[Review] Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds Take Over UCLA’s Royce Hall

[Gallery] Noel Gallagher’s High…While you may not have any personal experiences associated with Noel Gallagher himself, the chances are – if you are white, between 30-50 years old – you’ve got at least one vivid love or drug experience associated with the song “Wonderwall.” In fact, I’m willing to bet my wallet’s worth that whoever is reading this review (eliminating those who don’t know Oasis or Noel Gallagher, or those don’t give a d*mn), has either a) cried, b) made-out or c) sat in a smoke-filled room watching a lava lamp, a tingling sensation running through every pore, pretending you for a moment were either a Gallagher or a Beatle, or knew one, or played with one, or beat up one, or (if female) banged one – though not necessarily in that order. Granted it’s just a guess – there’s *unfortunately* no real statistics available – but of those millions and millions of people who bought Oasis albums, there’s most definitely millions of fans who have vivid, sensual and/or psychedelic associations with the lyricism of Noel Gallagher. If not two or three. (Come on. Admit it. I am…)

This means it’s a mixed bag of emotions when you see a slightly older Noel Gallagher onstage with a new band with new, much longer and much harder to remember band name – singing both old and new tracks. You like it and you don’t all at once, causing you to wiggle around in your seat and then take a few iPhone photos just for memories sake, while mumbling along the words beneath your breath, hoping your neighbor doesn’t hear. (Until of course you realize everyone else is singing along, in which case you launch hoarsely into the full chorus…) Such was the case at Royce Hall this Thursday, November 17th, during the first of a two-night LA debut of Noel Gallagher’s new band, whimsically called Noel Gallagher ‘s High Flying Birds.

It helps that Noel looks the same. And the rest of the band – featuring Russell Pritchard on Bass, David McDonnell on Guitar, Mickey Rowe on keyboards, and Jeremy Stacy on drums – all look delightfully foppish in that delightfully British way (despite the fact one of the guitarists is in fact American, from Atlanta, Georgia, which is a bit, well weird, as Gallagher said himself on stage last night.) [Editor's Note: According to a reader, Tim Smith was on guitar, though David McDonnell is listed as gutarist in line-up. We stand corrected.] More importantly, they allow Noel to command the ship the whole show, feeding the crowd’s need for Oasis hits, while slipping in new tracks to wet their palettes here and there.

Taking place in the awkwardly formal Royce Hall, the set started off with “(It’s Good) To Be Free.” “Let the Lord Shine a Light On Me” was beautiful under a blanket of lights. “If I had a Gun” had the whole crowd singing along. The main highlight of the hour and a half long set – however predictably – was an acoustic version of “Wonderwall” and crowd-roaring “Don’t Look Back in Anger.”

The band has solid, musicianship and there’s still the same signature composition as Gallagher’s older tracks – those long ever-repeating choruses, elegant guitar melodies, and long, looping, unabashedly poetic lyrics. Despite being in an university auditorium, the High-Flying birds bring a stadium-sized show – complete with guitar changes in between each songs and complex lighting schemes.

That said, if there’s a complaint, it’s not the band’s musicality, it’s their emotion. The show felt weirdly tame, almost too well orchestrated and composed. Like Noel could have been performing eyes closed…the whole time. Perhaps it was so calm due to the generally older crowd, or the fact there were no drinks allowed inside the hall. Maybe it was due the fact that Gallagher is newly married, perhaps happier, perhaps more sober, and wiser than his younger years. Maybe his karma is all realigned and he’s just blissful and stress free. Or perhaps it’s that Liam truly was the dark cloud in the former band, as is often rumored. Whatever it was, there was little spit or sweat or angst, which often fuels a set…in a good, head-banging sort of way. People swayed rather than rocked out. I’ll venture to say it’s doubtful many will have vivid love or drug associations with Noel Gallagher’s High-Flying Birds. But the fact is, everyone seemed OK with that and the calm, zen set. As it seemed, the concert left most fans content, mollified by the harmonies and lights, and singing along merrily during the encore. And at the end, the audience gave a thunderous, standing ovation to the men and the music rather than the myth.

Related Stories

[Video] Noel Gallagher Flies High On Letterman

Noel Gallagher Takes His Music To New Heights With His High Flying Birds