SPECIAL SET: Gem and Noel 03/12/06 *****

WHAT would you expect from an exclusive and intimate Oasis homecoming gig? Cosy revelations about the Gallagher brothers’ life growing up down the road in Burnage? Heartfelt tales of missing Manchester?

When Noel Gallagher and bandmate Gem Archer take the stage for their acoustic gig in front of 400 Xfm competition winners at The Lowry theatre we get nothing of the sort.

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Turns out he’s not really the kiss and tell, gut-spilling, tea and sympathy type.

But, if we don’t get up close and personal with Noel himself, we do get more intimate than ever with his songs. Which, let’s face it, more than makes up for that lack of chat.

This is Oasis, after all, not Oprah. And what songs. Stripped back, toned down, and minus the trademark strut of little brother Liam, these are Oasis tunes as you have never heard them before.

How Noel perhaps wants them to be. Take blast from the past Whatever – a string-laden single from the back catalogue which teeters dangerously on the brink of schmaltz.

Transformed here into a feisty folky number, it comes alive with a bit of Noel re-mastering.

“The original way we done this was ****,” he mumbles. “But we was all on drugs.”

Yes, he’s a man of few words. But when he does use them to answer back the (frequent) hecklers, he’s quick off the mark.

Mop top

“Lend us a tenner,” comes the cry from the audience. “I only carry fifties, cock.” And not a hair on that mop top barnet ruffled.

But if the crowd are less than gushingly star struck by the presence of this modern day music icon on stage, you get the impression that’s just how he likes it.

He certainly comes without any of the airs and graces of the super famous, preferring instead to dress down in trademark jeans and polo shirt, as though he’s strolled straight off the street.

It soon becomes clear there’s little need for rock n’ roll swagger anyway.

Even without all the hype, the tough talking, and the hard-faced controversy, these are simply some of the greatest songs of the past decade.

From the anthemic Wonderwall to the recent chart comeback, The Importance of Being Idle, each one sounds great once more with just some simple guitar and Noel’s vulnerable vocals breathed up close into the mic.

Heard without the posturing of frontman Liam (who barely gets a mention all night), it simply proves what a great singer/songwriter he is in his own right.

Ostensibly, these intimate forays of Noel’s around the country are to promote the band’s 'best of' album, Stop the Clocks.

Less of an advert for the band, maybe. Definitely a good sign for any future solo career.