Liam Gallagher and John Squire, Glasgow review: Duo dish up plenty of sauce with their meat-and-potatoes rock

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In a recent interview with The Independent, Liam Gallagher disclosed a few details about his new bedtime routine. “No boozing, no smoking,” he said. “It’s got to be early nights. Nice face mask on. And then lots of water and then up early for a bike ride or whatever it is that you do.” Oasis fans might ask: “Who is this and what have you done with my rock’n’roll star?”

Happily, as it turns out, Gallagher has lost none of the charisma that made him one of the most electrifying frontmen around. Two weeks after he and Stone Roses guitarist John Squire scored a No 1 with their first collaborative album (self-titled), they’re here at Barrowlands in Glasgow taking those new songs for a spin.

Within seconds of the duo arriving on stage – Gallagher with his wide-armed swagger; Squire looming over his guitar like a mop-haired raven – the first pint gets tossed. Fortunately, this seems like a polite crowd and the cup is only half-full.

The duo and their band get straight to it, flooding the stage with a kaleidoscope of colour for “Just Another Rainbow”, their psychedelic-leaning single that puts its singer’s adenoidal pitch to best use. Gallagher sounds mystical here, paired with Squire’s wandering Jimi Hendrix guitar lines.

There are a few moments early on when Gallagher seems marginally more subdued than usual (perhaps he’s nervous the crowd don’t know the lyrics yet; they do). But he warms up with “The Wheel” as Squire’s muscular, swampy blues moves fluidly around the Star Wars-themed line: “These aren’t the droids/ You’re looking for.”

It’s a tight set at just 60 minutes. “F***ing old-school,” Gallagher declares before their one-song encore, a sprightly cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” – and you’ve got to admire them for not conceding easy wins with a cover from one of their former bands. Their new songs can stand up on their own.

John Squire and Liam Gallagher steered clear of covering songs by their former bands

(Tom Oxley)

There’s more Jimi on “Love You Forever”, as Squire freewheels around his bandmate’s simple refrain – “I’m all yours/ And you’re mine” – with deft licks and filigrees. Gallagher’s older brother Noel tended to keep his own guitar-playing simple during the Oasis years, and the contrast of Squire’s intricate, arpeggiating style with Liam’s head-on delivery here is excellent.

It may be meat-and-potatoes rock – “If you’re into f***ing Bjork, you’ll hate it,” Gallagher recently warned – but there’s plenty of sauce to go with it.

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