Ever since 2017, Liam Gallagher has been enjoying his own renaissance period. Fresh from the mid-life crisis of Beady Eye, the ex-Oasis frontman has been on a determined path of one of the biggest musical comebacks in recent memory, picking up frequent UK Number 1 albums and selling out tours worldwide.
With the 30th anniversary coming up of the debut album that sent Oasis stratospheric, Gallagher obviously felt it was time to roll back the years, and he did so in Belfast with as much swagger the Mancunian guarantees to bring.
First on the stage timings were local band Esmeralda Road, giving the crowd something to look forward to in the future, with their biggest single ‘To U’ having a worthy place on the biggest of stages. Further on, noughties legends Kasabian treated fans to a greatest hits setlist, with ‘Fire’ riling the crowd up for the main event in a way that not many other songs could.
Much has been made of the re-shaped Kasabian, with ex-guitarist Serge now helming the band deep into their career. Shouts of them being a cover band couldn’t be further from the truth, however, as Serge looked as though he’d been leading the line for the past twenty years himself, passionately bouncing around the stage as though it was his own headliner gig.
As the roadies prepared the stage for Gallagher, the year 2024 splashed across the stage, with the countdown to 1994 on. When the legendary frontman eventually took to the stage, he was met with cheers from a crowd ready to feel twenty again.
Music evidently sounds sweeter with nostalgia, as opener ‘Rock’n’Roll Star’ set the place into a frenzy with pint glasses being chucked into the air as the lead guitar kicked in, a visual aid that Oasis fans are back in their natural habitat.
From then on the setlist never stopped, with fan favourites ‘Columbia’ and ‘Bring It On Down’ unapologetically placing their loud and distorted guitars right at the front of the mix. Slower tunes ‘Half The World Away’ and ‘Whatever’ allowed the crowd to catch their breath, with the latter in particular being a highlight as Gallagher stated a new violinist had joined the band from Belfast. “Go easy on her”, jeered the singer, as the crowd immediately hummed to the tune of her playing. Similarly, ‘Married With Children’ acted as a sing-along in between the two heavy hitting bullets of ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’ and ‘Supersonic’, with the latter’s lead-in drum fill still capable of delivering goosebumps three decades later.
Much has been made of Liam’s voice throughout the years, but the snarl in his vocals seen in the early 2010s seems to be long gone, as the rasp of his voice sounded best on the penultimate ‘Live Forever’, before being drowned out by a sea of voices. The psychedelia of encore and cover ‘I Am The Walrus’ warps out the night in style, with the frontman’s voice offering the perfect contrast to the Beatles’ hippiest tune.
As the crowd filters out, there’s a natural rendition of ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ ringing throughout the streets. If fans never get their biggest wish of an Oasis reunion, they’ll always be well assured that the younger Mancunian brother will help their music live forever.
Words by Niall McGreevy