Blitz of hits
Point Theatre, Dublin, March 23rd, 1996
Proving that arrogance and attitude will get you everywhere, Oasis swaggered into Dublin last night, holding aloft the golden fleece of international pop success. It hasn’t changed them, however, and the band delivered their usual no frills rock’n’roll roadshow with no concession to the showbiz ethic which usually infects artists who have “broken through”.
Instead, Oasis gave the fans exactly what they wanted – a fistful of fine songs for everybody to sing along to; numbers like Supersonic, Some Might Say, Roll With It and Hello were tailor made terrace anthems for today’s pop kids.
Singer Liam Gallagher strutted to the mic with that cocky shuffle of his, placed his hands behind his back and belted out the lyrics with the ease of a footballer passing the ball, while big brother Noel banged out the stock riffs and standard solos. Bonehead and Guigsy kept the rhythm guitar and bass chugging away like any old gravy train, but drummer Alan White displayed the dynamics needed to match Noel’s sparkling guitar work.
Shakermaker saw Liam acknowledging the song’s similarity to a certain soft drinks ad by singing a verse of I’d Like To Teach the World To Sing, but, alas, there were no T-Rex out takes during Cigarettes And Alcohol. A brass section joined the band for a rousing Round Are Way, which segued nicely into a raucous Morning Glory. The best moment was yet to come, however, and Champagne Supernova popped the cork on yet another Noel Gallagher masterpiece. Okay, it’s probably as derivative as all his other songs, but, like each of his best tunes, it just clicks. The coda gives Noel a chance to really show his aptitude with an axe, and, as the song fades in a flurry of flanged soloing, Liam hops up on to the speaker stacks, temporarily disrupting his big brother’s star turn.
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Noel got to hog centre stage for a solo acoustic set, and it’s here that the universal appeal of Oasis began to make sense. The crowd sang along with gusto to Whatever, then all but drowned Noel out as they joyfully joined in on Wonderwall. These are songs which have embedded themselves in pop’s collective consciousness, and no matter what shapes Oasis may throw at awards ceremonies, or what ill considered remarks they make about rival Britpop bands, it can’t change the fact that they write songs that people want to hear.
Noel’s evening glory ended with a full electric rendition of Don’t Look Back In Anger, after which Liam rejoined his brother for a return to the innocent optimism of long ago, two years ago to be exact, when Live Forever was just a hope and not a market forecast.
A dizzy, disjointed version of The Beatles’ I Am The Walrus was the nearest Oasis got to sheer mayhem, Liam throwing drum sticks to the crowd while Noel cranked out the feedback on the guitar and the brass tried vainly to be heard over the cacophony.
Disappointingly, there was no encore, but then we didn’t need one. Oasis are a comforting reminder that rock’n’roll can be constant, unchanging, uncomplicated, and whether they play a blinder or a hummer at least they reassure you that rock’n’roll stardom is just a cliche or two away. – Kevin Courtney
If this was 1994, it would be the gig of the year
Slane Castle, June 20th, 2009
Manchester, as Morrissey once said, has so much to answer for, not least because it spawned two music-obsessed brothers who dreamed of being in a band. When the Gallaghers rambled on stage at Slane after energetic supports from The Prodigy and Kasabian, it might have occurred to them that playing to 80,000 people is a long way from hassling Johnny Marr to listen to your demo.
As they launched into Rock’n’Roll Star, the crowd pogoed in unison, shouting back the lyrics. Liam asked if they “liked a bit of liquid and smoke?” before a characteristic dig at antismokers and a raucous rendition of Cigarettes and Alcohol.
Those who think Oasis’s best work is long behind them might argue that if this was 1994, it would be the gig of the year.
The band never bettered their first two albums and during newer material, there was – for this reviewer – the odd lull. Not so the fans, who were as devoted as they come. A girl standing nearby who had Noel Gallagher’s signature tattooed on her back, urged the crowd to sing along to Morning Glory, pointing to the lyrics on her arm.
Liam might be the über frontman, but this is very much Noel’s band and when it was his turn to sing, Liam exited the stage. The sun glinted on the river as the older Gallagher belted out a heartfelt Masterplan to a sea of hands in the air. Liam dedicated Songbird “to my missus, who’s probably in the bar” and when a solo Noel “double-dared” the crowd “not to sing along” on Half A World Away, the entire hill blatantly ignored the challenge. The biggest cheers of the night were, unsurprisingly, for back-to-back versions of Wonderwall, Supersonic and Live Forever. Even though there’s something very unrock’n’roll about Slane and its sleepy, rustic setting, it’s hard not to be won over by such a unique venue.
Tricky logistics aside, most people trudged home happily with Champagne Supernova and the end-of-gig fireworks ringing in their ears. – Sinéad Gleeson
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