Former Oasis and Beady Eye frontman, Liam Gallagher, stopped by Sheffield as part of his Why Me? Why Not solo tour this November, and graced gig-goers with old classics and new tunes alike.
Liam’s first support was an indie rock band, The Illicits, who didn’t fail to get the crowd warmed up and ready. Having recently been signed to Alan McGee’s Creation23 label, it’s no wonder the Blackburn band were chosen, as their stage presence and music style suited the crowd. It’s also fair to say that their cover of Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’ brought back memories for a lot of people.
Further support came from popular Australian rock band, DMA’s. The ‘Silver’ singers combined powerful rock tunes with mellow songs such as ‘Delete’ to create the perfect warm-up for Liam, as the excitement from within the audience grew gradually throughout their impressive set.
After both support acts, the wait for the “Godlike Genius” to appear on stage was filled with his pre-set playlist, including crowd sing-along classic, The Stone Roses’ ‘I Am The Resurrection’. Moments later Liam made himself onto the stage in his classic navy-parka with maracas in hand, whilst a video of his album-creating journey was shown on-screen.
Cue ‘Rock N’ Roll Star’ and that’s when the show really began. With impressive visuals and vocals, Liam navigated his way through a couple of songs from his debut solo-album, As You Were, such as ‘Wall of Glass’ and an acoustic version of ‘Greedy Soul’, as well as songs from his second (and most recent) album Why Me? Why Not. The first song of the album to be played, ‘Shockwave’, certainly managed to bring a wave through the arena as the atmosphere got more electric as the night went on. Other songs played included ‘Halo’, ‘Once’, and the album’s title track, ‘Why Me? Why Not.’
The special guest of the night was former Oasis guitarist, Bonehead, who joined Liam on stage for a substantial number of Oasis songs such as ‘Morning Glory’, popular classic ‘Wonderwall’, and Oasis’ first single ‘Supersonic’.
Liam’s son, Gene, played the drums during the recent single, ‘The River’, with Bonehead also joining Liam for an improvised version of the Oasis anthem, ‘Acquiesce’. In light of the long-running family feud between the Gallagher brothers, Noel’s vocals were replaced with on-screen lyrics for the crowd to sing in his place – which they managed impressively well.
With the first part of the set being full of Gallagher hits, it was no wonder that he said, “There’s a few silly Billy’s in Sheffield” as some audience members accidentally started to leave before not one but two surprise encores. Luckily for those who stayed, Liam was accompanied by Bonehead to end the night on a high with all time classic and fan-favourite ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’.
Liam Gallagher’s stage presence, personality and parka made the gig an experience, not just an event. Excellent stage production and visuals and an extensive mix of songs made it unsurprising that Liam Gallagher continues to sell out arena shows all around the world.
Why him? Why not.
Image: Pomona
