Noel Gallagher's High FlyingBirds, Deep Sea Arcade @ TheEnmore, Sydney (23/01/12)

Wed 25th Jan, 2012 in Gig Reviews

Fresh from playing his first Big Day Out, Noel Gallagher jets into Sydney to play an oversold Enmore Theatre and he brought his High Flying Birds with him. Despite a good hour and 15 minute wait before any music is played, a sea of fans flock in as the doors open, keen to see what the soon to be crowned ‘godlike genius’ has to offer.

Deep Sea Arcade breezed onto the stage to play an effortless set of jangly, indie guitar pop. Despite a few problems with equipment, they produced a performance that was both engaging and entertaining. Their country fried guitar riffs alongside synthesised electronic psychedelia proved to be a successful mix and gelled well with the audience they were trying to win over. Their new single Girls seemed set to galvanise anyone who was still on the fence at the end of their set, its upbeat rhythms and throbbing bass echoing the good ol’ days of the Britpop invasion.

When Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds emerged from the wreck of Oasis, Noel cemented his image as the sensitive, spiritual, singer/songwriter behind the Manchester lad-rock juggernaut. The stage in the Enmore theatre reflected the same image, groovy 60s fonts spelled out the band’s name on the drum kit, warped sitar music was being played through the PA and a psychedelic light display was being tested. When Noel and co. finally walked on stage it was to the chopped and altered sounds of his own music, but this is where the love child mystique finished.

Instead, Gallagher and his bird’s approach each song with a no-nonsense work man’s outlook. Much like the simple and classic melodies of Noel’s past hits, their presence and performance on stage is simple, direct and big. The heavy layering and over production of the record is stripped away and the songs are left to stand on their own, quite successfully, on the guts and bones that made them. Dream On and (I Wanna Live In A Dream In My) Record Machine are transformed from psych pop to rock anthems, their choruses surging upwards into the rafters of the theatre.

It is a testament to both Noel’s song writing and his fanatical following that, while plenty of Oasis classics were played, the set never relied on them to retain interest. Everything from debut single The Death Of You And Me to new song Freaky Teeth, a James Bondesque gypsy stomper, received a frothing response.

The real highs of the show came from the moments where Noel was the centre of attention. Whether it’s when he’s offering the crowd drugs and asking for beauty tips while someone is tuning up or under the spotlight with a guitar solo, he was a gregarious and gracious performer. Mid set, most of the birds took to roost as he played stripped down versions of mega hits Wonderwall and Supersonic. Reduced to their foundations, the songs still held their special magic over the crowd, who almost eclipsed Gallagher completely as they sang along.

Noel Gallagher showed Sydney that his new music can stand tall with his hits of yore and that, based on the strength of his new songs, people holding their breath for an Oasis reunion may be in for quite a wait. People hoping to catch him at the Big Day Out should wear their running shoes so they can make it in time from Kanye West, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds aren’t one to miss.

Set List:

1.(It’s Good) To Be Free
2.Mucky Fingers
3.Everybody’s on the Run
4.Dream On
5.If I Had a Gun…
6.The Good Rebel
7.The Death of You and Me
8.Freaky Teeth
9.Wonderwall
10.Supersonic
11.(I Wanna Live in a Dream in My) Record Machine
12.AKA… What a Life!
13.Talk Tonight
14.Soldier Boys and Jesus Freaks
15.AKA… Broken Arrow
16.Half The World Away
17.(Stranded On) The Wrong Beach

Encore:
18.Little By Little
19.The Importance of Being Idle
20.Don’t Look Back In Anger