Concert Review: Noel Gallagher Shows How It's Done

On Thursday evening I headed to Vancouver's Rogers Arena to see a co-headlining tour featuring Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and Snow Patrol with newcomer Jake Bugg opening the festivities.

I'll be honest, I'm not a huge Snow Patrol fan.  If you read this blog on a regular basis (or even if you don't, but you should), you will probably have realized that I'm a pretty big Noel Gallagher (and Oasis) fan.  The opportunity to see him perform wasn't going to be missed, even if I had to sit through a Snow Patrol set.

Arriving early, I arrived at my seat to see that only half of the arena was being used.  Nottingham's Jake Bugg arrived on stage with just an acoustic guitar and proceeded to play a half hour set drawing from his recently released debut album.  Bugg's voice is a nasally combination of The Verve's Richard Ashcroft and Bob Dylan and his songs seem to be country tinged rockabilly put through a British filter.

Noel Gallagher is no stranger to stadiums and arenas.  He may be a stranger to sparsely attended shows though.  I've been to my fair share of poorly attended concerts (sadly, mostly as the entertainment, not the spectator), but this was atrocious!  Gallagher, along with his top notch band were unfazed and did not disappoint with a set filled with songs from last years High Flying Birds album and heavily peppered with Oasis hits and b-sides.

The Gallagher brothers have taken a lot of flack over the years for being the so-called "bad boys" of the Britpop scene.  While Liam Gallagher seems to genuinely think he is king, Noel is much more self depricating (although not done in the conventional way).  What many, especially in North America, seem to miss in the dry British delivery, is the sarcasm and cheekiness inherent in most things he says.  Case in point, a fan in the front row, who was apparently celebrating his birthday, managed to get Gallagher's attention and was promptly told "I don't give a fuck.  It's not my birthday".  A couple of songs later, noticing that the birthday boy was being prematurely escorted out, he jeered "You're getting thrown out?  For talking to me?  Fucking right you are".  While I laughed, others yelled for Gallagher to get off.  They were in the minority.

While my initial guess that Snow Patrol were on last given that they had the biggest draw may have have been slightly off.  By the time they took the stage the arena felt hollow.  While many Noel Gallagher supporters had upped and left before Snow Patrol started, I decided to tough it out (mainly so my wife could get to hear 'Chasing Cars' and 'Crack The Shutters').  Frontman Gary Lightbody tried (and failed) to elicit any reaction from the remaining crowd.  From my vantage point, it seemed like they were trying too hard to impress.  Maybe it was because they were following "the legend" (Lightbody's own words) Noel Gallagher.  That, combined with the ear-splittingly poor mix (everything seemed to go up  20db after NG), made for an early exit.  Truth of the matter is that Snow Patrol only stuck around for two more songs after I left.  Better to cut your loses and regroup.

Who The F#%k Are: Red Kite

I love surfing the internet.  While I will admit, that I have squandered many hours with no definitive end result, there are a lot of times that while roaming I will uncover a real gem of a find.  Tonight was a pretty low-key night.  I was in the midst of reading Rue Brittania (yes, I like the occasional comic) when one thing led to another and I stumbled upon a great band named Red Kite.

Led by former The Cooper Temple Clause guitarist Daniel Fisher, Red Kite are a sextet from London, England.  As of this writing, their output has been minimal but definitely subscribes to quality over quantity.  They have self-released two songs on Bandcamp ('Montreal' and 'No Painter Of Note') and one other on their Soundcloud page ('The Gathering Storm').  Check them out below.  Score another one for the internet.







To find out more about Red Kite, check them out at redkiteband.blogspot.co.uk

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The Road To Understanding The 2nd Law

Certain bands and albums don't have the immediate impact (or any) that they ultimately end up having in the long run.  They are what are commonly refered to as "growers".  Muse's latest album,  The 2nd Law, was just that for your truly.

Leading up to the album's September release, Muse had released a teaser ('Unsustainable') and a full song that was the official song of the London Olympics ('Survival') and finally an "official" first single ('Madness').  Nothing seemed to elicit much of reaction.  Well, that's not entirely true.  Upon hearing 'Unsustainable' I was pretty sure Muse (who are a band constantly pushing the boundaries of rock music) had gone too far and were simply attempting to jump on a trend (dubstep) and ride its coattails under the guise of being innovative.

Of course, being a big fan of Muse I thought it unfair to write them off without giving the album a fair chance.  I listened to it a few times, and was unmoved.  Had Muse jumped the shark?  Was I being overly critical?  Perhaps all the hype had made me, as my wife likes to call me, a music snob.  Gasp!

