Fans of High Flying Birds and Oasis packed out the Eden Project on Wednesday, June 16 to see one of the legends of Brit-Pop Noel Gallagher take to the stage.
The evening saw a nearly full arena basked in early evening summer sun to see Gallagher, whose visit was part of the High Flying Birds' June UK Tour.
The night kicked off in style, not by Noel, but by Australian electro-pop support act Confidence Man.
The group's energetic style wowed the fans instantanly, with the front duo of Janet Planet and Sugar Bones constantly on the move, popping champagne, dancing and at one stage jumping over one another.
It was the perfect prologue for what was to come as two minutes ahead of their scheduled 9pm time the opening tune for High Flying Birds, 'Fort Knox', blared around the arena.
The tune, which boasts an opening album/setlist vibe, brought roars from the crowd that were raised tenfold when Noel and the rest of the band entered the stage.
The fast start continued, with the first and second song interlinking smoothly as 'Fort Knox' interchanged to 'Holy Mountain', one of High Flying Birds' headline songs, before 'Keep on Reaching' and 'It's A Beautiful World' brought an end to the first chapter of the gig.
It was at this point Noel took the opportunity to greet the fans, his famous witty chat sparking laughter from the very much in awe spectators some of whom cheered his every word.
Upon reviewing the setlist from previous dates on the tour it was clear that the gig was effectively split into two halves. The first nine or ten songs were from High Flying Birds before the band would roll back the years with Oasis classics that are a second language for many.
'She Taught me How to Fly' followed, before Noel joked that the following two songs were from EP's that didn't go down well! Regardless of this both 'Wandering Star' and 'Rattling Rose' were well received before the moving 'We're on Our Way Now' and the infectious bass riff of 'Black Star Dancing' continued the set.
The finale of the High Flying Birds part of the gig was worth waiting for, and for me the highlight of the opening half. Most of the band departed the stage, leaving Noel and his acoustic guitar alone with the pianist to play the moving and eloquent 'Dead in the Water'.
The scene, enhanced by the loneliness of the stage and the backdrop of the moon shining over the water was a strong and powerful way to sign off his post Oasis songs.
More jovial banter ensued following this as Noel joked to the crowd saying 'this is what you're here for' marking the beginning of the famous Oasis songs which immediately raised the volume of the crowd.
'Little by Little', 'The Importance of Being Idle' and 'Whatever' got the place bouncing before Noel whipped out the acoustic again for a song which has over 1.4 billion streams on Spotify.
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'This one needs no introduction' the charismatic frontman declared before strumming the iconic pattern of 'Wonderwall', an all time classic.
Lastly, the band played 'Half the World Away', which was slightly quicker than the original Oasis version before finishing the night with another belter that pulled at the heart strings of the crowd in 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out'.
Although some spectators thought that was it they had not realised the encore was still to come and after a brief foray off stage the band returned to play a trio of hits to conclude the evening as the sun dipped over the stage.
Two more High Flying Birds songs, and arguably some of their most well-known, kick started the last part of the set with 'If I Had A Gun' and 'AKA: What a Life' , the latter sparked a couple of jokey boos from some fans as Noel dedicated the tune to all the Man City fans in the audience.
Noel thanked everyone for coming out for the show, and also said see you again next year (fingers crossed!) There was still time for one more song ( my most favourite Oasis tune) in 'Don't Look Back In Anger.'
It was the best way to end the set, as phone torchlights now illuminated the darkening arena as everyone rallied together to sing the Oasis classic. Noel even let the crowd carry the chorus, such was the volume of the spectating voices.
That was that as the whole band made their way onto the stage for one last time to say goodbye to applause and cheers from all at the open air arena.
All in all a great set from the band who put on a great performance of songs old and new, but crucially still loved by everyone in attendance.
There are still three more artists Eden Project Sessions to come this summer with Nine Inch Nails (Friday, June 17/Saturday June 18), Diana Ross (Tuesday, June 21) and the Stereophonics (Tuesday, July 5) set to appear. Tickets for those events can be found here.
Noel Gallagher Setlist:
Fort Knox
Holy Mountain
Keep on Reaching
It's a Beautiful World
She Taught Me How To Fly
Wandering Star
Rattling Rose
We're On Our Way Now
Black Star Dancing
Dead In The Water
Little By Little
The Importance Of Being Idle
Whatever
Wonderwall
Half The World Away
Stop Crying Your Heart Out
Encore:
If I Had A Gun
AKA What a Life
Don't Look Back in Anger
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