Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Monday 9 December 2019
Reviewer : Annette Geneva
“A Liam Gallagher show is much more than the tip of your nostalgia iceberg.”
I don’t know who’s idea it was to gather hundreds of lads and ladies for an iconic britpop show on a Monday night at a theatre venue – with curfews and lock out laws in Sydney it seemed strange, but here we are at a Liam Gallagher concert at Enmore Theatre.
Opening the night were a local britpop quartet Planet. If you have never heard of these guys – imagine a more glam and less rough DMA’s sound with polished grungy riffs throughout. The mention of DMA’s is not coincidental here, vocalist Matty Took is Johnny Took’s(DMA’s) brother, who was also in the crowd at this show – in saying that I have to add that I enjoyed Planet’s set much more that I ever did DMA’s. The band were energetic, confident and they clearly loved what they were playing – Planet are a breath of fresh air in a congested pool of Australian britpop’ish acts who sprouted out of the road paved by DMA’s.
The band provided extremely catchy tunes like ‘Aching Dream’ and ‘Northern Skyline’ that the crowd were happy to dance to and a beautiful ballad ‘Aching Dream’. Took’s lingering vocals resonated in a young Brian Molko’s vibe blended with a bit of Kurt Vile’s attitude, as if this particular song was already an established singalong hit. I strongly believe that Planet are capable of headlining large venues and it seems that each of their EP’s and singles surpasses the one prior, so look out! The band are playing The Lansdowne Hotel on 19th of December, if you haven’t sorted out your last gig of the year yet – make it this one.
A half an hour wait time and classic dance songs like ‘Give It Up’ by KC & The Sunshine Band grew into a non-stop singalong chant of “Gerry Cinnamon, Cinnamon” followed by crowd surfing to Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’ – everyone was pumped for Scottish troubadour Gerry Cinnamon.
I honestly expected him to play at least one Stone Roses cover, but no, Cinnamon played a tight set list of one hit after another. The crowd genuinely knew every song and I felt as if the walls of the venue were shaking. Personally – I wouldn’t make a big deal of an atomic guitar strummer backed by a drum machine, slightly resembling a busker – but the crowd’s reaction spoke volumes of sheer ecstasy. Not like someone who you go to see for “that one song”, Gerry Cinnamon had a lot to offer for anyone who was there to eat it up – a grassroots/folk performer with quite explicit lyrics made punters go mental. Live, Cinnamon sounds very different to his records – ‘Kampfire Vampire’ and ‘Canter’ sounded like they were dance floor remixes jacked up full of acid. ‘Belter’ – would be that one song that gathers a whole arena for a singalong – it’s so very strange and unusual that Cinnamon took the world over by pure word of mouth – but that’s how the story goes and tonight you begin to realise why. Cinnamon’s new album The Bonny comes out in early 2020.
The crowd have been warmed up by now and it’s time for classic “L-I-A-M” chants in best traditions of MCFC. I was shocked at the lack of security at this show, considering how diverse the audience is. I have witnessed at least 20 people on other people’s shoulders, smoking in the crowd, drugs, fights and all sorts of other explicit activities – did Enmore Theatre security take a day off?
Walking out to ‘F**king In The Bushes’ and starting the set with ‘Rock’n’Roll Star’, Liam Gallagher set an epic start to every show throughout this tour.
Even thought Liam has a colourful collection of solo songs, he doesn’t shy away from his Oasis fame and still gives the fans what they so desperately crave – Oasis songs – in the best spirit of rock’n’roll. Liam Gallagher obviously enjoys his current stance as a solo act and he seems much more content than he was when touring with Beady Eye.
Between 2017 release As You Were and Why Me? Why Not, Gallagher lifted up the plank of an iconic band gone solo act – with apparent influences of americana and a mix of 70’s and 80’s sounds makes up for such epic songs as ‘Wall of Glass’ and a very glam ‘Shockwave’ – I was quite impressed with the addition of harmonies from three backup singers on stage – they complimented Liam’s vocals and Jay’s guitar quite perfectly.
‘Once’, as a ballad was treated almost like Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ on the night, there was a kid on his dad’s shoulders on the night and Liam started chatting to the lad and got him on stage – the boy turned out to be from Manchester and a huge fan, and Liam entrusts his maracas to the boy. What a champ! The diversity of the crowd was amazing – a Liam Gallagher show is much more than the tip of your nostalgia iceberg. From kids with parents, very pregnant ladies, the classic 90’s lads that you’d expect to see anyway all the way to couples in their 60s.
‘Stand By Me’ was dedicated the the bravery of Australian Firefighters. ‘Halo’ was received with such enthusiasm that it really seemed as if this song was around for years. It is definitely my number one off Why Me? Why Not. It’s on my “bangers” playlist among The Kinks’ ‘You Really Got Me’ and the Who’s ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again” … I might have to rename my playlist to “Biblical” – I am sure Liam would approve.
The set list really catered to Oasis fans with more Oasis songs than solo songs. Surprisingly and to the crowd’s greatest pleasure, ‘Gas Panic’ and ‘Roll With It’ saw intense rowdy dance moves and a couple of fights. ‘Champaign Supernova’ is always a treat.
With strict 11pm curfew the set wasn’t cut short and classic Liam “Fuck Curfew” – ending the night with ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’ And yes, he did play ‘Wonderwall’ in case you were wondering. If you haven’t seen Liam Gallagher solo live yet, this is the best tour to start with.