ASIA 'Live in San Francisco' set for June

Due for release in North America on June 23, ASIA's Axis XXX: Live in San Francisco MMXII was recorded on November 7, 2012 at the Regency Ballroom.

This new ASIA live CD/DVD and Blu-ray captures the band, in the original line-up, during one of the shows in support of the XXX album which was broadcasted by AXS-TV in the U.S.

After the recent DVD releases, this is Asia in HD performing one of the last shows featuring the original line up of Geoff Downes, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer and John Wetton. The set list (see below) features songs from their first two albums and selected cuts from the reunion albums, including the single from “XXX” and “Face on the Bridge.”

Formed at the dawn of the MTV era, Asia’s first release was the best-selling album in the world in 1982 and was No. 1in America for 9 weeks, powered by the classic rock anthem, “Heat Of The Moment” and four other radio hits. Asia’s 1983 sophomore album, Alpha, also went multi-platinum and enjoyed several hit singles, including the No. 1 rock radio hit, “Don’t Cry.”

During the recording of its third disc, the band splintered. The reunion came to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the band, but morphed into an ongoing endeavour.

Track listing:

CD1 - Introduction; Only Time Will Tell; Wildest Dreams; Face On The Bridge; Time Again; Tomorrow The World; Ride Easy; Pyramidology; The Golden Mean; I Know How You Feel; Don't Cry; The Smile Has Left Your Eyes.

CD2 - Cutting It Fine; Holy War/Drum Solo; An Extraordinary Life; Here Comes The Feeling; Open Your Eyes; Sole Survivor; Heat Of The Moment.

DVD/Blu-ray - Introduction; Only Time Will Tell; Wildest Dreams; Face On The Bridge; Time Again; Tomorrow The World; Ride Easy; Pyramidology; The Golden Mean; I Know How You Feel; Don’t Cry; The Smile Has Left Your Eyes; Cutting It Fine; Holy War/Drum Solo; An

Extraordinary Life; Here Comes The Feeling; Open Your Eyes; Sole Survivor; Heat Of The Moment.

Lou Gramm of Foreigner on the road

On June 5, original Foreigner singer Lou Gramm will perform with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (Guest Conductor: Brent Havens) and his band at the Delta Classic Chastain Park Amphitheater in Atlanta, Georgia.

Lou and his band -- currently comprised of brother Ben Grammatico on drums, Michael Staertow on guitar, AD Zimmer on bass and Andy Knoll on keyboards -- have been on the road since the beginning of the year and have already performed a few dozen shows to date. After the Atlanta performance, Lou will continue to tour throughout the summer and beyond (see current itinerary below). 
 
Back in May 2013, Lou and writer Scott Pitoniak released an autobiography titled, Juke Box Hero: My Five Decades in Rock 'n' Roll (Triumph Books). A month later, he would be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Tour dates: 

June 5 - Chastain Amphitheatre with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in Atlanta, Georgia
June 6 - Old Shawnee Days Festival in Shawnee, Kansas
June 20 - Hard Rock Rocksino in Northfield, Ohio
June 27 - Rockin Ribs Festival in Augusta, New Jersey
July 4 - Sun Peaks Concert Series in Sun Peaks Village, British Columbia, Canada
July 10 - Peacefest in Peace River, Alberta, Canada
July 11 - BobStock in Fort Morgan, Colorado
July 16 - La Fete Du Lac Nations in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
July 19 - Great S. Bay Music Fest in Patchogue, New York
July 27 - Olds Agricultural Grandstand in Olds, Alberta, Canada
July 31 - Rockin on the River Series in North Tonawanda, New York
August 14 - Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis, Wisconsin
August 28 - Beacon Theatre in Hopewell, Virginia
August 29 - DeKalb Corn Festival in DeKalb, Illinois
September 2 - Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul, Minnesota
September 3 - Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul, Minnesota
September 12 - Clovis Music Festival in Clovis, New Mexico
*additional dates to be announced.
www.lougramm.com

Joy Division reissues on vinyl, compilation out this summer

Rhino Records announce the re-issue of four Joy Division releases on heavyweight 180-gram vinyl. The studio albums UNKNOWN PLEASURES (1979) and CLOSER (1980) will be available on June 29 at retail outlets. They will be followed on July 24 by STILL (1981) and an expanded version of SUBSTANCE (1988), both available as a double-LP set.

