'Are you havin a good time?" Liam Gallagher asked the crowd somewhat uncertainly midway through his set.
Liam Gallagher performs at Bitec on Friday. Photo courtesy of The Very Company
His adoring public roared, but the problem was, it didn't feel like he was enjoying himself. Perhaps it was a carry-over from the previous day where he had failed to turn up to his own press conference.
All the ingredients were there to make this a rocking night at Bitec in Bangkok last Friday. Raucous Oasis classics opening the set -- Rock'N'Roll Star, Morning Glory -- check. A palpably excited, nearly sold-out crowd -- a roughly even mix of Thais, expats and tourists -- check. Now popular tunes from Gallagher's debut solo album -- Paper Crown, For What It's Worth, Bold -- check.
But the night failed to truly ignite, and the crowd were left somewhat short-changed when proceedings ended after little more than an hour. Gallagher and his band walked off after a crowd-pleasing rendition of Wonderwall, and the expected encore never came.
A tweet from Gallagher on Saturday seemed to betray the reason for his self-proclaimed "moody chops". He wasn't happy with the sound at the venue. Never known on stage for his sunny demeanour, dialogue with the audience consisted of little more than some exasperated expletives mixed in with other incomprehensible remarks.
But then the crowd didn't pay upwards of 3,600 baht for a stand-up routine. They wanted visceral rock'n'roll and in places that's exactly what they got.
The gig got off to a storming start with those Oasis classics, even if they don't quite soar like they do with brother Noel and former comrades by Liam's side.
The crowd barely cared, enjoying the glorious nostalgia of the tunes that were the soundtrack to millions of young lives in the 1990s -- and which still resonate with kids today.
Gallagher then turned to his own songs from his debut solo album, As You Were, a No.1 record in the UK.
Crafted with expert help from Greg Kurstin (Adele), Andrew Wyatt (Bruno Mars) and others, the record surprised some critics with the quality of the songwriting, with lyrics at times tender and introspective, and some beautiful melodies too.
It was a shame that the sound wasn't quite right when Gallagher opened his new material with Greedy Soul, and the song was received less rapturously than the Oasis numbers.
Things picked up again with Wall Of Glass, the first single from As You Were, and Gallagher showed off his more sensitive side with a beautiful vocal for For What It's Worth.
Soul Love -- a song from Gallagher's post Oasis venture, Beady Eye -- also got an outing, but to a more mixed response.
The gig never quite got going again with the same energy levels until he returned later on in the set with some Oasis classics -- Some Might Say (with a shout out to ex-boxer and fellow Mancunian Ricky Hatton who was in the crowd), Cigarettes And Alcohol and Be Here Now.
Slide Away, another great Oasis song, was also played, though really didn't seem quite right without Noel's backing vocals.
He finished up with the ultimate crowd pleaser, Wonderwall, and Gallagher -- somehow managing to look cool with a cagoule hood pulled tightly over his head -- walked off stage with a swift thank you to the crowd, and that was that.
Somewhat bewildered, the crowd lingered for the anticipated -- even obligatory -- encore, which never came, and when the lights came on there was a collective groan. But it was hardly uproar. It was as if people knew the younger Gallagher was not quite on form, and to end it there was about right.
With ticket prices hardly cheap, fans had a right to grumble about the gig's brevity. The concert also largely followed the same set list from earlier dates on the tour -- hardly unheard of, but it left the night feeling a little predictable.
Still, there were mostly diehards at the concert, and the majority seemed happy enough just to have been there to bathe in some glorious nostalgia for an hour.
