Live Review: Liam Gallagher retains his rock star status at Malahide Castle

While the scale from the glory days of Oasis stadium shows is something fans can only long for these days, Liam Gallagher still manages to offer a performance worthy of the adoration he still receives.

As the iconic Mancunian struts on stage with the same signature confidence he has exuded for the entirety of his career, the Oasis instrumental ‘Fuckin in the bushes’ rings out across the grounds of Malahide Castle before the band quickly break into the electrifying ‘Rock’n’Roll Star’.

It’s clear from the offset that the night is going to be an Oasis affair, an unsurprising but welcome decision. Songs like ‘Wall of Glass’ and ‘I’ve All I Need’ from Liam’s debut solo album still warrant the usual excitement from a sea of fans in bucket hats young and old.

The 45 year old front man has often been in direct competition with his equally iconic brother Noel but 2018 is arguably Liam’s year with the success of his debut solo album and string of sell out shows throughout Europe.

While lacking that stadium fullness that the original line-up of Oasis brought to the table, Gallagher’s band aren’t afraid to make as much noise as they can, with songs like ‘Some Might Say’, ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’ and ‘Supersonic’ bringing a raucous virility among delighted onlookers.

“Are there any Manchester United fans here tonight?” Liam asks, garnering a mixed response of cheers and even more booing from a bustling crowd before dedicating his acoustic ballad ‘Paper Crown’ to the club fans.

Gallagher who had teased to his followers on Twitter that he would be playing ‘Listen Up’ for the first time at a solo gig, stayed true to his word blasting out a flawless rendition of the 1993 classic.

It was certainly a night of firsts as Gallagher followed up the seminal tune with another classic in the form of ‘Whatever’. Joined by a cellist on stage the band summoned the thousands of voices from thrilled onlookers as the chorus boomed before the sun began to set.

Where Gallagher is due credit is his ability to never let the energy fall throughout the night. After returning for the encore Gallagher announced that the next song was dedicated to the victims of the Grenfell tower tragedy before breaking in to an emotional acoustic version of ‘Live Forever’.

Gallagher finishes out the night with the predictable but in no way dissatisfying masterpiece that is ‘Wonderwall’ letting the crowd do most of the work a during his final minutes on stage. While Oasis mania may be a thing of the past what’s certain is that Liam Gallagher is undoubtedly still a rock and roll star. As you were.