Review: Liam Gallagher's Red Room Set Last Night Is Already A 2018 Highlight
Here's what went down.
The strict 6.30pm doors call was well obeyed by the small and eager crowd, which worked its way well down Central St outside the intimate Lair venue on a humid and wet Sydney Tuesday night.
Previous Nova Red Room events include the likes of Ed Sheeran, Lorde and Halsey and while Liam Gallagher might not exactly fit that particular bill, it wasn't long before both the top and bottom levels of the venue were heaving as we anxiously waited for the man of the hour to appear.
Just before 7.20pm, (and introduced to a huge reception) Gallagher led his band out from the top floor, walking out in single file as if he were the captain of his beloved Manchester City football club.
"Tonight, I'm a rock'n'roll star," Gallagher said and with that, they tore straight into the 1994 Oasis classic.
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The first thing we learnt was that this gig was going to be LOUD. So loud in fact that at least a dozen people were forced to disperse from the front left of the stage directly near the speakers for fear that, ya know, their eardrums might burst.
Gallagher's grumpy and somehow sincere-yet-seemingly-disinterested persona on stage was simply a sight to see. Wearing his now-trademark parka (in this heat that's just damn impressive) and sunglasses in the overly red-lit room, the frontman gave off a rare cheeky grin to the audience and occasionally yelled random curse words away from the microphone to no one in particular. You do you, Liam.
Despite being 45 years of age, Gallagher's vocals haven't waned and he refused to give a half-arsed effort, belting out every line with passion, which only complemented his impressively faultless band members. He frequently joined in on the fun to jumping between a tambourine and maracas, but he appeared happy to let his bandmates take the spotlight when necessary.
While it was clear he was having a great time up there, his gripes with the sound early on was clearly an issue for him as he gestured a few times to the sound desk and even walked side of stage twice to have a word to the crew… good things, we hope.
Nevertheless, given that this was an intimate gig, a shorter set was always expected and Gallagher was sure to include some new and old tunes. Tracks from his 2017-released LP, As You Were, such as Wall Of Glass, Greedy Soul, For What Its Worth and You Better Run were all blasted out, but it was the Oasis tracks that inevitably attracted a sea of mobile phones and singalongs. Morning Glory was the second song off the rank and Some Might Say also found its way in. However, no gig could be capped of better than with Oasis' iconic Wonderwall which Gallagher was kind enough to give us a crack at the chorus. A thumbs up and a mouthed 'Well done' told us we did him proud.
And just like that, around 8pm, Gallagher said a quick goodbye, unhooked his microphone and gave it to a fan and swiftly exited the stage. As you were, Sydney.
SET LIST:
Rock N' Roll Star
Morning Glory
Greedy Soul
Wall Of Glass
For What It's Worth
Some Might Say
You Better Run
Be Here Now
Wonderwall
Check out The Music Instagram story for more snippets of last night's show.
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