The High Flying Birds Tour was the debut concert tour by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, which took place in 2011 and 2012. The tour was in promotion of the album Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.
Background The tour kicked off on 23 October with a sold out show at The Olympia Theatre in Dublin before moving onto Great Britain for a short theatre leg. The band then moved onto North America in November for a short run of shows in the United States and Canada before returning to mainland Europe for another show leg. The band will then make their way to Asia for two shows in Japan before heading to Oceania for some festival shows and two headlining shows in Sydney and Melbourne. In February 2012, he kicked off his biggest ever headlining solo shows with a full arena tour in venues across Ireland and Great Britain accompanied by the Crouch End Festival Chorus, Hertfordshire Chorus and a three piece brass section. The band returned once again to North America in March and April which also included appearances in Mexico, and in May a run of gigs in South America was followed by a return to Asia. Summer 2012 saw Noel Gallagher entering the eastern European bloc of Russia, Ukraine and Poland for the first time in his performing career. There was also support given to Red Hot Chili Peppers in front of 80,000 people at Croke Park in Dublin during the festival run.
Support acts The Minutes – (Leg 1; Dublin) The Electric Soft Parade – (Leg 1; United Kingdom, select dates), (Leg 3; Europe, select dates) Murray James – (Leg 1; United Kingdom, select dates) Folks – (Leg 1; United Kingdom, select dates), (Leg 7; Europe, select dates) Cesar & Parker – (Leg 3; Europe, select date) Deep Sea Arcade – (Leg 6; Australia, Sydney) Immigrant Union – (Leg 6; Australia, Melbourne) Reverend and The Makers – (Leg 7; Manchester, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Sheffield, London & Birmingham) Cashier No.9 – (Leg 7; Dublin & Belfast) Kasabian – (Dublin; Marlay Park) The Cribs – (Dublin; Marlay Park) Maverick Sabre – (Dublin; Marlay Park) Snow Patrol – (Leg 11; North America)
Set list The band's typical setlist is:
"(It's Good) To Be Free" "Mucky Fingers" replaced by D'Yer Wanna Be A Spaceman from 4 September 2012 "Everybody's on the Run" "Dream On" "If I Had a Gun..." "The Good Rebel" "The Death of You and Me" "Freaky Teeth" "Wonderwall" replaced by Whatever from February 2012 "Supersonic" "D'Yer Wanna Be A Spaceman" replaced Mucky Fingers from 4 September 2012 "(I Wanna Live in a Dream in My) Record Machine" "AKA... What a Life!" "Talk Tonight" "Soldier Boys and Jesus Freaks" "AKA… Broken Arrow" "Half the World Away" "A Simple Game of Genius" 29 May 2012 "(Stranded On) The Wrong Beach"
Encore:
"Whatever" replaced Wonderwall from February 2012 "Little By Little" "The Importance of Being Idle" replaced by Let the Lord Shine a Light on Me from May 2012 and moved to song No. 1 in the encore "Don't Look Back in Anger"
Credits: All tracks written by Noel Gallagher
The setlist comprises around half and half of songs from the High Flying Birds album and from Noel Gallagher's Oasis back catalogue with new track "Freaky Teeth" being played without having an official release. At the beginning of the tour "Little By Little" and "Don’t Look Back in Anger" swapped positions in the encore with "Don't Look Back in Anger" being changed from an acoustic version to the last song with a full band version.
For the two Tokyo gigs in January 2012 an acoustic version of "Whatever" was added to the encore due to the popularity of the song in Japan and the song was also played in Melbourne. "Whatever" was added permanently to the setlist in place of "Wonderwall" when the band returned to Europe in March 2012 although "Whatever" was instead played as the first song of a four-song encore, this version of "Whatever" was played with the full band.
In May 2012 the band played the B-Side "Let the Lord Shine a Light on Me" for the first time.
On 29 May 2012, the same day of Gallagher's birthday, the band played the digital download edition and Japanese bonus track "A Simple Game of Genius" for the first time.
On 4 September 2012, Gallagher played "D'Yer Wanna Be A Spaceman" for the first time, he has continued to play the song since including it in the setlist for the iTunes Festival gig and has subsequently replaced the song "Mucky Fingers" with it. He plays the song in his acoustic set with a majority of his band.
