While volumes have been written trying to calculate an artist's worth and value to his fans, the best and easiest way to get a true impression lies in the moments when that artist inspires a sold-out crowd to sing along with him in concert. It might sound overly simplistic, but it's true; there is an intimacy in those moments which can't be bought and a connection between artist and audience which can't be asked for – it either happens spontaneously or not at all. There's a magic in that. Such a magic moment happened for Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds the moment the band opened its set at the O2 Center on February 26, 2012 with a cover of Oasis' “(It's Good) To Be Free,” but the incredible thing about it was that the moment didn't end with the song; in fact, the crowd would end up not missing a word of High Flying Birds' ninety minute set.
The Blu-Ray release of International Magic does indeed feel magical, but there are many more moments like that as well which are all perfect reasons to check this set out.
On the Blu-Ray release of High Flying Birds' show at the O2, viewers get a fantastic experience out of the performance. Backed by a seven-piece band and a 27-member chorus, Noel Gallagher powers his way through a set which features all but one of the songs from his landmark post-Oasis debut album (only “Stop The Clocks” is omitted) as well as a healthy number of the songs that the singer wrote with Oasis and one new song (“Freaky Teeth”) to boot. It's an ironman-running set, but both the singer and band rock through it beautifully and never stumble once.
The sound of the show is great, but that really should come as no surprise; really, it's great to hear the portion of Oasis' catalogue included here in the context of Gallagher's solo work with High Flying Birds – but the great thing about this Blu-Ray is the spectacle of it. An army of cameras (at least eight) capture this show from every possible angle and vantage (on stage, from the crowd, facing the crowd from the stage and more) to give those watching the best imaginable presentation of the performance – but the added benefit is that viewers really get a sense of Noel Gallagher's character in a very personal way. After years on stage with Oasis playing before thousands of people nightly, it would be tempting and easy enough to rest on laurels in a live setting and, in a venue the size of the O2 Center, it would be easy enough to phone in a performance because, really, how would anyone know the difference? The Blu-Ray presentation proves that everything about this show is as genuine as it seems; here, those watching are able to mark Noel Gallagher's every flinch and see that he's re-living the emotional moments which inspired the songs he's playing in the first place. Sure – in the bigger “rock” moments like “To Be Free,” “If I Had A Gun” and “Record Machine,” Noel Gallagher is every ounce the bombastic, phenomenal bandleader knows he can be but, when he picks up an acoustic guitar for “Supersonic” or “Talk Tonight,” he effortlessly contracts the size of the room and draws the audience in somehow to make them feel as though they're each one of maybe two hundred people (at most) watching a show in a tiny room somewhere; in moments like that, Noel Gallagher fills one of the largest venues on Earth with presence and makes it so palpable that it feels as though you could reach out and touch him. That the singer is able to engage his audience (both those who were at the O2 and those watching this Blu-Ray) so easily and so completely that they don't even miss a word as they sing along is remarkable.
“So is it just a matter of how the show is presented,” you ask, “or does it happen every night Noel Gallagher takes the stage to perform? Is this review really little more than that sort of over-stated contrivance?”
As luck would have it, International Magic Live At The O2 proves that such intimacy wasn't just a one-night stand. A few months before their show at the O2, a much smaller permutation of the High Flying Birds lineup played a shorter set at the Mod Club in Toronto and produced a very similar result. While most of the songs which appear in Gallagher's set list at the O2 also appeared when he performed on the Mod Club stage (the most notable variation in the sets is the inclusion of “Wonderwall” in the show at Mod), it proves to be as much or even more affecting and cathartic on that night in Toronto. With only a keyboard player in tow, Gallagher stuns viewers of this DVD as he did at the show with a beautiful set and night to remember; thus proving that he is capable of creating a night to remember any night of the year. The stripped down set really seeks to captivate those who were in attendance at the Mod Club and does a great job of it as, while there isn't as much singing along, the sounds of audience appreciation swell more and more as the set progresses. By the time the singer reaches “Don't Look Back In Anger” to close the show, he's got every heart in the room and he knows it; there's a sweetness and ease to Gallagher's delivery which screams of warm confidence at his own triumph.
Under most circumstances, bands know when they have a strong release and will let it rest without going further or adding more, but the inclusion of Faster Than The Speed Of Magic (a CD of demos from the making of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' self titled debut) with this already impressive Blu-Ray document implies the singer still had something to prove; he needed to make sure listeners felt as though they were getting something truly special and revelatory to treasure in this set. That's where Faster Than The Speed Of Magic comes in.
Listeners left skeptical at the prospect of some demos really being that good need to be ready to have their breath stolen the moment “Everybody's On The Run” strums itself in, carefully. Simply offering names to give readers an idea of what they'll hear (like Paul Westerberg and Paul McCartney – to start) don't actually do what these recordings represent justice; by nature, demos are designed to function as a frame of reference made so that an artist can further develop an idea but, here, listeners are shown just how much shorter Noel Gallagher's process is. While these demos are not lush in orchestration or accompaniment (most often, they feature a voice and an acoustic guitar, or a spare duo or trio for instrumental accompaniment, with all the warts and imperfections left in), the ideas they imply and how little refinement they required before the final tapes ran is pretty jaw-dropping. This insight into the creative process which ultimately yielded Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds is fantastic and the experience of hearing it is most rewarding for those who truly wonder how far a song goes and how many gears get turned on it from beginning to final album presentation.
After all that material put forth to absorb, and most listeners/viewers will probably want to catch their breath – this set is as time consuming to watch as it was to write about and (in your case) read about. The International Magic Live At The O2 Blu-Ray and CD set is a sprawling one and, on one hand, it could be said that what can be found in it is an almost stifling number of sounds and ideas but, on the other, it could also be contended that the quality of the material and the experience of it sets the bar for any and all other sets of its type which may get released in 2013. This writer is inclined to side with the latter; International Magic Live At The O2 is awesome and should be regarded as essential fare for any fan of Oasis or Noel Gallagher.
Artist:
www.noelgallagher.com/
www.myspace.com/noelgallagher
www.facebook.com/noelhighflyingbirds
www.twitter.com/NoelGallagher
Blu-Ray:
The International Magic Live At The O2 Blu-Ray/CD set will be released on March 5, 2013 by Sour Mash/UMe. Pre-order it here on Amazon .
