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Photo: Richard Gray
It was the late Australian mobile phone magnate and multi-millionaire John Ilhan who said, “you need to give customers what they want... And if you do this people will keep coming back”.
Whilst it is improbable that Noel Gallagher has even heard of Ilhan, let alone is aware of the above anecdote attributed to him, there is no doubt that Gallagher senior follows this maxim to the letter. He too happens to be a multi-millionaire.
Such is Gallagher’s commitment to giving his fans what they want there’s almost been air of predictability to his shows since he originally began touring his High Flying Birds back in 2012. You know, for example, that he’ll play the most immediate rabble rousers from his latest LP, (tonight was no exception with 'The Ballad of Mighty I', 'Riverman' and 'In The Heat of Moment' included), there’ll be Oasis classics reworked acoustically (tonight it was 'Champagne Supernova') and finally there’ll always be a blockbuster singalong encore- tonight we were given 'Down Look Back in Anger', 'AKA What a Life' and 'The Masterplan' respectively.
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To Gallagher’s credit though, there are a couple of unexpected moves (quite literally) in tonight’s set. There’s the theatrical pointing to the front row in the miniscule space between guitar strums on set opener 'Do The Damage'. Following this, the guitar is raised into mock gunpoint gesture in 'Lock All the Doors' and finally, during 'You Know We Can’t Go Back', the chief turns on one foot so quickly, that it appears suspiciously like a dance floor spin.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Noel Gallagher of 2015; this is Noel Gallagher the showman (or as much as a showman as man in his late 40s from Burnage can be without sacrificing his credibility). Ageist flippancy aside, it is impossible to argue with Gallagher’s formula as it evidently works so well. That’s why so many of us keep coming back, such loyal customer we are.
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Noel Gallagher played:
Do the Damage
(Stranded On) The Wrong Beach
Everybody's on the Run
Fade Away (Oasis cover)
In the Heat of the Moment
Lock All the Doors
Riverman
The Death of You and Me
You Know We Can't Go Back
Champagne Supernova (Oasis cover)
Ballad of the Mighty I
Dream On
The Dying of the Light
The Mexican
AKA... Broken Arrow
Digsy's Dinner (Oasis cover)
If I Had a Gun...
Encore:
Don't Look Back in Anger (Oasis cover)
AKA... What a Life!
The Masterplan (Oasis cover)
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