‘I “I don’t have any new songs to give you guys, so I’ll just play the old ones, OK?” Liam Gallagher declared tonight, in a set that felt like a time capsule from 1994. Playing Oasis’ classic debut, Definitely Maybe, in its entirety, the stage’s backdrop was a recreation of the album’s cover, with a giant globe, a photo of Burt Bacharach and pink flamingos.
Nothing feels particularly special as the thumping crash of “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” kicks in. Despite the album’s 30th anniversary, the song remains a culturally omnipresent force, and the song remains almost inescapable, having opened Gallagher’s solo sets for years.
But the usual feel soon gives way to something more considered. The six-piece band, complete with backing singers and a string quartet, gives these songs real weight and uplift. The intense “Bring It On Down” feels meaty yet delicate, with the guitar trio stretching it into a psychedelic wigout. There’s also the B-side of “Definitely Maybe,” as well as off-cuts like “D’Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman” and “Cloudburst,” but perhaps most unexpectedly, the Noel-dedicated “Half the World Away.” A moving, string-heavy performance, it’s graceful and forceful, as the room lights up with a sea of phones, all the voices coming together in a warm chorus.
There are no Liam Gallagher solos tonight, just a string of Oasis hits, from the epic, sweeping “Whatever” to the raucous “Cigarettes and Alcohol,” before finishing with “Supersonic,” “Slide Away” and “Live Forever,” which got the crowd going, before concluding with “I Am The Walrus,” as was customary for Oasis shows in 1994.
This is an unashamed nostalgia fest, but whereas so many classic album anniversary performances in their entirety can feel sloppy, perfunctory and sometimes indifferent, Gallagher has put so much thought and care into performing these songs that it’s hard not to think they’ll still be as ubiquitous 30 years from now as they always have been.
