs.

Venue & Crowd

The choice of concert venue was the Forum di Assago, just outside Milan. The Forum is a famous place for hosting Olimpia Milano basketball games and concerts of quite famous artists and bands. Despite the problem of acoustics in certain situations, the view was great. I attended the performance at about half of the parterre, but this year I also happened to see Bring me the Horizon at the first ring, and in both cases, I had no problem enjoying the full view of the artist and the scene as a whole.

The audience genuinely amazed me: I was convinced that I would be one of the few young people among a bunch of boomers and dinosaurs who only wanted to listen to Oasis songs, but I have never been so glad to have been wrong. 

So many young people (20-25 years old and up), so much education in the various situations, and especially so much emotional transport during the songs. Again, only side note was the attitude of some (very few) Oasis fans who kept shouting "Oasis! Oasis!" And demanding to bring the band back together. But I say: why are you not able to enjoy a concert in peace and above all respect the choice of an artist who surely knows better than you why he made such a decision? I make this point precisely because Noel has had the undiscounted merit of having sent his career forward brilliantly and solidly even after his glorious past.

Final Touch

For better or worse, Noel Gallagher's concert was what I expected from an artist and character of his caliber. I probably would have preferred to hear other songs in the setlist than some of the other choices (one above all Champagne Supernova, which would certainly have made the concert even more memorable), but I have to say that in terms of personality, stage presence, sound and vocal quality I was not disappointed at all. You can tell that we are talking about a musical heavyweight.

The feeling is that I was lucky enough to have witnessed one of the last good quality concerts of the Manchester guitarist, since by now age is starting to be out of his side and future albums will not be able to have the same quality as previous ones by necessity. One thing is certain: Noel was able to paralyze an entire city for one night and bring an hour and a half of excitement and warmth to a tremendously passionate and receptive audience. As far as I am concerned, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds are approved!

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