NOEL GALLAGHER'S HIGH FLYING BIRDS // THE PLAYHOUSE, EDINBURGH

Gallagher Deliver Classic hits Without Feeling Like a Nostalgia Act

NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS PERFORMING AT EDINBURGH’S PLAYHOUSE - 07.05.2019 PICTURE BY: CALUM BUCHAN PHOTOGRAPHY — **NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS PERFORMING AT EDINBURGH’S PLAYHOUSE - 07.05.2019**
PICTURE BY: CALUM BUCHAN PHOTOGRAPHY

★★★★☆ (4/5)

When Noel Gallagher announced a run of intimate shows across the UK the tickets disappeared in minutes. Spurring the ticket sales were vague promises of new music from the ex-Oasis frontman. Which would be needed in some for as the elder Gallagher brother has toured the UK extensively in the past couple of years in support of his latest LP.

Now as a sold out crowd turn up for tonight’s gig at the Edinburgh playhouse there's excitement in the air as they wait to see what surprises will appear in the setlist from Noel's anthem laden history.

Support for the Mancunian hit maker comes from Gaz Coombes of Supergrass fame. Having released his third solo album last year “The Worlds Strongest Man” and found modest success with a collection of songs that focussed an introspective look on masculinity. Managing to perform an impressively slick set more fitting of a headliner Coombes succeeded in getting the crowd on his side early on. Accompanied by a talented backing band he managed to produce an impressive soundscape that managed to diversify it's tone from fuzzy basslines, to full synths and a wide selection of guitar tones.

By the end of his set most of the seats in the venue were filled and he left to warm applause from the collected audience.

Once he left the stage the change around to get the setup ready for main act is brief and the as the house lights are cut to indicate the band are about to emerge the audience cheered in the brief darkness as their anticipation built.

Noel and his accompanying band, The High Flying Birds, emerged from the strobing stage lights and launched into the muscular “Fort Knox”. Followed up by the joyous pop-rocker “Holy Mountain” the show is off the a strong start based solely on solo material from Noel's latest LP. However the beginning of this set will be familiar to anyone who has seen Noel within the past few years. However the first surprise of the night arrives early the fifth song in the setlist as fans are treated to Noel's latest single, the INXS inspired, “Black Star Dancing”.

This song marks the first release from Noel's eagerly awaited 3 EP's he has said are to be release over the rest of the year and this first single continues the trend of his recent music to try and distance himself from the typical four chord rock that marred the later years of Oasis.

Not done with the surprises for the night the next track is the live debut of “Rattling Rose” another brand new track from the artist that again goes to show just how slick his band and production is. The sound is near perfect throughout, aside from a lack of backing vocals during the breakdown in “It's a Beautiful World” due to technical issues, with the small army of musicians managing to all be stacked sonically in such a way that they don't tread on each other performances due to a superb mix. Noel himself is always on point, guitar in hand, and his vocals prove to be powerful enough to breath life into songs he must have performed hundreds of times.

The crowd have been more than welcoming to the selection of solo song brought so far but the loudest cheer of the night so far comes as Noel announces the next song is, one of many, fan favourite Oasis B-Side “Talk Tonight”.

It's always great to hear Noel play the song's that launched his stadium selling career and tonight the audience is treated to eight songs from his previous band's iconic discography. However the intimate nature of the gig leads to a slightly more hardcore audience that are still excited to hear his solo material in addition to the older tunes.

Dead in the Water proves to be a stand out ballad track from the offering of songs taken from “Who Built the Moon?” tonight and manages to easily hold its own in a set that contains such titan rock tracks as “Stop Crying Your Heart Out” and “Little by Little”.

The penultimate song of the night comes in the form of “Don't look back in Anger” and a roaring cheer erupts from the crowd as Noel strums his way through the intro. A song which has an iconic presence will forever be felt in the history of British music and has a chorus that can surely be heard for some distance from the venue as Noel has the audience belt it out in unison.

Tonight proved to be a masterclass from one of the great living British songwriters and Noel continues to hone his stage craft in order to take up the mantle of frontman. In the coming months his fans will be excited to see what direction his coming EP's explore. While his current leg of shows in the UK is sold out Noel returns this summer to perform at several large outdoor venues and I'm sure his setlist will continue to bring the best of his solid solo career interspersed with the iconic hits he wrote and performed with Oasis.

Noel Gallagher’s UK Tour will now continue onto Llandudno, London, Hull, Cardiff, Manchester, Inverness and Dublin. Gallagher will also play festival headline slots at Newcastle Upon Tyne’s THIS IS TOMORROW Festival, Isle of Wight Festival and Sunday Sessions 2019 in Norwich and Exeter.