The chant of 'championes' is getting rather familiar at the Etihad Stadium of late, and it’s the natural soundtrack to welcome the city’s homecoming hero Liam Gallagher to his beloved Manchester City on Wednesday night. Not that our Liam is one to rest on the Premier League champions’ laurels, of course.
Just to assert his own heroic status, the crowds are greeted with a wall of words to herald his arrival on the big screens inside the ram-packed Etihad - the likes of Biblical, icon, legend, celestial, Jedi. Oh, and then 'humble' just for good measure.
It’s all done with that typical swagger (with a wink) that has become the trademark of a Manchester musical icon. Mind you, with his latest solo album, C’mon You Know, looking set to sail to the top of the charts this week he’s every reason to feel at the top of his game.
"Yes Manchester," he drawls to make his entrance, surveying the adoring crowd. He blasts open the set with Hello, and out on the pitch it’s just an absolute sea of bouncing bodies, flares being set off in clouds of colour left right and centre as the beer spews out at will. Ever likely the bucket hat is an essential fashion staple at a Liam gig.
Rambunctious doesn’t quite cover it - but it’s even crazy enough for Liam to instruct the crowds to calm it down a tad along the lines of 'don’t be a **** and push people, put your arms around each other and bounce'.
But then that’s the peril of coming out and delivering three massive bangers in swift succession - Rock 'N' Roll Star and What’s the Story Morning Glory follow the opening madness. Liam prowls the stage shaking his maracas, sticking his tongue out, holding his alarms aloft - being the ultimate showman - for a blistering set.
The evening was brought to life by fellow northern music icons The Charlatans, who took to the stage for an hour-long set of their anthems. Weirdo, Then, North Country Boy and The Only One I Know playing just as the sun peeked out of the clouds.
We then get to watch the sun set with Liam - the skies a magical mix of blue and gold. We got some unexpected treats along the way - Oasis' Roll it Over from 2000’s Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, which sounds pretty damn epic in this setting, built to a crescendo by his excellent backing singers.
How to top that? Well, with the epic, epic strains of Slide Away, of course. Somehow made all the more special as we all sing along to 'chasing the sun' as it sets beneath the Etihad.
But this is not a set simply wallowing in nostalgia. Newies already sound like classics. More Power, Better Days and Everything’s Electric among the standout tracks. And it’s not an Oasis classic, but his modern masterpiece Once that closes the main show which sees hugs, arms waving, many around me were even in tears.
It’s a song that hugely resonates with his fans - and then out shoots fireworks to light up the stadium and the faces of delirious fans in the process. He returns to the stage for the first encore shaking his tambourine to the opening surge of Some Might Say.
"Don’t listen to anyone who says this stuff is f***ing bad for you," he shouts before launching into the hedonist chimes of Cigarettes and Alcohol, of course.
Supersonic, Wonderwall and Live Forever are the euphoric singalongs to conclude the night.
But as any regular here at the Etihad knows, it doesn’t pay to be one of those scooting out the door before the final whistle. For those who stayed, Liam returned for a second encore of a magical Champagne Supernova.
The fireworks spurt into life once more to light up the Etihad a final time.
Liam heads from here for two nights at Knebworth - just as he did back in 1996 with Oasis fresh from memorable gigs at Man City’s Maine Road. His crown is still intact - and his story just keeps getting more and more biblical.
Setlist June 1, 2022 at Etihad Stadium
Hello
Rock 'N' Roll Star
What’s the Story Morning Glory
Wall of Glass
Shockwave
Why me, Why Not?
Everything’s Electric
Better Days
Stand By Me
Roll it Over
Slide Away
More Power
C’mon You Know
Diamond in the Dark
The River
Once
Encore:
Some Might Say
Cigarettes and Alcohol
Supersonic
Wonderwall
Live Forever
Encore two:
Champagne Supernova
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