Friday, November 24, 2017

The mediocre rock 'n' roll swindle - Liam Gallagher plays Toronto


Last night, Oasis fans flocked to Rebel nightclub nestled against frosty Lake Ontario to catch Liam Gallagher and his band. Pity, brother Noel wasn't there, because he could've leant his younger sibling a few tunes to pad out his 59-minute set. 

I've seen some opening acts over the years that sang that long. Springsteen always plays for three-and-a-half hours. Perhaps that's an unfair comparison, but one hour without an encore? When the houselights went up after Cigarettes and Alcohol, Rebel shook with boos.

Gallagher opened with Rock 'n' Roll Star then Morning Glory from his former band's first and second albums, and proceeded to evenly mix Oasis songs with his solo material. The crowd roared in a giant pub singalong whenever he launched into Oasis hits such as Some Might Say, but fell quiet whenever he sang one of his own tunes. 

Gallagher's band played the Oasis tunes faithfully, note-for-note, with energy and competently for his own material, but those songs lacked memorable melodies or lyrics. They all sounded the same, so the audience waited for the next Oasis hit to come alive.

The crowd left with mixed feelings. They got a half-hour Oasis gig and saw their frontman for the first time in this city in many years. But they deserved more. If Gallagher continues to shortchange his fans and record mediocre material, he'll need to call his brother and beg for a reunion.

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