Is Noel Gallagher Worth the Money?

I, like many people, were excited by the return of Noel Gallagher and his High Flying Birds. His first album may have not been exactly the most ground-breaking or original, but it was very enjoyable and you could imagine it being great live.

So with the announcement of his second album, it was inevitable that a tour would follow and I was considering getting myself some tickets. However, I refused to join my friends in purchasing tickets when I seen how much one was going to cost me.

AT LEAST 60 QUID.

And from what I was reading, after booking and process fees, it was nearly £80 for a standing ticket at The Hydro. I was absolutely shocked and angry at the price he was charging his adoring fans.

I'll put this in perspective for you, I went to see The Libertines for £61 at Hyde Park at their comeback gig - something so rare that tickets sold out so fast. As well as The Pogues, you got to see a bunch of bands for the day - albeit it was hard to see half the bands due to lack of organisation from the crap promoters.

Now some might argue, "Well Noel Gallagher is an undisputed legend of rock music. He was in one of the biggest bands of the 90s (Oasis) and he's one of the best known musicians in the industry." They would be correct, but does that mean that he should sell his tickets for that much? Of course not! He may have been in Oasis, but is he going to play Oasis material at a show? You'll be lucky to hear two Oasis tracks and even at that, I'll be surprised if it's better than with the rest of the band. So you are basically paying at least £60 to listen to two albums worth of solo work.

This is a man who was part of a band who "stuck up for the working class", yet he won't make his shows affordable enough to satisfy the common man.

If you want a better alternative, go see Johnny Marr. He was in a band as big as Oasis (The Smiths) as well as later playing in bands such as The Cribs, The The and Modest Mouse. Marr is too on his second solo album, yet his tour tickets are unlikely to surpass £30.

If I was paying 60 quid to see Noel Gallagher live I'd expect Liam Gallagher to duet, monkeys on unicycles and a Kate Bush-esque stage presence. But if I'm honest, I don't think Noel G suits dramatically throwing himself across a stage.

In my humble opinion, he does not merit such a price tag as of yet. If you were to spend that kind of money, you'd expect Springsteen, not a two-album wonder.

The General Election: Why We Are Doomed No Matter What

You'd think that in a first world, civilised country like the UK, you could look at the upcoming general election with a smile and say "ah democracy".

But that doesn't seem to be the case for next year's vote where we seem to be stuck in an awkward place, no matter what we vote. These last few weeks have left us in a purgatorial state, especially those of us living in Scotland.

After Scotland voted to stay part of the United Kingdom, it was fair to say that a strong majority of citizens wanted Devolution Max - which would give Scotland all power except foreign and defence affairs. However, since the No vote, the parties in Westminster haven't been able to agree on Devo Max for Scotland, with Labour leader Ed Miliband saying that it isn't the number one priority for now. Not only do Scots have a dislike for the Conservatives, but there will also be a growing hatred for the Labour party who have stuttered on this issue.

Now, from a Scottish point of view - a generally socialist nation - they aren't going to vote for the party killing the welfare state (Tories), they aren't going to vote for the party who decided to sleep with the welfare killers and in doing so completely contradicted their manifesto (Lib Dems), they aren't going to vote for a the Conservatives' racist cousin (UKIP) and now they are going to find it hard to believe in a party who are increasingly becoming more and more like what they hated in the first place as the Labour party are becoming a less extreme version of the Conservative party. 

Who is left then? Well you have SNP and Greens really, both of whom I think are relate-able - but they are also never going to get in power (as part of the UK). The Scottish National Party aren't perfect either to be fair. They have truly effed up the police system in Scotland and have a few pieces of legislation that raise eyebrows (such as banning certain football chants). As for the Greens? Maybe they are more sinister than we think, only disguised by their lack of power. But the main point I make with these two left-leaning parties is, you wouldn't vote for them and expect them to cause many ripples.

That leaves us with no real parties that are worth voting for who have a chance. Some will vote Labour and still believe that they can actually do something, but it seems a little far-fetched. They have became out of touch with the people, which has made people turn to UKIP, who are no better than the Conservatives, but also have a very anti-immigration stance. If Lib Dems hadn't shown how capable they are of lying, they would have definitely been in my mind for next year. As for the Green? Tough to say that your vote would matter. This leaves SNP which are a good bet to vote for if you are more focused on who represents your constituency, rather than your country and this is the view I'm taking - but when I think of my constituency, I'm thinking of voting Labour.

Why after all that slating of the Labour Party? Because of an incident that happened last week. Up until a few weeks ago, I had nothing but dislike for my local MP Iain McKenzie and his lack of action in the area. However, his vote against the Iraq air strikes restored my faith in him. He turned his back on the party and lost his job as an aide to Shadow Secretary of Defence, Vernon Coaker. That's a job that could have really got him places later in his political career and after sacrificing that for what he or what his constituents believe is great. Yet again, if my opinion of him stays the same, I will only vote Labour for the candidate and not the party. 

But elsewhere, I feel for those who don't know who to vote for. Do you vote for who you really believe in and vote Green, SNP, UKIP or Lib Dem? Or do you vote for Labour or Conservative because you couldn't bare to see the opposite party in power? It's certainly a huge dilemma that we all need to think about.

Give me a follow on Twitter if you want: @TrainInVainn

Also let me know what you think about this and if you want, tell me who you will vote for and why.