It was the old favourites that thrilled the crowd
FIFTEEN YEARS after their debut album Definitely Maybeprovided the soundtrack for a generation, Oasis returned to Slane Castle to find a new generation digging their music.
Many of those in their late teens to mid-twenties, who formed the bulk of the 80,000 fans attending Saturday’s concert, were just children when Oasis surfed the crest of the Britpop wave.
Try as the band might to plug their latest release, the better than average Dig Out Your Soul album, it was the old favourites the crowd most wanted to hear.
The band opened up with Rock 'n' Roll Star, the first track on their first album, and from then to the finish of their two-hour set the songs from their defining debut and its follow-up (What's the Story) Morning Glory?were the sounds that lifted the crowd. It was a crowd who were, in the often-quoted words of singer Liam Gallagher, "mad for it".
“I absolutely double-dare you not to sing along with this next song,” said Noel Gallagher. The crowd sang every word.
A full Slane Castle is a sight to behold, but the band were not a sight to behold for the fans at the wrong end of the dog-leg shaped main arena. They were so far back they had to view the concert on a big screen.
"I'd like to dedicate this next song to all the people at the very, very, very, very, very back," said Noel Gallagher introducing Don't Look Back in Anger, "even further back than that, back behind the catering". While the main arena itself was stuffed, there was plenty of space in the VIP grandstand beside the castle, reflecting the straitened times. Seats were priced at €285 beforehand.
Leaving Cert students celebrating the end of their exams comprised a large part of the audience. There was plenty of drunkenness and boisterous behaviour but no trouble. Gardaí said they made 10 arrests.
Saturday’s concert brought a large turnout of Gallaghers, most notably the Irish mammy Peggy Gallagher and her son Paul. Also present was Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern, while one wonders what the Manchester City supporting Gallagher brothers made of the presence of Man United full-back John O’Shea.
Oasis fan James Neighbour, who travelled over from Britain, for Saturday’s concert, said “the crowd was absolutely mad. It is the best crowd I’ve ever seen.”