NewsItem
Villanelle
Live review
30 Nov 2024
Villanelle, the band fronted by Gene Gallagher, son of Liam were playing live at Manchester's Night and Day on Friday 22nd November to an enthusiastic audience.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the son of All Saints and Oasis singers, Nicole Appleton and Liam Gallagher. I hadn’t heard any of their music and didn’t really know what style it would be. If I had to guess it would have been a pale imitation of his dad’s former / current band maybe with a bit more jingle jangle and airy fairness of someone who must have grown up without too many worries in the world and maybe was experimenting a bit with spirituality or something.
However, I would have been wrong.
What a great band, right from the first song, an instrumental, we got to see that the band were very good and maybe full of confidence from playing together supporting Blossoms at Manchester’s Albert Hall the night before. Sounding very together to produce a full force of pulsing noise. The rhythm section of bassist Jack Schiavo, and drummer Andrew Richmond creating rumbling drive pushing things along nicely. Gene can play guitar, and sing, although I don’t think the venue acoustics combined with the loudness of the band lent itself too well to be able to tell what his voice really is like on a first listening. I did notice that he sets his mike like Liam Gallagher does, high up so that you have to tilt your head back and stretch you neck a bit. I don’t know if that for style or whether it changes the timbre of his voice, but it looks pretty cool.
They played about 10 songs all in all, no encore and no covers, I thought that there would have been at least one in there somewhere, but maybe they might feel that they need to prove themselves a bit more first.
In terms of influences, its definitely a heavier sound with influences of second Album Stone Roses, Nirvana and sprinkles of Champagne Supernova in there too.
The crown were a mixture of old and young, I think many older Oasis fans and probably a good few there for the brilliant support from Lizzie Taylor. Quite a few eager youthful fans standing at the front from very earlier on in the evening in a then sparsely populated Night and Day, well before the support act started perhaps to get a glimpse of Gene. To be fair it was full, and I think sold out, before Villanelle came on.
Night and day is a perfect venue for and band of this size, the room is small enough for it to seem nice and full and the band are forced together on quite a narrow stage. I think this probably allows a greater connection for an embryonic band.
Expecting great things from Villanelle over the next few months, a single or 2 and maybe an album at some stage.