Manchester legends Liam Gallagher and John Squire brought their tour in support of their new album to The Halls in Wolverhampton on Thursday night, with special guest Jake Bugg taking on warm up duties.

The event was, of course, a sell out.  Many of the crowd had gathered to catch Jakes opening set, a wonderful solo acoustic performance played and sung with passion which was adored by those who sang back to him with just as much feeling.  I noticed a few emotional fans really soaking up the emotion given by Jake, especially for his final number of his set “Lightning Bolt”.  Despite being a lone figure standing on that large stage with just an acoustic guitar and a microphone he managed to fill it out with ease with his presence and the reception from the crowd between numbers was joyous to hear.

After an intermission that seemed to go on for a while, and a few moments of teasing the crowd by dimming the lights to make them believe it was time and many chants of “Liam, Liam, Liam……” and “Squire, Squire, Squire……) Manchester’s other favourite Maraca shaking Son and one of the best guitarists came on stage to a huge ovation.  Liam keeping the introduction short and sweet before kicking off the set with “Just Another Rainbow”.  The stage set itself was fantastic, old cinema style lighting across the back of the stage along with patterns being projected on the back in an almost 70s style, and it really did fit with the music.  Liam really can command the crowd, his trademark swagger and singing stance were on form, and add into that John’s guitar wizardry it really made for a fantastic sound.  As with the beginning the banter between songs was brief.

The only downside was the length of the set, it was short.  Playing the album before an encore of a cover of “Jumping Jack Flash” (which I have to say really rounded the evening off nicely, I dare say better than the original, one that suited Liam’s voice to a T).  Not much over an hour and it was done BUT this is Liam Gallagher and John Squire, showcasing their creation.  It would have been wrong if they had done any Oasis, Stone Roses, or Seahorses which, despite it meaning a shorter set, was the right call.  The Album is great and sounds even better live. It’s a gig that is sure to go down in history.

All photos and words by Mark J Allen