On Friday, January 11, Bangkok was graced with bright, breezy weather and the arrival of veteran Brit rocker Liam Gallagher, whose solo tour came six years after his older brotherβs.
As much as the fans want to see the pair of come together and swank the Oasis glory once again, to see one of them was the greatest compensation imaginable. Excitement and energy filled the air; locals and expats took turns crying out their favourite Oasis tunes, cheering the pint of beer in their hands.
The crowd flocked into the sold out BITEC Bangkok Hall 106 and filled it almost instantly. Opening act The Whitest Crow took the stage at 8pm. Their sound is heavily influenced by British rock of the millennium, making the band a wise choice on the part of The Very Company. Most of their songs are in English so it wasnβt hard for expats to warm up to singles like βBe With Youβ and βGive Up On Loveβ.
After a stage change that took longer than expected, our favourite Rock ‘N’ Roll Star appeared and launched into Oasisβs βRock ‘N’ Roll Starβ like he knew it. The crowd jumped up and down, hungry for the experience theyβd been waiting for for over a decade. Gallagher kept fans satisfied with a another classic, βMorning Gloryβ, before debuting βGreedy Soulβ and βWall Of Glassβ from last yearβs solo album, As You Were.
The record, filled with nostalgic riffs, kick drum beat and stadium-sized choruses, takes cue from Oasis rather than Beady Eye. Thatβs pretty much why itβs an immediate favorite. Despite his tendency to frustrate and be erratic, Gallagher is still the peopleβs frontman that way.
But did we mention heβs erratic? Something was up and the singer wasnβt trying to hide it. He looked grouchy, barely talked except when he directed expletives at his sound engineer. He wasnβt too impressed with the sound quality, we learned afterwards, but the situation recovered for βPaper Crownβ and βBoldβ. By βFor What Itβs Worthβ, Gallagher seemed to be in a better mood.
βSoul Loveβ, the only Beady Eye song present, reached the crowd with mixed results. But the set burst into cacophony once again with βSome Might Sayβ, βSlide Awayβ which diehard Oasis fans sang with their hearts out. The energy carried through to two more of LGβs solo tracks, the instant singalong βCome Back To Meβ and road rock βYou Better Runβ.
Whether something else upset Gallagher afterwards, we couldnβt tell. Face half covered in his hoodie, the singer began what fans expected to be the nightβs climactic wave of Oasisβs biggest anthems: βBe Here Nowβ, βCigarettes & Alcoholβ and βWonderwallβ, the last of which was sung by the crowd so forcefully it got a courteous βBeautiful!β out of the rocker.
It was supposed to go on. It wasnβt supposed to break on the shore before he treated us to βLive Foreverβ, the universal Oasis fan favourite, the tour staple, and, some might say, the βLiam songβ.
But the show was cut short after βWonderwallβ without an encore, despite the fansβ rallying call. The lights came on and Iβd never seen so many looks of disappointment and frustration following a show. Licking their fresh wounds, some started chanting their own rendition of βLive Foreverβ.
The show has as many flaws as it does memorable moments, as many notes Gallagher couldnβt hit as the ones he delivered flawlessly. Itβs Liam Gallagher, after all. The old chestnut. In becoming a fan, youβve entered a tacit agreement to roll with the good, the bad and the ugly. And this was one of those days youβre tasked with all of it.
Until Gallagher returns and deals with what most feel an unfinished business, browse through our gallery below.