On 9 November "Idler's Dream" was performed for the first time.
Song statistics In total, the band performed 34 different songs across the tour. +SongNumber of performances"AKA... What a Life!"136"Talk Tonight"135"Half the World Away"135"If I Had a Gun..."135"Don't Look Back In Anger"135"(It's Good) To Be Free"134"Everybody's on the Run"133"Dream On"133"(Stranded On) The Wrong Beach"133"The Death of You and Me"130"AKA... Broken Arrow"129"(I Wanna Live in a Dream In My) Record Machine"126"Little by Little"108"Supersonic"101"Whatever"94"The Good Rebel"89"Freaky Teeth"88"Soldier Boys and Jesus Freaks"85"Mucky Fingers"84"The Importance of Being Idle"60"Wonderwall"39"Let the Lord Shine a Light on Me"32"D'Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman?"18"A Simple Game of Genius"3"Idler's Dream"2"Angel Child"2"Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"1
Tour dates DateCityCountryVenueEurope23 October 2011DublinIrelandOlympia Theatre26 October 2011ManchesterEnglandO2 Apollo Manchester27 October 2011EdinburghScotlandUsher Hall29 October 2011LondonEnglandHammersmith Apollo30 October 2011HMV Forum31 October 2011The RoundhouseNorth America5 November 2011TorontoCanadaVirgin Mobile Mod Club7 November 2011Massey Hall8 November 201111 November 2011PhiladelphiaUnited StatesAcademy of Music12 November 2011BostonWang Theatre14 November 2011New York CityBeacon Theatre15 November 201117 November 2011Los AngelesRoyce Hall Auditorium18 November 201119 November 2011San FranciscoOrpheum TheatreEurope26 November 2011MadridSpainLa Riviera28 November 2011MilanItalyDiscoteca Alcatraz Milano30 November 2011AmsterdamNetherlandsMelkweg1 December 2011BrusselsBelgiumAncienne Belgique3 December 2011CopenhagenDenmarkCopenhagen Concert Hall4 December 2011CologneGermanyPalladium6 December 2011ParisFranceCasino de ParisNorth America10 December 2011San DiegoUnited States91X The Wrex Halls11 December 2011Los AngelesGibson AmphitheatreAsia16 January 2012TokyoJapanTokyo Dome City Hall17 January 2012Oceania20 January 2012AucklandNew ZealandMount Smart Stadium22 January 2012Gold CoastAustraliaGold Coast Parklands23 January 2012SydneyEnmore Theatre26 January 2012Sydney Showground29 January 2012MelbourneFlemington Racecourse31 January 2012Palais Theatre3 February 2012AdelaideAdelaide Showgrounds5 February 2012PerthClaremont ShowgroundEurope13 February 2012ManchesterEnglandManchester Arena14 February 2012AberdeenScotlandPress & Journal Arena16 February 2012BelfastNorthern IrelandOdyssey Arena17 February 2012DublinIrelandThe O219 February 2012SheffieldEnglandMotorpoint Arena Sheffield23 February 2012NewcastleMetro Radio Arena24 February 2012GlasgowScotlandScottish Exhibition and Conference Centre26 February 2012LondonEnglandThe O2 Arena1 March 2012BirminghamNational Indoor Arena4 March 2012BarcelonaSpainRazzmatazz6 March 2012ParisFranceLe Grand Rex8 March 2012HamburgGermanyAlsterdorfer Sporthalle9 March 2012BerlinMax-Schmeling-Halle11 March 2012MunichTonhalle13 March 2012RomeItalyAtlántico Live15 March 2012ZürichSwitzerlandKomplex 457North America28 March 2012Washington, D.C.United StatesWarner Theatre29 March 2012ColumbusLifestyle Communities Pavilion31 March 2012DetroitRoyal Oak Music Theatre1 April 2012ChicagoRiviera Theatre3 April 2012MilwaukeePabst Theater4 April 2012IndianapolisMurat Shrine6 April 2012AtlantaThe Tabernacle10 April 2012Mexico CityMexicoTeatro Metropólitan11 April 201214 