Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds | May 18, 2015

Noel Gallagher brought his High Flying Birds to San Francisco on their "Keep It Dangerous Tour" for what amounted to an incredibly intimate show despite the venue's capacity. Billed as an "evening with," there was no opener and by the time the band took the stage at 8:10, people were expectantly waiting in their seats. The "evening with" approach set a relaxed mood for the evening ... no rush and no fuss ... everything tuned and ready to go from the moment the doors open. Kicking the set off with Do the Damage from their 2014 EP, In the Heat of the Moment, the Birds settled right into a casual groove that made the 90 minute set fly by all-too-fast.

Noel Gallagher brought his High Flying Birds to San Francisco on their “Keep It Dangerous Tour” for what amounted to an incredibly intimate show despite the venue’s capacity. Billed as an “evening with,” there was no opener and by the time the band took the stage at 8:10, people were expectantly waiting in their seats. The “evening with” approach set a relaxed mood for the evening … no rush and no fuss … everything tuned and ready to go from the moment the doors open. Kicking the set off with Do the Damage from their 2014 EP, In the Heat of the Moment, the Birds settled right into a casual groove that made the 90 minute set fly by all-too-fast.

While this was a seated show, once the band started no one was sitting. And without a barricade up front, Noel was clearly intent on those standing just a few feet in front of him, at one point remarking to someone typing away on their phone, “are you searching for hookers on your phone?” Noel fielded any-and-all between-song shouts deftly and humorously, keeping things light, shrinking the room. At one point Noel looked down at a fan and asked, “are you going to put this on YouTube?” before going on to deliver a personalized PSA in which he declared that “San Francisco is fucking freezing” before announcing that he was going to play Champagne Supernova. When a crowd member threw up the metal horns, Noel chastised him in good fun, “don’t fucking do that!”

While the handful of Oasis tunes elicited the greatest reaction from the crowd, this crowd wasn’t there for the nostalgia, alone. (Stranded On) The Wrong Beach had the crowd rapt with attention and for good reason … large or small, Gallagher simply owns the stage. Vocals on point and with the band as tight as can be, the only downside of this show was that it was simply too short.

Setlist:

Do the Damage
(Stranded On) The Wrong Beach
Everybody’s on the Run
Fade Away (Oasis cover)
In the Heat of the Moment
Lock All the Doors
Riverman
The Death of You and Me
You Know We Can’t Go Back
Champagne Supernova (Oasis cover)
Ballad of the Mighty I
Dream On
The Dying of the Light
The Mexican
AKA… Broken Arrow
Digsy’s Dinner (Oasis cover)
If I Had a Gun…

–Encore–

The Masterplan (Oasis cover)
AKA… What a Life!
Don’t Look Back in Anger (Oasis cover)

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