Each design replicates the original in painstaking detail, including the gatefold covers used for Still and Substance. The music heard on the albums was remastered in 2007 when Rhino introduced expanded versions of the albums.

The lone exception is Substance, which features audio remastered in 2010 for the +- singles box and for the first time on vinyl, the expanded tracklist from the original CD release, plus two additional songs: "As You Said" and the Pennine version of "Love Will Tear Us Apart." In addition to the vinyl format, Rhino will also release this expanded version of Substance as a 19-track CD, available on July 24.

Joy Division recorded two albums before singer Ian Curtis tragically took his own life in 1980. But what the Manchester quartet lacked in longevity, it more than made up for in quality. The band's only two studio albums were groundbreaking and helped shape the sound and mood of the alternative music that followed in the band's wake.

Ian Curtis (guitar/vocals), Bernard Sumner (keyboard), Peter Hook (bass), and Stephen Morris (drums) released their debut, Unknown Pleasures, in 1979. By the end of the year, the album's atmospheric sound had won over fans and critics with tracks like "She's Lost Control" and "Day of the Lords." Closer , the group's second album, arrived the following year and its dark and melancholy tones continued to earn rave reviews for songs like "Isolation" and "Heart and Soul."

The compilations Still and Substance fill in the missing pieces of the band's history with non-album singles ("Transmission" and "Love Will Tear Us Apart"), unreleased studio tracks ("Something Must Break" and "Ice Age"), and choice live recordings ("Disorder" and the only performance of "Ceremony.")

News on Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen

Atria Books has acquired North American and audio rights to a memoir by Phil Collen, lead guitarist for rock band Def Leppard for more than 30 years.

Adrenalized: Life, Def Leppard, and Beyond, written with veteran journalist and author Chris Epting and scheduled for publication on October 27, is the first book written by a member of the group that holds claim to being one of only five rock bands with two original studio albums selling over 10 million copies in the U.S.

Featuring personal, never-before-seen photos of Collen and his band mates on stage and off, Adrenalized is a fascinating account of the failures, triumphs, challenges, and rock-hard dedication it takes to make dreams come true.

"It's fascinating for even me to look back at my life from working in a factory at 16 years old to eventually traveling the world selling over one hundred million records and all the experiences that come with that journey,” Collen says.

“I realize that there is a constant evolution of 'me' that is still a work in progress even as I continue to be vital and dynamic in my same occupation for the past 35 years well into my late fifties."

In related news, Collen has a new blues based music project, Delta Deep, due this summer. He recorded the mix of original and hand-picked cover tracks with fellow bandmates Debbi Blackwell-Cook (back-up vocalist for such artists as Michael Buble & Luther Vandross), Forrest Robinson (drummer for India.Arie, Joe Sample & The Crusaders, TLC), and Robert DeLeo (bassist for Stone Temple Pilots).

Their self-titled debut album will be released on June 23 via Mailboat Records and also features special guest appearances by Def Leppard vocalists Joe Elliott, Whitesnake’s David Coverdale, Sex Pistols/Manraze drummer Paul Cook, and Girl/Manraze bassist Simon Laffy.

Collen initially started the project in 2012 after jamming at home over the course of a year with friend and relative, Debbi Blackwell-Cook (Blackwell-Cook is the Godmother of Collen’s wife, Helen).

What started as a casual pairing singing Motown and classic blues staples while Debbi frequently visited Collen’s home quickly turned into much more. Collen, Helen, and Debbi began writing original music which Collen and Debbi recorded in Collen’s home studio.

Later that year, a chance meeting re-acquainted Collen with Memphis native and enigmatic heavy metal, jazz, & r-n-b drummer Forrest Robinson. A friend suggested giving STP bassist Robert DeLeo a call. Sharing a loving affinity for soul, funk and the blues, DeLeo was the perfect fit.

According to Collen, “We really wanted Robert in this band. He had the added firepower of being the premiere pioneer and most ‘badassed bass player’ to come out of the alternative rock explosion.”

Original song and lead off single “Bang The Lid introduces the musical synchronicity of Collen, Blackwell-Cook, DeLeo, & Robinson. Blackwell-Cook also duets with Collen on the album tracks as well as with featured vocalists Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott ("Mistreated") and Whitesnake’s David Coverdale ("Private Number").

Legendary Sex Pistol’s punk drummer Cook and Collen’s former bandmate from Girl, Laffy, guest on "Black Coffee."