April 2012IndioUnited StatesEmpire Polo Club17 April 2012San DiegoBalboa Theatre18 April 2012PhoenixOrpheum Theatre20 April 2012Las VegasPearl Concert Theater21 April 2012IndioEmpire Polo ClubSouth America2 May 2012São PauloBrazil3 May 2012Rio de JaneiroVivo Rio5 May 2012CórdobaArgentinaOrfeo Superdomo6 May 2012Buenos AiresEstadio G.E.B.A.8 May 2012AsunciónParaguayJockey Club del Paraguay11 May 2012LimaPeruEstadio San Marcos (North Tribune)13 May 2012SantiagoChileTeatro CaupolicánAsia23 May 2012TokyoJapanNippon Budokan24 May 2012NagoyaAichi Arts Center26 May 2012OsakaOsaka Municipal Central Gymnasium28 May 2012SeoulSouth KoreaAX Hall29 May 2012Europe11 June 2012MoscowRussiaTushino Airfield13 June 2012KyivUkraineInternational Exhibition Centre14 June 2012HultsfredSwedenLake Hulingen15 June 2012AarhusDenmarkÅdalen20 June 2012GdańskPolandPlac Zebrań Ludowych22 June 2012ScheeßelGermanyScheeßel Festival Ground23 June 2012TuttlingenTake Off Park24 June 2012NewportEnglandSeaclose Park26 June 2012DublinIrelandCroke Park29 June 2012OsloNorwayHolmenkollbakken1 July 2012WerchterBelgiumWerchter Festival Grounds4 July 2012MontreuxSwitzerlandStravinsky Auditorium5 July 2012MilanItalyFiera di Rho7 July 2012KinrossScotlandBalado Airfield10 July 2012Argelès-sur-MerFranceArgelès-sur-Mer Festival Grounds12 July 2012BernSwitzerlandGurten Mountain13 July 2012Aix-les-BainsFranceEsplanade du Lac14 July 2012BenicàssimSpainBenicàssim Festival Grounds17 July 2012EdinburghScotlandEdinburgh CastleAsia28 July 2012NaebaJapanNaeba Ski ResortEurope16 August 2012Sankt PöltenAustriaGreen Park St Polten18 August 2012ChelmsfordEnglandHylands Park19 August 2012StaffordshireWeston Park20 August 2012BelfastNorthern IrelandCustom House Square23 August 2012DublinIrelandMarlay Park24 August 2012ParisFranceDomaine National de Saint-Cloud2 September 2012TrinityJerseyRoyal Jersey Showground4 September 2012BournemouthEnglandBournemouth International Centre6 September 2012LiverpoolEcho Arena Liverpool7 September 2012LondonWembley Arena9 September 2012CardiffWalesMotorpoint Arena Cardiff10 September 2012NottinghamEnglandCapital FM Arena12 September 2012LondonThe RoundhouseAsia20 September 2012BangkokThailandBITEC Hall 10622 September 2012Marina BaySingaporePadang Stage, Singapore Street Circuit23 September 2012Village Stage, Singapore Street Circuit25 September 2012Kowloon BayHong KongStar Hall27 September 2012TaipeiTaiwanTaipei World Trade CenterEurope3 October 2012DüsseldorfGermanyMitsubishi Electric Halle5 October 2012FlorenceItaly6 October 2012BolognaPalaDozza8 October 2012OffenbachGermany9 October 2012LilleFrance11 October 2012LyonLe Transbordeur12 October 2012ToulouseNorth America23 October 2012PortlandUnited StatesArlene Schnitzer Concert Hall24 October 2012SeattleWaMu Theater25 October 2012VancouverCanadaRogers Arena27 October 2012EdmontonEdmonton Expo Centre28 October 2012CalgaryStampede Corral30 October 2012WinnipegCentennial Concert Hall31 October 2012Saint PaulUnited StatesRoy Wilkins Auditorium1 November 2012Kansas CityMidland Theatre3 November 2012HammondThe Venue at Horseshoe4 November 2012LouisvilleThe Louisville Palace5 November 2012NashvilleRyman Auditorium7 November 2012Grand PrairieVerizon Theatre8 November 2012AustinAustin Music Hall9 November 2012HoustonBayou Music CentreEurope13 November 2012LondonEnglandO2 Shepherd's Bush Empire
Festivals and other miscellaneous performances
Box office score data