Tour Dates
11/27/2017 New York, NY Terminal 5
11/29/2017 Washington, DC Lincoln Theatre 11/30/2017 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer 12/03/2017 Leeds, UK First Direct Arena 12/04/2017 Glasgow, UK SSE Hydro 12/06/2017 Plymouth UK Plymouth Pavilions 12/07/2017 London, UK Alexandra Palace 12/09/2017 Edinburgh UK Princes St. Gardens 12/10/2017 Nottingham UK Motorpoint Arena 12/12/2017 Birmingham UK Arena Birmingham 12/13/2017 Cardiff UK Motorpoint Arena Cardiff 12/15/2017 Brighton UK The Brighton Centre 12/16/2017 Manchester, UK Manchester Arena 12/30/2017 Lorne, Australia Falls Music 12/31/2017 Marion Bay, Australia Falls Music 01/02/2018 Byron Bay, Australia Falls Music 01/04/2018 Moore Park, Australia Hordern Pavilion 01/05/2018 West Melbourne, Australia Festival Hall 01/07/2018 Fremantle, Australia Falls Music 01/14/2018 Jakarta, Indonesia International Even 02/23/2018 Madrid, Spain La Riviera 02/24/2018 Barcelona, Spain Razzmatazz 02/26/2018 Milan, Italy Fabrique 02/27/2018 Padova, Italy Gran Teatro Geox 03/01/2018 Zurich, Switzerland X-TRA 03/02/2018 Paris, France L'Olympia 03/04/2018 Cologne, Germany Live Music Hall 03/05/2018 Berlin, Germany Huxleys Neue Welt 03/07/2018 Brussels, Belgium Ancienne Belgique 03/08/2018 Amsterdam, NL AFAS Live 03/25/2018 Sao Paulo, Lollapalooza 03/27/2018 Lima, Peru Parque de la Exposición 06/15/2018 Dublin, Ireland Malahide Castle 06/16/2018 Belfast IE Ormeau Gardens 06/29/2018 London, UK Finsbury Park 06/30/2018 Glasgow, UK Glasgow Green 08/18/2018 Manchester, UK Old Trafford Read More
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Minneapolis became Manchester for just over an hour as former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher brought the house that Prince built down, in front of a rabidly loyal crowd in the sold-out Mainroom of the fabled First Avenue club.
Los Angeles band Warbly Jets opened with a brief but sonically brash and confident set of straight-ahead rock in support of their self-titled debut album (on Warbly Jets / Rebel Union Recordings).
The band (Samuel Shea – guitar/vocals; Julien O'Neill – synth; Dan Gerbang – bass and Justin Goings – drums) is relatively new, having only formed in 2015, but is already making waves well beyond their Southern California home, with a garage pop sound that blends ‘60s psychedelics alongside Paisley Underground influences (Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade) and with the sheen of The Verve, the force of Jet, and even Beatles-esque in some vocal harmonies.
‘Raw Evolution’ done mid-set, was unabashedly rock, though catchy and hummable, while the trippy ‘Head Session’ slowed things temporarily with a dizzying tempo and reverb vocals. Symphonic synths began the set’s closing ‘Getting Closer (Than I Ever Have)’ and its lyric, “it feels right and it feels like we're getting closer than we ever have” can be taken as an analogy of the band’s current trajectory – on the cusp and ready to burst onto much bigger things.
It’s clear that Liam Gallagher reveres the memory of Prince, posting pre-show on Twitter how excited he was to be playing the legendary venue and beginning his set with the pre-show intro music of ‘Sign “☮” the Times’, played above the crowd’s chants of “Liam! Liam!”
The singer, on tour supporting his first solo album, As You Were (Warner Brothers) took a less-is-more approach, with his headlining set clocking in at barely over an hour, though beginning it powerfully with the one/two knockout punch of Oasis’ ‘Rock n’ Roll Star’ and ‘Morning Glory’.
Unlike his previous appearance here with band Beady Eye, the solo Gallagher has again embraced the songs of his past, much to the fans’ delight, with his touring band (not introduced, so we’ll do the honors: Jay Mehler –guitar; Drew McConnell – bass; Mike Moore - rhythm guitar; Nick Bonnes – drums; Christian Madden – keyboards) sounding crisp and crunchy, particularly on the old favorites.
Gallagher, in a navy anorak, occasionally banged a tambourine or maracas, but mostly took his trademark stance towards the mic, hands behind his back, to sing to a devoted audience, including a pocket of native English on the front floor, pogoing and chanting whilst displaying UK football jerseys and scarves, clearly beyond thrilled to see him in a relatively small club, versus a giant arena.
The new songs stood ably with the old classics, particularly lead single ‘Wall of Glass’ and the ballad ‘For What It’s Worth’, a somewhat conciliatory song that echoes classic Oasis, and is probably as close as Gallagher will get, in apologizing lyrically for his past transgressions.
Short of quickly introducing most songs, Gallagher didn’t say much in-between, instead focusing on the music and performance, occasionally pointing at parts of the crowd that would catch his eye. “All right, brothers and sisters, this is going to be the last one” he said, with the crowd moaning and always wanting more, as the band fired up 1997’s ‘Be Here Now’ to end the main set.
Gallagher and band re-emerged for a raucous two-song encore of Oasis songs, beginning with the T-Rex influenced ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’ from 1994. “Live Forever or Wonderwall?” Gallagher mused aloud, deciding on the spot on what song to play to end the evening. Either would be guaranteed crowd sing-a-long and the strums of ‘Live Forever’ announced his choice, with Gallagher letting the audience completely takeover for the song’s choruses.
“Listen, you take of yourselves, look out for your selves” Gallagher said, finishing the song and ducking off-stage as lights went up and the crowd slowly filtered out. With the new album and tour that finds himself once again embracing his yesteryear, Liam Gallagher firmly plants the musical stake in the ground, to be considered as a credible (and yes, mature) artist in his own right, effectively bringing together his past and present.
(Note: “Mr. Gallagher will not be allowing any professional photography during his set” – Liam Gallagher Mgmt. Thus, official photographs included below are courtesy of the artist, unless indicated otherwise)
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Warbly Jets |
Warbly Jets |
Liam Gallagher Poster |
Liam Gallagher Setlist |
Liam Gallagher photo: Rowan Griffiths
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Warbly Jets at First Avenue, Minneapolis (20 November 2017) |
