Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Riviera Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

Leading up to the show, I learned an important tidbit from the Riviera Theatre via Twitter. In concert speak, “An Evening with…” translates to “no opening act.” We arrived accordingly, without a lot of time before the slated start of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (NGHFB) performance. Unfortunately, arriving so late meant that we were again forced to the very last row of the balcony. The NGHFB are the new project of Noel Gallagher, former lead guitarist and occasional vocalist of the 90’s rock band Oasis. With the Birds, Noel also took on lead vocals as well as playing lead guitar, usually performing hunched over the microphone. Joining him on stage were four other musicians, presumably the High Flying Birds – guitar, bass, piano, and drums. Noel’s brother Liam, who has a famously turbulent relationship with his brother, obviously wasn’t among them. The NGHFB used pretty basic lighting and some projections on a screen behind the band.

They played a mix of NGHFB and Oasis songs. The NGHFB stuff isn’t bad, none of its great, and it mostly just sounds like Oasis songs. But the audience was mostly interested in hearing the old Oasis hits. Unsurprisingly, based on previously reported media, Noel was kind of a dick. For example, he barked at an audience member “that’s why you’re down there and I’m up here.” When someone else yelled out a request, he snapped, “I don’t take requests; I play whatever the fuck I want.” Now, don’t get me wrong, it must be a bit annoying to be a musician like Noel Gallagher with fans constantly

shouting for their favorite Oasis songs that you’d rather not play. But to paraphrase him, that’s why he’s up there, and we’re down there. He doesn’t get invited to play a venue as large as the Riviera Theatre based on his work with the High Flying Birds. Furthermore, there is a funny and cheeky way to rebuff the audience on not taking requests, and then there’s just being a dick. Noel Gallagher was just being a dick. The sound went out in the middle of the "The Mexican," which caused a ten minute delay, after which the band started the song again and no difficulties hampered the rest of the show. Surprisingly, Noel didn’t completely flip out on someone.

Setlist:
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]
Whatever [Oasis cover]
Dream On
The Dying of the Light
The Mexican
AKA... Broken Arrow
Digsy's Dinner [Oasis cover]
If I Had a Gun...
Encore:
The Masterplan [Oasis cover]
AKA... What a Life!
Don't Look Back in Anger [Oasis cover]

Hassan’Adas, The Crypt, Cape Town, South Africa

Following a wine tour of the Stellenbosch region just outside Cape Town, a fellow tourist on the trip, a young woman from Singapore, mentioned that she was planning to visit a jazz club on her return to the city. After travelling by herself along the Garden Route from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town, she was happy to have company, and I was happy to see live music of any type. She led us to The Crypt, a jazz club and wine bar in the basement of an active church. The three of us settled into a dimly lit table and shared a couple bottles of local wine, as much of a draw as the jazz. The performance for the evening was Hassan’Adas, a talented multiracial, multi-genre local band. I couldn’t tell if they were professional musicians or just friend who shared a passion. Interestingly, their first set was firmly jazz but their second was closer to Brazilian samba. Fun show and a cool atmosphere.

Ingonyama, Miombo Safari Camp, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

While on our honeymoon in Southern Africa, we spent a few nights at Miombo Safari Camp, just outside the gates of Hwange National Park. A friend of some of the ladies staying in our camp, a white American expat woman who had been doing NGO work in the area for many years, had arranged for a local dance troupe, Ingonyama, to perform for the guests of the camp. Their show consisted of traditional African songs, dances, and shall we say, sketch comedy. This included acting like local animals, and frankly it felt a bit strange to have half a dozen Africans acting like baboons for the entertainment of a dozen white tourists. The show went on a bit longer than we would have liked, particularly a skit with a boy pretending to be an old man. He asked everyone's name and the women if they were single. He asked Lindsey if it would be ok for him to kill me so she could marry him. The only song that they sang that I knew was "Mbube," commonly known in the United States as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” The song was originally written and recorded in Zulu in 1939 in South Africa by Solomon Linda. Ingonyama performed a version of the song more closely related to Linda’s original version, including mostly Zulu lyrics that were dropped from the cover versions recorded and popularized in the United States. Toward the end of the show, the boys invited the guests to each dance with them. That part was a good bit of fun.

The Kooks, Vic Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

Though they have been on the scene for nearly a decade, I only started listening to The Kooks in the month or so leading up to their visit to the Vic Theatre. They made an appearance at Lollapalooza 2014, but I preferred to see Swedish indie pop singer Lykke Li, a decision about which I have no regrets. The band currently consists of Luke Pritchard (vocals/guitar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar/synth), Alexis Nunez (drums), and Peter Denton (bass guitar). Their English roots bleed through into many of their songs. This includes Luke Pritchard’s accent as well as their broader sound, which is heavily influenced by the British Invasion pop of the 1960s.

We arrived about 9:15pm to find that The Kooks had already taken the stage, about 15 minutes early, and were midway through their first song. We stayed towards the back of the venue, sacrificing a great view for freedom of movement. Their setlist included a mix of sounds from all four of their albums, including six from Inside In/Inside Out (2006), three from Konk (2008), two from Junk of the Heart (2011), and nine from Listen (2014).

Setlist:
Around Town
Ooh La
Bad Habit
Down
It Was London
She Moves in Her Own Way
Eddie's Gun
Dreams
Seaside
Westside
Always Where I Need to Be
Is It Me?
Sway
See the Sun
Sweet Emotion
Sofa Song
Forgive & Forget
Encore:
See Me Now
Junk of the Heart (Happy)
Naïve