With the official breakup of Oasis in 2009 it was inevitable that the now parted Gallagher brothers were going to leave loyal Oasis fans to decide which brother’s solo vechile would become their new favourite. Liam Gallagher didn’t mess around, taking the rest of Oasis and forming Beady Eye and in 2010 the band started releasing new material. The adeptly named album ‘Different Gear, Still Speeding’ was released earlier this year and meet with mixed reviews. So with one album under the belt I go to capture Beady Eye at the Newport Centre.
On arrival at the Newport Centre there is a reminder of the Stone Roses gig in 1995 where mayhem of a riot followed the gig. The police are out in force, I am greeted by a police women who yells ‘love- tuck your bag into yourself or you’ll be pick pocketed’…err welcome to Newport.
However the 2,000 capacity venue crowd that’s been sell-out for the evening, are not deterred. ‘Four Letter Word’ is a stomper of a song, great opener and a sure fire way to get the crowd worked up. I’ll give to Beady Eye they run through a solid double header in the shape of ‘The Roller’ and the ‘Wind up Dream’ the latter resembles the sexy guitar riffs of an early Stones tune, while former Ride man Andy Bell has clearly found his Keith Richards licks on this track. ‘Kill for Anyone’ proves that Liam hasn’t lost that voice that captured an entire generation of Britpop teenagers. The venue is hot and sweaty, a wash of men sporting the messy hair, moody presence look, everyone wants a pint at a gig but the Newport Centre take it upon themselves to close the bar before 10! No beer whilst Liam Gallagher, the man who single handily must have kept Red Stripe in business during the 90s serenades us…sacrilege!
The problem is whilst in Oasis Liam Gallagher swaggering arrogance was admired by fans but as time went on he was the ‘eternal lad’ proving he wasn’t Peter Pan, when he did grow up-married a former All Saints member on Valentine’s Day, admitted to being friendly with Charlotte Church and raving on about his clothing line. With one of the 90s hero clearly changing his ‘up yours’ views, one would expect a maturity to his lyrics but clearly without Noel to offer his song writing abilities, Liam really struggles to muster anything that is truly poetic. It’s like watching a lazy Oasis, maybe as a former Oasis fanatic there is a sense of wanting Noel to burst on stage but there is definitely something lacking with this gig. There’s no denying that Liam can still get a crowd going but will Beady Eye be talked about in ten years time, with the same significance as Oasis are, I’d have to say more Definitely Doubtful than Definitely Maybe.”
