Liam Gallagher Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
★★★★☆
IF you were wondering what the noise was in Cardiff on Monday night, it was Liam Gallagher kicking off his international tour in the Welsh capital.
Following the release of his second solo studio album, Why Me? Why Not, the former Oasis frontman certainly brought the party to town and thousands of fans who packed out the Motorpoint Arena went mad for it.
Liam strutted onto the stage wearing his signature parka and infamous swagger and opened with Rock N’ Roll Star. And for the next 90 minutes, he was exactly that.
The quality of tunes continued to flow as Liam combined classic Oasis tracks such as Morning Glory with a decent amount of his own solo numbers.
From his new album, fans were treated to Shockwave, Once and Now That I’ve Found You which weaved in between legendary songs from debut album As You Were.
Liam’s voice was on top form during Greedy Soul and pints were spilt as fans tried to get closer to their idol during Wall Of Glass.
Despite the jam-packed setlist, Liam still found time to talk to the crowd.
Referencing his hometown of Manchester, he shouted: “Liverpool are robbing b ****** s” (referring to Sunday’s football game).
For those who don’t appreciate the Britpop era or that Liam has got something so many other performers don’t, it was just a 47-year-old man wearing a coat while barely moving from one spot – but in reality, it was much more.
The highlight of the gig was Wonderwall. It was surprising to see this make an appearance on the bill given Liam previously told fans he’s “f***ing sick of it” but it’s what everybody wanted.
Fans screamed along while Liam told fans to “sing it in Welsh” and it was nothing short of epic.
For the encore, Liam gave a rare but much-appreciated performance of Acquiesce which was followed by three more classic Oasis tunes: Roll With It, Supersonic and, finally, Champagne Supernova.
It was a set that was more Oasis heavy than I expected but that’s clearly what the fans wanted and the mixture of his own releases made a wonderful show.