When asked what made him decide to do a blues project, Collen responded, "Blues was created out of something completely different from what we hear today. I grew up listening to rock music but then I found out it was all based on blues. Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Ritchie Blackmore, Jimi Hendrix, all of those guys….they got it from the blues. When I hear Debbi sing, I can hear the pain. She’s an incredibly beautiful 62 year old black woman who has been through things and she can sing through her pain. Not everyone can do that and not everyone sounds like Debbi.”

Meanwhile, Def Leppard will be touring this summer with Styx and Tesla. The 48-date outing will kick off in Tampa, Fla., on June 23 and will wrap in Jacksonville., on Oct. 17.

www.philcollenpc1.com
www.defleppard.com
www.deltadeep.net

Owl City returns mid-summer

Owl City will release its forthcoming fifth full-length album, Mobile Orchestra [Republic Records/Capitol CMG,] on July 10. This is the first new standard global music industry release date, aligning album releases worldwide to Fridays. 

Pre-order now and unlock a download of the first single “Verge (feat. Aloe Blacc)." Shortly after the album pre-order went live, the album went to No. 1 on the iTunes Pop Albums Chart.

The lyric video for “Verge (feat. Aloe Blacc)" is now on Vevo. Check it out here. 

Upon pre-ordering, fans will also instantly receive "You're Not Alone (feat. Britt Nicole)," which was released as a single last year and hit No. 1 on the Christian Hot AC/CHR chart.

Multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer Adam Young - aka Owl City - says the song "taps into a sentiment and emotionality that everyone can relate to: feeling alone."

The final song unlocked with the pre-order is "This Isn't the End," Mobile Orchestra's inspirational closing track.

Musically conceived everywhere from airports and hotels to tour buses, hence the title Mobile Orchestra, the album follows up 2012’s Midsummer Station, which debuted Top 10 on the Billboard Top 200 and boasted the double-platinum duet with Carly Rae Jepsen, “Good Time.”

The new release also features collaborations with country star Jake Owen, “Back Home,” pop luminaries Hanson, “Unbelievable,” and more. Meanwhile, tracks like “My Everything” and “Bird with a Broken Wing” illuminate his progression as a songwriter.

Pre-order now on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon

Track listing:

1. Verge (feat. Aloe Blacc)
2. I Found Love
3. Thunderstruck (feat. Sarah Russell)
4. My Everything
5. Unbelievable (feat. Hanson)
6. Bird With a Broken Wing
7. Back Home (feat. Jake Owen)
8. Can’t Live Without You
9. You’re Not Alone (feat. Britt Nicole)
10. This Isn't the End

Chris Carmack of TV's "Nashville" debuts solo single

Chris Carmack, star of ABC series "Nashville" has released the new track “Being Alone,” available now on iTunes. The song will be included on his forthcoming EP, Pieces of You, slated for release soon.

Although previously featured on the album The Music of Nashville: Season 2 with “What If I Was Willing,” “Being Alone” marks Carmack’s first independent release signifying his career as a solo artist.

Written solely by Carmack, the song captures the lonely, raw side of finding one’s direction in life and gives fans a glimpse into what they can expect from the EP. 

"'Being Alone' is about a young person’s solitary struggle to discover his own identity while trying to adhere to the stifling plans and expectations of others,” shared Carmack. “The entire EP is comprised of songs I wrote when I was in Los Angeles trying to do just that: find my identity in a world that had no shortage of opinions about who I should be."

Recently, the star hit the Stagecoach Festival in Indio, CA (see my review elsewhere on this blog), performing songs from the series in addition to announcing the imminent release of his debut EP to the crowd. 

In addition to his well-received Stagecoach Festival appearance, Carmack appeared on ABC’s “The View” with Aubrey Peeple’s last month, performing “If Your Heart Can Handle It” from "Nashville."

Later that day and the following, he joined the rest of his cast mates for two sold-out shows in NYC to kick off the eight-city "Nashville" Tour. On June 13, he’ll make his CMA Fest debut on the Belk Park Stage in Nashville, Tenn.

The Bird and the Bee readies album of originals

The Bird and the Bee will release fourth album Recreational Love on July 17. The LA synth-pop band's video for “Will You Dance?” is available now. 

PRESS HERE to watch the clip featuring comedian Patton Oswalt and The Big Bang Theory’s Simon Helberg.

Recreational Love came to life over a half-decade of songwriting and recording. “We didn’t mean to take so long but life ended up getting in the way, in a great way,” says vocalist Inara George, who formed the duo with multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin in 2005.

