Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds at Wembley Arena

Singer-songwriter. Maybe the most gifted of his generation. Acoustic guitarist. Backup vocalist. Frontman. And back in the day, roadie. Noel Gallagher has defined decades of rock music and is back in London to promote his latest High Flying Birds record – Council Skies

The concert opens with Pretty Boy – the first single from the album – and goes straight into title track Council Skies. Noel is wearing his signature leather jacket – a smiley pinned to the breast – and is accompanied by his friend and trusted guitarist Gem Archer, who now sports silver fox hair.

Open the Door, See What You Find raises the stakes as the sound engineers find the right groove to fill the arena – and the band warms up – and is followed by a very upbeat We’re Gonna Get There in the End, a song that features some of Noel’s most hopeful lyrics.

We really feel gears switching as You Know We Can’t Go Back kicks in. Noel’s band takes it up a notch and stays there for the rest of the performance. Immediately after, they drench the arena in melancholy with We’re on Our Way Now – a sweet power-ballad worthy of any Oasis song. Are the lyrics about longing for a dear one who was lost to the dark side? Maybe. Whatever the feeling behind the track, the impact is spellbinding

In the Heat of the Moment’s foot-stomping beat has the first excitable members of the crowd dancing and If I Had a Gun… gets the first sing-a-longs – friends and lovers holding each other and arms thrown in the air. And then Dead in the Water. Enveloped in an ethereal acoustic sound and first recorded as a half-improvised outtake of a radio appearance that featured only Noel’s voice, his acoustic guitar and a perfect – and simple – improvised piano riff. Noel stands alone centre stage, a projection of a full moon over a rippling sea behind the singer-songwriter.

It’s time for the first blast from the past – one of many – as Noel teases the crowd about playing mega-hit Stand by Me before actually launching into its B-side Going Nowhere. The sound is pitch perfect. Guitars and horns blend together and open the gates for the Oasis portion of the gig.

The military drum-guitar attack of The Importance of Being Idle and Noel’s high-pitched vocals fire up the crowd and Half the World Away – Paul Weller’s favourite Oasis song – has the entire arena joining in for every chorus. Little by Little finally gets everybody on their feet singing every word of the amazing power-ballad.

My absolute favourite moment comes as Noel and his band launch into a semi-acoustic rendition of Live Forever. For a moment it transports me to another world. The way Noel’s voice and Gem’s guitar blend is just perfect and in the now still arena you can hear every sound, as the gentle hum of the crowd again follows every word.

A full blast version of The Masterplan closes the set and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds are back on stage for an encore of Bob Dylan’s Quinn the Eskimo and Don’t Look Back in Anger. Noel spent a few years playing his biggest everlasting hit in a subdued and wonderful acoustic version. This time it’s the full band. And seeing Noel blast out the song – and playing the solo – while Gem accompanies on guitar really makes it feel like – just for awhile – Oasis are back on stage.

Edoardo L’Astorina
Photos: Magdalena Zehetmayr

For further information and future events visit Noel Gallagher’s website here.