When Liam Gallagher announced he’d be taking Oasis’ seminal debut album ‘Definitely Maybe’ on tour to mark its 30th anniversary, there was a wave of anticipation throughout the children of Britpop and beyond – and that was shown by just how quickly every ticket for his four nights at The O2 sold out. Never one to shy away from nostalgia, Liam promised these would be celebratory affairs and that he’d be delving deep into the B-sides of the era…
But first there was a stellar support line-up. Liam’s son Gene’s band Villanelle opened the night, quickly rubbishing claims of nepotism with half an hour of fuzzy garage rock that reminded us of Cloud Nothings or – in the final song especially – The Stooges. ‘Lazy’ combines a psychedelic early Verve shoegaze sound with thunderous drums while the slower, swaying moments have jangle pop melodies. They’re also not afraid to drench themselves in swathes of glorious feedback and noise.
Cast followed, racing through a bunch of mid-90s hits from their debut album ‘All Change’ – opener ‘Sandstorm’ still sounding huge in the venue John Power kept describing as ‘a spaceship, the Millennium Falcon’ – and a few melodic and experimental tracks from new album ‘Love is the Call’, the standout of which was the Byrds-esque ‘Faraway’. Of course, ‘Walkaway’ prepared everyone for the inevitable emotional disappointment in the European Championships and the closing ‘Alright’ had everyone up and dancing.
After Cast finished their set, the screens on stage flickered to reveal the year 2024 and start a countdown amidst a host of crowd-pleasing singalongs over the tannoy from The Jam, The Who and finally The Stone Roses. As John Squire’s guitar hit its final note, the clock reached 1994 and following a short montage of classic young Liam swaggers, the man and his band (including Bonehead, who’s in good form following his health issues) stepped on stage to deliver a pulsating version of ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’.
With a declaration it was ‘The start of the weekend’ and an order of ‘I don’t want to hear any of that fucking Monday shit’, the hits kept rolling and the adrenaline pumping as the crowd, you guessed it, went Mad For It – especially during ‘Up in the Sky’ and, until now, scarcely played ‘Digsy’s Dinner’.
After the full-throttle opening of six faster rock songs, Liam said ‘We’re going to rattle off some oldies. I know that sounds kinky or like Wayne Rooney’ and found room in the set for early B-sides ‘Cloudburst’ and ‘I Will Believe’, two songs that really resonated with us Oasis obsessives. Liam even paid tribute to his big brother with the Oasis demo version of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ ‘Lock All The Doors’.
A stripped-back, piano-led ‘D’yer Wanna Be a Spaceman’ shone the spotlight on Liam’s rasping vocals, while the small string section (a gospel trio aided other songs) added even more poignancy to ‘Whatever’, a beautiful song Oasis really should have played more in their pomp.
The stage, with its recreation of the album cover including flamingoes and a globe centrepiece looked resplendent while the visuals were also full of Easter Eggs – our favorite being the recreation of the collector’s item ‘fag packet’ CD box sets that was displayed during ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’.
The closing ‘Married With Children’ was amplified into a Slade-style glam rock stomp before the first encore – ‘Supersonic’, ‘Slide Away’ and ‘Live Forever’ – proved Liam right on his decision NOT to play ‘Definitely Maybe’ in order. Who can resist a trio like that?
With voices hoarse from singing and mid-90s memories fully to the fore, attention inevitably turns to the 30th anniversary of ‘Morning Glory’ next year. Liam – can we do it all over again?