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Friday, December 9, 2011

Live Review - Beady Eye @ Terminal 5

Just a few short weeks after big brother Noel Gallagher played two sold-out concerts at Beacon Theater in New York for his debut outing on his own, brother Liam and Beady Eye return to New York to Terminal 5 after taking the city by storm in June.

Beady Eye's NYC debut came at Ed Sullivan Theater for a Live on Letterman taping and then the following night at Webster Hall in one of the best shows I have ever witnessed thanks in part to the intensity going on between the band and fans all night. Tonight, Beady Eye returned to a half filled Terminal 5 and a crowd that was still very excited to see their heroes. Arriving on stage just after 9pm, the band, dressed as appropriate British rock and rollers looked ready to go to work, Liam strutted out in his massive green parka and scarf. They opened with a very sloppy version of "Four Letter Word," with the band sounding a bit off and Liam slurring the words, it was a few head shakes hoping that this would not be the return we would want from Liam, not in this form, especially since the summer gigs were outstanding and Noel's shows raising the bar. Yet, it only occurred for the one song, by the time song two, "Millionaire" rolled around, which Liam dedicated to Donald Trump, the band were right where we wanted them to be. Then cranking right into "Bring the Light," which Liam dedicated to his beloved Manchester City team, it was the tour-de-force rock and roll circus we wanted.

As Liam sweat through his park, never taking it off for a second, he interacted with the crowd more than ever and his showmanship skills have just massively increased being the leader of this band. As guitarist Gem Archer would flip through his rolodex of axes and drummer Chris Sharrock would toss his sticks in the air between beats, Beady Eye looked very comfortable on stage and could care less that the place was not sold out, they wanted fans to have a great time and a great time they did. Playing for an hour and fifteen minutes, Beady Eye packed a punch and left the crowd only wanting more.