In the midst of pursuing other projects — George also sings in the indie-folk supergroup the Living Sisters, Kurstin’s a Grammy Award-nominated producer who’s recently worked with Sia, Lykke Li, and Charli XCX — the two met most Friday mornings at Kurstin’s studio to dream up their latest batch of finely textured retro-pop.

With a hint of R&B adding some warm grooves this time around, Recreational Love captures the easy intimacy of their collaboration and lets listeners slip into the band’s own charmed and secret world.

It’s The Bird and the Bee’s first album of original material since 2009's Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future, Recreational Love but closely follows their 2010 album Interpreting the Masters, Vol. 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates.

Tour Dates:

July 12 Los Angeles, CA @ Theatre at Ace Hotel
July 17 New York, NY @ Webster Hall

Little Boots becomes a 'Working Girl,' sets US tour

British electro-pop singer Little Boots (aka Victoria Hesketh) announced she will be releasing her third full-length album Working Girl in the U.S on July 10 via Dim Mak/On Repeat. 

 

She also premiered new track "Better In The Morning," which Hesketh described as "an ode to 'the walk of shame', the morning after the night before."

 

The track was produced by Grammy Award winning producer Ariel Rechtshaid (Brandon Flowers, Haim, Madonna). Listen to the track here on soundcloud and via YouTube here.

Little Boots will also be embarking on a headline North American tour this summer (see below).

Working Girl – the follow up album to her critically acclaimed sophomore release Nocturnes – also features a collaboration with Simian Mobile Disco's Jas Shaw, among others. A conceptually-driven album, it is punctuated with dancefloor beats. The title is also a nod to the 1989 film of the same name.

 

“The album's inspired by my journey from the beginning to the present, where I am essentially CEO of my own business and run an independent label,” Hesketh explains. “It's also fun and empowering to turn the traditional associations of 'working girl' on their head.”

Pre-order "Working Girl" iTunes here.

TRACK LISTING
 

1. Intro
2. Working Girl
3. No Pressure
4. Get Things Done
5. Taste It
6. Real Girl
7. Heroine
8. Interlude
9. The Game
10. Help Too
11. Business Pleasure
12. Paradise
13. Better In The Morning 

 

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES
 

07/15 - The Echo – Los Angeles, LA
07/16 - Constellation Room – Santa Ana, CA
07/17 – Popscene – San Francisco, SF
07/22 - Studio Paris – Chicago, IL (DJ set)
07/23 - Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
07/24 - Great Scott – Boston, MA
07/25 - U Street 500 - Washington DC 

Shipkicker Festival, Day 1 review: Long Beach, Calif.

A version of my review originally appeared at ocregister.com

Shipkicker was all about the location - and some good country music to boot.

Just a few songs into his set last Saturday night, Dustin Lynch (left) glanced at the water toward the Queen Mary and said, "I'll remember this for the rest of my life. It gets no better than looking at a boat like that" while performing.

The inaugural country music festival kicked off with seven hours of live music from an equal number of regional and national acts.

According to spokesperson Tori Elder, the event drew more than 4,000 people on Day 1 and is already expected to return in 2016.

By mid-afternoon, many people had spread blankets out on a designated grass area. Others tried their luck riding a mechanical bull, practiced line dancing (there was a lesson from the main stage) on some makeshift wood floors or sampled food truck wares. A long line to buy commemorate t-shirts, screen printed live by Red Eye Media in Long Beach (for a mere $7), didn't abate until later in the evening. During music layovers, some cowboys did dance offs. One carried both a large stuffed horse and a small plastic one.

Lynch was a ball of energy from the get-go at Waterfront Events Park. On break from sporadic tour dates opening for Luke Bryan (which continue through the fall and include Oct. 17-18 at Irvine Meadows), the gregarious singer opened with "To the Sky," from last year's "Where It's At."

During the highly satisfying performance, Lynch worked the stage often, shook hands and took selfies for fans. The band rocked so hard on "She Cranks My Tractor," "Wild in Your Smile," "Sing to Me" and "Name on It," I half expected them to break out into a Judas Priest cover.

Instead, they ably tackled '90s song selections or snippets by Joe Diffie, Garth Brooks, David Lee Murphy and Brooks & Dunn, plus Drake (!) and Justin Timberlake. The latter provided a rare opportunity to display Lynch's falsetto chops.

