there's an episode of Men Behaving Badly called "Cardigan". in order to pretend that they are not getting old, Gary and Tony head off to a rave. the rave very much gets the better of them, and in the end you see the two of the huddled in front of the TV, asking "what's wrong with just staying in and having a nice cup of tea?". i believe, sadly or happily, that i am now at that stage of life, as spending a day in a field drinking too much to see Oasis has certainly got the better of me.
sorry to anyone hoping for a review of Snow Patrol or Panic! At The Disco from this years' Zero Coke Fest, i kind of dozed off and missed them. i was, however, awake in time for the self-proclaimed biggest band in the world, Oasis. well, they were the reason we went along to the day out anyway, so it's just as well Michele got me up for them!
and how ace it was to see them, too! Liam Gallagher is all that you have seen and heard of, an arrogant little so and so, who loves nothing more than just standing there, basking in the praise, hysteria and adulation. Noel, perhaps the real star of the band since it's all his work, is the one that smiles and chats to you. i am not at all sure, however, that his little snippets of conversation are as wise as they could be. telling a South African crowd that they "all sound like Australians" is up there with, with reference to Noel's world, doing a gig in Manchester and telling them they all sound like they're from Liverpool. yeah, bet he wouldn't do that in his home town, i dare say he wouldn't have done it here if he didn't have a large security presence around him. the "incident" where someone got on stage and had a go at him in Canada makes sense now, perhaps he decided they all sounded French or American....
as for the music, well, it was perfect. note perfect. and that's the problem, really. don't get me wrong, there was no miming involved, but Oasis live is Oasis doing a recital as if they were working from sheet music, not daring to variate from what one hears on a cd or album. i mean, we were all going mental, were "mad for it" to use their term and well into it at the time, but after the event there's a little bit of a hollow feeling. Liam might as well have just stood and stared for 90 minutes whilst Noel changed discs, really.
make no mistake, i am delighted to have seen them, they are a phenomenon and one of the few last interesting bands still interested in making music. it's a shame that they see gigs, going on my experience, as a requirement rather than a passion. i can't imagine many but the most ardent and dedicated fan goes to see them more than once, and this is a great shame. it's all very well them thinking they are the biggest in the world, but unless they start acting the part, it's never going to happen. yes, they are "better" than us in the sense that they are up there on stage doing their thing, but it's fans like us that put them there, spending a fortune on albums and tickets. a quick "good to see you", "how you doin'?" or "thanks for coming" in between the abusive comments directed at the crowd wouldn't have gone amiss. they really could do with going and seeing U2, Metallica, The Rolling Stones or any of the other actual biggest bands in the world to see how you treat the fans that made you the star you are.
ho hum, perhaps i am just getting old, but i don't see how at any age you're going to be thrilled with one of your idols hurling abuse.
musically, other than the methodical means by which they ran through the songs, there was some great offerings. a nice change was certainly a full-band Wonderwall with Liam singing it as he should; all too often this track is wasted on Noel's solo acoustic spot. Don't Look Back In Anger remains a firm fan favourite, with everyone singing along full heart despite Noel saying "look, we're really not a singalong band so please don't join in". for an encore, really just a final number, they revisited their sensational take on I Am The Walrus, a rare moment where some passion in their playing came to the fore.
perhaps the biggest surprise in the set was that they didn't do Live Forever. that's the one that put them on the map, and the one that the fans perhaps hold the fondest. erm, yeah, ok boys, i imagine you get tired of playing it, but think a U2 gig with nothing from The Joshua Tree, a Stones gig without Jumpin' Jack Flash or at leastSatisfaction, or a Metallica gig without Enter Sandman.
i really am sorry not to give them a perfect, ace review. i'm glad to have seen them, as now i can just get on with enjoying the albums and not worry about having to see them, if that makes sense. going on something like MTV Unplugged, as and when Noel goes it alone i imagine that will be a gig worth seeing. in the mean time, if you live in a part of the world where Oasis are unlikely to play, don't get too disappointed. if you are fortunate enough to be somewhere that you can see them, well, go for it, but don't let how they behave on stage ever distract from just how good the music on the albums is.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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