Manchester. Night three of the Oasis reunion. The city is still buzzing, and the centre of town is packed early: bucket hats and Oasis t-shirts are the uniform, and Manchester is bustling with energy. The beauty of this city is so relevant on days like today, when there is a big gig in town, you can always detect a buzz and a hubbub, but Oasis is different. Sons of the city, hometown heroes, the great wanderers, sibling rivals, the poet and the town crier, are back at last.
Every pub in the Greater Manchester area is filled with fans. Manchester City shirts of all eras on backs, Oasis t-shirts from gigs long past, and pints are the order of the day. Victoria tram station is rammed with punters, each one in the ‘uniform’ complete with cans in hand. People are singing on the Bury line and rejoicing that, if you can believe it, Oasis are back, as they spill into Heaton Park.
The moody weather breaks as pints of pilsner quench the Heaton Park thirst. The sunshine is here, and so are Cast, who rattle through a set of Britpop tunes. Next is Richard Ashcroft and more pilsner – the drugs don’t work, but the pints do and ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ is a beautiful moment of arm-in-arm-singalong, foreshadowing what’s to come.
The atmosphere in the park is fizzing – there’s never been a gig like it, such is the stronghold this band has on the city, and the country. It’s electric, exciting and tense – people are in disbelief that this is even happening. As Heaton Park reaches breaking point, the snare crack of ‘Fuckin’ In The Bushes’ blasts out and people go insane, Oasis. Are. Back.
‘Hello’ rings around and sounds superb, ‘Acquiesce’ is a monumental moment, the second song of the night. Liam and Noel, together, in Manchester, singing “we believe in one another, we need each other” is something that so many have yearned for, for so long, and it’s here, it’s in front of us. They rattle through tune after tune, mostly from Definitely Maybe and What’s The Story Morning Glory, and it is just banger after banger. ‘Bring it On Down’, ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’, so many songs that are woven into the very fabric of this country are sung with feeling – from Liam and Noel on stage to people of all ages in Heaton Park, screaming lyrics that mean the world to each other.
There are fans in the park, nose to nose, foreheads pressed together as they sing ‘Fade Away’ or ‘Roll With It’. This band is such a huge part of not just British music culture, but British culture generally – grown men, the hardest looking geezers this side of Bury, are in tears during ‘Talk Tonight’, the lads and the dads are arm in arm for ‘Half The World Away’ – it is truly something sensational to behold.
Noel has the spotlight for a bit and rattles through a series of Noel-tunes, all of which sound sensational, with ‘Little By Little’ as a highlight, before LG swaggers back on for a rousing rendition of ‘D’you Know What I Mean’. The band are in huge form, and they sound monumental. Liam’s voice is as good as it ever was, Noel’s vocals have aged beautifully, and the whole thing is tied together with Bonehead’s beautiful guitar work.
‘Live Forever’ and ‘Rock N Roll Star’ are an incendiary back-to-back to end the main show, before an encore of solid gold. ‘The Masterplan’ is a huge highlight, as is the quite beautiful ‘Champagne Supernova’. Everyone who has been to see Oasis will tell you that it’s the best gig of their life. Believe them, because they’re right. The insane impact of this band on the people of this country is indescribable, and to see the people who have adored this band their entire lives singing along to the band they love is nothing short of a privilege.