Highlights included "Hell of a Night" (boasting a subtle funk undertow), first big country hit "Cowboys & Angels" (an affecting ballad about Lynch's grandparents) and last year's infectious chart topper "Where It's At."

Eric Paslay was a revelation. The Texas native - who apparently postponed his honeymoon a day to be at Shipkicker - has co-penned hits for Jake Owen, Eli Young Band, Love and Theft. All were done live here and came across equally as strong as those artists' recorded versions. 

Launching the exceptional 90-minute set with the feisty "Like a Song," off 2014's self-titled debut, Paslay took time to provide background on some material (despite the chatty crowd) and delivered it passionately.

Key examples: the uplifting "Country Side of Heaven," "Deep As it is Wide," "Less Than Whole" and "She Don't Love You." One teenage guy could barely contain his excitement over the music.

There was plenty of time for mildly rocking out too. Paslay's covers of Tom Petty's "American Girl" and The Stones' "Satisfaction" were welcome chances for him to loosen up and connect with fans. Lead guitarist Tyler Tomlinson added welcome atmospheric effects throughout. Finally, the crowd went wild for Paslay's infectious hit "Friday Night." Definitely one of the best country acts I've seen this year.

Earlier in the day, following turns from Brian Lynn Jones, Neil Morrow and Jay Hollister Band, River Road played a solid batch of tunes from their new album. The SoCal country/rock quintet bore a Gin Blossoms influence on the appealing "Sunrise." A take on The Romantics' "What I Like About You" got a good response, while Justin Foutz impressed with his guitar work during "Coup de Ville."

Jukebox Mafia's acoustic-based, looped beatbox songs and long stretch of covers got tiresome real fast. Although the Nashville duo has toured with Miranda Lambert, they failed to make a lasting impression.

Photos by Drew A. Kelley  

Bryan Adams concert review: Irvine, Calif.

photo by Joshua Suddock

A version of my review originally ran at ocregister.com 

In Bryan Adams’ song “Summer of ’69,” a recurring lyric goes, “those were the best days of my life.”

Yet another time period - the summer of 1985 – was when his career skyrocketed. Back then, you could barely turn on MTV or the radio without coming across the Canadian rocker somewhere.

Fourth studio release “Reckless” went No. 1 and was eventually certified quintuple platinum here. Adams became the third superstar (after Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen) to spawn six top 15 pop singles from the same album.

Last winter, Adams marked the 30th Anniversary with a European tour and excellent deluxe reissues featuring unreleased tracks plus an April 1985 live recording from London’s Hammersmith Odeon. The four-disc box set adds music videos, Blu-ray pure audio mixes, interviews (Q&As between Adams, co-writer Jim Vallace and mastering engineer Bob Ludwig are especially interesting for longtime fans) and ample unseen photos (alternate cover, tape boxes, studio candids). The remastered sound is punchier in 5.1 and proves Adams could definitely rock hard long before he became better known for power ballads.

Within the past month, Ryan Adams and Foo Fighters members testified to Bryan Adams’ still-enduring appeal, covering “Summer of ‘69” in their respective shows as video clips were all over social media.

The “Reckless” concert jaunt finally reached Southern California's Orange County on May 22. Adams and his sharp band – featuring Eighties-era guitarist Keith Scott and drummer Mickey Curry – put on a rousing two-hour show at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre.

They brazenly opened with the metal-tinged title track not included on the original “Reckless.” Lyrics were flashed on backing screens.

For the Irvine gig’s first half, “Reckless” was performed in revised order and the still-raspy voiced singer nailed the yelps and high notes. All the guys were obviously having fun playing several non-hits for the first time live. Especially Scott, who palled around with his boss, ably handled backing vocals, made various trips to the lip of the stage, frequently let loose with some blazing riffs and landed on his back.

Vintage music videos were tweaked and projected amid a blistering “Kids Wanna Rock,” capped by a drum solo. The vigorous “It’s Only Love” saw Adams give props to “Reckless” duet partner Tina Turner. “Long Gone” was more laid back live due to new organ and harmonica flourishes. Utilizing piano on “Summer of ‘69” muted the rock bite.

Brawny outtake “The Boys Night Out” (about grand theft auto in SoCal and containing a line about I-5) boasted Scott’s fiery fretwork and a duck walk. “Let Me Down Easy” (initially recorded by Roger Daltrey) was a nice change of pace. Adams played it solo acoustic and displayed a rare vulnerability instead of all the usual bravado. He also made good use of the three microphone stands on the stage and at urging crowd interaction.

