Liam Gallagher & John Squire, The Civic At The Halls, Wolverhampton, 14th March 2024

The boys have top end session guys backing them: Barrie Cadogan on bass, Joey Waronker on drums and Chris Madden on keyboards. The sound is good. There’s no fancy stage set or pyro/lasers or other puff and fluff. This is rock and roll. The artwork from the album is plastered on the keyboard set up.

Not much light on Liam when he mooches to the back of the stage a fair bit in the show. As per normal you cannot see John’s face much as he stares down at the floor or at his guitar for the duration, and his barnet hides his fizog anyway.

Anyone expecting some interaction between Liam and John would be out of luck. There is none at all in this just under an hour set. Liam is stage left and John stage right and that’s that. Liam’s vocal is on point and Liam does what Liam does – and what he does well. A self-confessed rock star and no one can argue with that.

But his swagger, his arrogance and his gob were toned down a lot here, while John just plays his guitar and sounds like John Squire sounds; a cool Strat’ cat – some lovely chops and proof it were needed of why he was and is such an influence on zillions of guitar players.

The set kicks off with the album’s title track, and the guitar really cuts through the mix to send shivers down the spine. Hammond organ greases it up, while Liam’s Lennon vibes on vocals is the icing on the  cake. Here we go…

Then, “One Day At A Time” before “I’m A Wheel”, which is accompanied by a projection of circles on the backdrop, during which Mr Squire slings in some raw bluesy licks which nod to his influences maybe, and Liam spits out a moody vocal.

Some fans and writers have mentioned the lack of “chemistry” between Liam and John Squire after the Glasgow show, and as I said before, there is zilch in the way of any interaction verbally or physically between them; with a no man’s land gap between them on stage.

But we need to remember; we are in the presence of greatness – and the material is some of Squire’s best songwriting. When Liam wasn’t singing into the mic’ with maracas in one hand and tambourine in the other, he’d skulk around the back of the stage in near darkness – occasionally strutting to the front to stare out the crowd. Squire on the other hand remained pretty much fixed to the spot, stage right, occasionally being bathed in orange and blue for the odd guitar solo.

Here you have two titans of Madchester Britpop sharing the same stage and most fans lapping it up just to be in the same room, and not miles back in a stadium or the likes of Knebworth or that infamous 1990 Spike Island Roses event.

Occasionally it may have felt a bit like John Squire was the guitarist in Liam’s band, and at other times Liam was the singer in John’s band. But that was ok, as they still sounded how they should sound. Mighty.

Support came from Nottingham’s Jake Bugg who blasted through his set with a sense of being dead chuffed he was there – thanking the crowd between songs, and despite whoever was lighting tonight’s show; first of all switching the stage lights off completely, leaving Bugg singing in the dark, before attempting to fry him with the spot light. I was almost expecting an orchestra to start playing like they do at the Oscars, when they’re trying to get people off the stage.

John is 61 and Liam a decade younger; John being one of Liam’s rock and roll heroes as a youngster. It is worth noting that John had not played a full gig in seven years until Glasgow and Wolverhampton on this tour. But it came seemingly easy, just like a riding a bike. You could hear his versatility; from The Who to punk to rock and roll, to quieter moments and brushstrokes of colours.

Worth the admission price just to hear this man playing on 11 songs. But with THE Liam Gallagher in the house too, this was a night most of this packed room will never forget; despite the gripes from some quarters. The pot at the end of this rainbow is half full, not half empty. As you were…