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]