Lighted cell phones were held aloft and women squealed delightfully for the majestic ballad “(Everything I Do) I Do it For You,” then Adams singled out a sexy lady to gyrate in front of him during the tedious “If Ya Wanna Be Bad.” Fans raised two Canadian flags throughout Flamenco acoustic guitar-driven “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman” (an audible called after a sound snafu).

The best was saved for last though: an ebullient “Can’t Stop This Thing We Started,” fountain of youth rocker “18 Til I Die” (where the line “18 going on 55” is now true), the usual crowd singalong “Cuts Like a Knife” and high energy “The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me is You.”

Come encore time, Adams vacillated between solo acoustic and full band formats, including the joyous skiffle of Eddie Cochrane’s “C’mon Everybody,” the warm “She Knows Me” (both from last year’s engaging covers collection “Tracks of My Years”), “Straight From the Heart” and “All for Love.”

Noel Gallagher concert review: Los Angeles

A version of my review originally ran at ocregister.com 

Noel Gallagher excels at putting hecklers in their place.  

When a guy in the Orpheum Theatre yelled, “Where’s Liam?,” the audience responded with loud boos.

So the former Oasis guitarist/singer/songwriter playfully asked, “Who’s Ian?” and then said, “I’m not your brother” (referring to the band once led by his sibling Liam).

Before haunting mid-tempo rocker “In the Heat of the Moment,” Gallagher turned sardonic: “The last time I was in this building was to see Marilyn Manson with my brother - quite an (expletive) evening, as you can imagine. This is my least favorite song off the new album.”

The same can’t be said for fans in his native England, where it narrowly missed topping the indie singles chart. Accompanying second album “Chasing Yesterday,” released earlier this year, debuted at No. 1 in the U.K. and was a quick seller. More sonically adventurous, the collection strikes a compelling balance between majestic rock and psychedelia, with prodigious brass accents and guest guitar work by Johnny Marr.

Back in the mid-1990s, when Oasis had a prosperous run and battled Blur for the so-called Britpop crown, Noel Gallagher routinely made headlines abroad for his frequently provocative opinions. The same holds true decades later. Recent quotes about Ed Sheeran’s success, One Direction’s member exit and future possibility of an Oasis reunion have all made the music and tabloid press rounds.

Performing a sold out show in Los Angeles on May 20 with High Flying Birds, Gallagher delivered an invigorating 90-minute set that was split between his solo albums, plus a handful of Oasis’ hits and deep cuts. The Mancunian musician and his four-piece group took the stage to a mellow remix of “If I Had a Gun.”

They launched the 20-song set in thunderous fashion with “Do the Damage,” a sax-driven Stooges-meets-Sonics rave up originally earmarked for “Chasing Yesterday.” The dramatic “Everybody’s on the Run,” containing a swelling keyboard crescendo by the Birds’ secret weapon Mikey Rowe, was mesmerizing (he proved his mettle again on the rollicking “AKA…What a Life”).

Images of old family photos flashed on the backdrop for Oasis B-side “Fade Away.” Gallagher, playing acoustic guitar, recast the 1994 original’s raucousness into slower folk/rock territory and it worked well.

Lead guitarist Tim Smith unleashed some feedback and then everyone locked into a maelstrom of careening sounds during “Lock All the Doors” that packed quite a wallop. The same held true for the catchy, full on stomper “You Know We Can’t Go Back.”

A more subdued, reworked version of “Champaign Supernova” oddly prompted fans to clap along. Gallagher gently admonished them, “Don’t! My kids always do that” (he bantered with the crowd all evening). It was still electrifying as people hoisted beers in the air, several males sang along loudly, arm in arm, like they were at a soccer match and others took the chorus to heart by lighting up.

Elsewhere, the ominous and danceable stand out “Ballad of the Mighty I” saw Gallagher dominate with a rare guitar solo. Like other tracks that run past the five-minute mark on his albums, it never became tiresome live. Sinewy ‘70s-styled groove rocker “The Mexican” really gave the three-man horn section a chance to shine, as did a ruminative “The Masterplan.”

More excellent Oasis nuggets included the quick, blaring “Digsy’s Dinner” (Noel handled Liam’s sneering original vocal just fine) and soaring finale “Don’t Look Back in Anger."

Photos by Armando Brown