Despite having seen him so many times (15 according to setlist.fm!), Noel was easily the one I was looking forward to the most. Probably one of my top 3 artists, and he was amazing again.. We went to the Royal Albert Hall in March and it was one of the best shows I’ve ever been to, and the one in Liverpool last December was up there too.
This is a completely different setting though, with more casual fans, but the crowd was brilliant and it was another incredible performance from Noel and the band to mark the last night of the Council Skies World Tour. He’s been consistently great this year, its easily the best tour I’ve seen from him solo, with the best selection of songs from across his career.
Its even more pertinent now that we know this will be Noel’s last solo show for some time, as Oasis are now getting back together!

We got ourselves a great spot. That’s one of the things I like the most about Y Not, its pretty easy to get close to the stage if you want to.
Council Skies is one of my favourite albums of recent years and it’s good to see him opening with 4 tracks from that, especially with my three favourites Council Skies, We’re Gonna Get There in the End and Open the Door, See What You Find remaining in the set for festival season. It’s a shame the crowd aren’t as into these, but being a festival it was always going to be that way.

Then it’s onto the earlier High Flying Birds songs, with a great selection from over the 13 years they’ve been going, with the crowd really coming to life for this part. Starting with You Know We Can’t Go Back, a long time live favourite, Noel introducing it with “We’re going all the way back to the 90s” and “judging by the amount of bucket hats here we’re going to have a good night”. He seemed uncharacteristically jolly about this all year, and now we know why!
A particular favourite is always If I Had a Gun:
And AKA…What a Life is always great live, though dedicating it to Man City supporters doesn’t always get the best reactions!
I also love Dead in the Water, as its the only one he plays fully solo, In the Heat of the Moment is a classic HFB tune with a big singalong, and I’ve got a new appreciation for We’re on Our Way Now after that gig.

Then it’s back to the 90s,”have we got any Oasis fans here…?”. Fair to say we did!
It started with an extraordinary run through non-album tracks from the early days: Going Nowhere, Talk Tonight, Whatever, Half the World Away and The Masterplan all in a row. Some of my favourite ever songs, with huge singalongs despite never being on a non-compilation album.
The Masterplan:
Little by Little followed, sounding bigger than ever this year with a proper loud guitar outro, then an unexpected cover of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart to end the main set, which I thought sounded unique and really enjoyed. It’s good to hear it live finally.
Then after the encore it was time for a proper singalong to three of the biggest singles of the 90s.
Stand by Me only came into the set earlier this year, and is a welcome addition. After 13 years Noel is still bringing in different Oasis songs. It’s a completely new arrangement with a slow start, big chorus singalong and Gem Archer guitar solo. As with a lot of Noel versions of originally Liam-sung songs, it stands up really well on its own. A kind of similar version can be found on the Be Here Now expanded edition as a demo.
The same formula applies for Live Forever next, again slow with a singalong and guitar solo. Another new one put into the set over the past year and another Noel version that he’s made his own. Something similar to this is on Spotify on the Council Skies Deluxe edition.
Then of course it’s Don’t Look Back in Anger for the loudest singalong of the weekend, to cap off both a great Y Not Festival and Noel’s entire tour.
And now we know why he said he doesn’t expect to tour with the High Flying Birds in 2025 or 2026. He’s signed off for the Oasis reunion at his absolute peak for me. It’s been an incredible 13 years following him, and I’m glad we’ve had the privilege to see him so many times this year, especially now that we know Oasis are back.