I'll be honest, I'm not a huge Snow Patrol fan. If you read this blog on a regular basis (or even if you don't, but you should), you will probably have realized that I'm a pretty big Noel Gallagher (and Oasis) fan. The opportunity to see him perform wasn't going to be missed, even if I had to sit through a Snow Patrol set.
Arriving early, I arrived at my seat to see that only half of the arena was being used. Nottingham's Jake Bugg arrived on stage with just an acoustic guitar and proceeded to play a half hour set drawing from his recently released debut album. Bugg's voice is a nasally combination of The Verve's Richard Ashcroft and Bob Dylan and his songs seem to be country tinged rockabilly put through a British filter.
Noel Gallagher is no stranger to stadiums and arenas. He may be a stranger to sparsely attended shows though. I've been to my fair share of poorly attended concerts (sadly, mostly as the entertainment, not the spectator), but this was atrocious! Gallagher, along with his top notch band were unfazed and did not disappoint with a set filled with songs from last years High Flying Birds album and heavily peppered with Oasis hits and b-sides.
The Gallagher brothers have taken a lot of flack over the years for being the so-called "bad boys" of the Britpop scene. While Liam Gallagher seems to genuinely think he is king, Noel is much more self depricating (although not done in the conventional way). What many, especially in North America, seem to miss in the dry British delivery, is the sarcasm and cheekiness inherent in most things he says. Case in point, a fan in the front row, who was apparently celebrating his birthday, managed to get Gallagher's attention and was promptly told "I don't give a fuck. It's not my birthday". A couple of songs later, noticing that the birthday boy was being prematurely escorted out, he jeered "You're getting thrown out? For talking to me? Fucking right you are". While I laughed, others yelled for Gallagher to get off. They were in the minority.
While my initial guess that Snow Patrol were on last given that they had the biggest draw may have have been slightly off. By the time they took the stage the arena felt hollow. While many Noel Gallagher supporters had upped and left before Snow Patrol started, I decided to tough it out (mainly so my wife could get to hear 'Chasing Cars' and 'Crack The Shutters'). Frontman Gary Lightbody tried (and failed) to elicit any reaction from the remaining crowd. From my vantage point, it seemed like they were trying too hard to impress. Maybe it was because they were following "the legend" (Lightbody's own words) Noel Gallagher. That, combined with the ear-splittingly poor mix (everything seemed to go up 20db after NG), made for an early exit. Truth of the matter is that Snow Patrol only stuck around for two more songs after I left. Better to cut your loses and regroup.
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