Review | ‘Hopefully!’, you get lucky enough to see the spectacle that is Loyle Carner live

Danny Jones Danny Jones Loyle Carner Victoria Warehouse live gig review Manchester

The O2 Victoria Warehouse in Manchester has this week played host to Benjamin Gerard Coyle-Larner this week, a.k.a. Loyle Carner, as he serenaded adoring listeners with his captivating lyrics, spine-tingling bass and drumlines, as well as his ever-laid-back warmth and charisma.

His stage name is the only spoonerism you’ll ever find in this man’s craft, as every syllable is as intentional and well-placed as the last.

Accompanied by an incredibly talented band and golden production, the night lends itself to a thought-provoking performance that leaves you wanting more. Consider me listening to nothing but this setlist for the foreseeable.

As the rumble of eager, loyal/Loyle – take your pick – listeners awaited his arrival, you could sense what this artist and his poetic music mean to people.

Opening with ‘in my mind’, just like that, you saw the crowd suddenly holding each other’s hands whilst comfortably sitting in the palm of Carner’s.

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Let’s not forget his brilliant band, either, who all got their time in the spotlight and wowed as a collective.

Carner and the crowd definitely gave them the recognition they deserved, with piano solos throwing a blanket of respectful silence and tentative listening over the whole audience.

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Loyle’s well-loved and special lyrics were echoed throughout the venue from start to finish.

He insisted (and not for the first time) that there’s “something special about playing in Manchester” – and we couldn’t agree more.

Carner’s vulnerability onstage opens a glowing portal for his listeners to do so as well. He encourages feeling. And as an audience, this is extremely clear in the room. It was a sea of warm embraces, agreeing heads and ignited eyes.

As the setlist crept towards the end, the crowd were not ready to say goodbye as the customary chants of ‘one more song!’ bounced off the Victoria Warehouse walls.

We were then blessed with a solo Loyle, who shared a typically creative and reflective spoken-word Carner special with us.

Without any demand, the crowd fell sweetly silent and absorbed his every word. A poet, pure and simple.

The 31-year-old rapper and wordsmith plays one more night at the venue to round off his mini residency tonight (Tuesday, 25 November 2025); you can try and grab last-minute tickets HERE.

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Featured Images — Audio North/The Manc Group

Liam Gallagher thanks Oasis fans with typically unserious and X-rated post on social media

Danny Jones Danny Jones Liam Gallagher thanks Oasis fans in funny twitter post

Liam Gallagher has taken to X to appreciate Oasis fans for what we can all agree was one of the best years of our gigging careers, as the Live ’25 world tour officially ended this month.

The Oasis reunion kicked off back in July and, just like the greatest hits compilation, Time Flies… Their globetrotting series made it possibly the greatest summer of live music in decades, and even after the hometown shows in Manchester were long gone, they took us right through to the winter.

Heaton Park was truly magical, but even those who didn’t manage to get tickets for any of the UK dates got to watch it through the lens of countless fans worldwide, and believe us, the crowds and mania online were a big part of what will see this particular tour go down in history.

It’s clear that fact was not lost on Liam either, as not long after the final show at the Estádio do Morumbi in São Paulo, Brazil, the younger Gallagher brother shared a typically nonsensical, expletive-filled, but nevertheless heartfelt message of gratitude to the legions of Oasis fans who made it happen.

Even after all is said and done, he’s another year older, and Oasis are once again the biggest band on the planet; he’s still as irreverent and unapologetically himself as ever.

We’ll be honest, we’re not entirely confident we know what “absolutely licked it up to ras” even means, but we’re pretty sure it’s a good thing.

In fairness, he isn’t entirely unserious in the post – he still thanked everyone from the bottom of his heart and said he will be “forever grateful for your energy”.

As he sums up everything perfectly in that final line: “without you were just a good band, with you were the BEST BAND ON THE ***ING PLANET”.

He signed off with the trademark “LG x”, but the fanbase now feels bigger than ever and won’t be going anywhere. Personally, we intend to watch every one of those clips from across South America, as those audiences have always ‘got it’ just as much as we did here in Manchester.

Although Noel has yet to share any kind of post following the end of Live ’25, he was one of the very first members of the tour to talk about how the reunion was going.

Chatting with his friends on talkSPORT back in August, the 58-year-old admitted he’d “forgotten how funny [his brother] is” and was thoroughly enjoying being back with the band.

After taking a scheduled break to look after his health, Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs has also been pretty active on socials over the months, simply replying with a trio of love hearts underneath lead singer Liam’s humorous response to the outpouring of love following the final gig.

We can only hope and pray that we get to do this all over again in 2026, and whether there ends up being new Oasis songs on the setlist or not, we’ll just be happy to be back jumping up and down and crying our hearts out – no matter how many times they tell us to stop.

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Audio North/The Manc Group/Stefan Brending (via Wikimedia Commons)

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