Then I was speaking to a friend who loved the record and suggested I check out Muse's recent iTunes Festival performance on Youtube.  He went on to explain that if I heard the songs in the live realm, I just might "get" the record.   Well, wouldn't you know, a week later, I can't stop listening to The 2nd Law.  It's on repeat; in the car on the way to work, at work, in the evening.  That's the sign of a truly exceptional album.

Of course, buying tickets to their upcoming tour didn't hurt matters.  I missed them on the Resistance tour and was not going to let the opportunity slip through my fingers again.  Watching, the iTunes Festival performance definitely did help break down the..."whatever" barrier that had built up around this record.  When you hear the new material side by side with the Muse back catalogue, it illustrates that no matter which new direction the band (or any band for that matter) goes in, it still ends up sounding like Muse.  But 'Survival' has some truly primary lyrics though.  But I digress.

Check out the performance for yourself below.



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Julian Plenti Is... Paul Banks

Tonight, I'm absorbing the new solo album by Interpol's Paul Banks, simply titled Banks.  I'll admit, I was sort of half expecting the worst.  I'm pleasantly surprised.  The reason for my skepticism is due in part to the unattainable height that Interpol's debut Turn On The Bright Lights set the bar at.  There are times during Banks where I think to myself "this could be an Interpol song" and other times when it seems perfectly justified to be a solo project.  Having discarded the nom de plume/alter-ego that was Julian Plenti seems to have liberated Banks.  Check out the first single 'The Base' below.  Banks is released October 23nd via Matador Records.





In other Interpol news, the band are prepping for the anniversary edition of the aforementioned debut.  Yes, as old as it makes me feel, Turn On The Bright Lights is a decade old.  The album gets the full reissue treatment on November 19th, also through Matador.



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The Joy Formidable Preview Another Track From Album Number Two

The Joy Formidable have released yet another track from their forthcoming sophomore effort Wolf's Law.  The track, entitled 'This Ladder Is Ours' (which you can hear below) is classic (too soon?) TJF.  

Last month the Welsh trio unveiled the first single 'Cholla'.  In August, the haunting title track was the first teaser, which initially had some fans (yours truly included) thinking the band was taking a hard one-eighty.  

Wolf's Law drops on January 21st, 2013.





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Morrissey Almost Smiles On Colbert

Did you happen to catch Morrissey on The Colbert Report last night?  The former Smiths frontman performed the as yet unreleased song 'People Are The Same Everywhere'.  Watching the interview portion, I couldn't help but think that Morrissey has no sense of humour at all.  Ziltch!  Colbert is asking rather ridiculous questions (as is his schtick), but I half expected Morrissey to play along.  Well, maybe not.  Wait, was that almost a smile?  Check out the clips below.





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Coldplay - "Hurts Like Heaven" Video

Coldplay's latest video from 2011's Mylo Xyloto is for the fifth single 'Hurts Like Heaven'.  Think of it as a video teaser for their soon to be released Mylo Xyloto comic book.  Check it out below.



Coldplay are also set to release a tour documentary/live concert DVD on November 19th.  You can watch the trailer below.

Time Flies

Everyone has a record that changed their lives (or at least they should).  For yours truly, it was Oasis' (What's The Story) Morning Glory?  From the opening chords of 'Hello' to the last note of mellotron on 'Champagne Supernova', I was enthralled.  It was my gateway drug to everything and anything Britpop (of course, those were the days before the internet, as mentioned here, so some things were easier to find than others).



Seventeen years have passed since (What's The Story) Morning Glory? was released on October 2nd, 1995.  At the time, I was lost in a post-grunge musical landscape that had all sorts of Nirvana clones and watered down alternative bands, none of whom really grabbed me.  All that changed once I unwrapped the cellophane from the packaging and put the disc in my CD player (gasp! a CD! I'm old).



Of course, this wasn't my introduction to Oasis.  I already owned their spectacular debut Definitely Maybe (I feel a kindred connection to that record, as it was released on my 17th birthday, but I digress), but there was something about WTSMG.  It just...clicked.  It was as if these songs were written specifically for me, for what I was going through, with what I was feeling (or not feeling).  Noel Gallagher has often taken a lot of flack for his "uninspired" lyrical content.  I would wholeheartedly disagree.  I find a lot of meaning in "slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball" even if some would argue it's just gibberish.



I've just gone back, as I often do on a record's release anniversary, to listen to WTSMG again.  It holds up remarkably well after all these years.  A definite classic and a must have for anyone who came of age in the 90s.  Now, about that reunion in 2015...

But seriously, where were you while we were getting high?  Thanks for reading!