Last night on a beautiful Labor Day evening at a sold-out MetLife Stadium, I witnessed the culmination of the world domination mission that Manchester, England’s working class Britpop heroes (and hooligan magnets) Oasis have been pursuing since their instantly familiar Creation Records 1994 debut single “Supersonic” lodged itself into the consciousness of the indie music cognoscenti, followed by almost perfect debut LP Definitely Maybe that matched primary songwriter Noel Gallagher’s naked ambition to write brash, life-affirming anthems that equal (and sometimes borrow riffs from) his heroes The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Sex Pistols, The Jam, as well as Mancunian legends The Smiths & The Stone Roses, with the cooly immobile insouciance of his younger brother Liam Gallagher, whose lead vocals knowingly evoked the powerful rocker snarl of John Lennon and Johnny Rotten.
This debut was quickly followed by the equally excellent, more expansive 1995 LP What’s The Story (Morning Glory), as well as exemplary non-LP singles and b-sides, that evidently set the bar too high for themselves, as the Oasis supernova gradually flamed out in 2009 in the wake of ballooning recording budgets and rock star excesses that resulted in diminishing returns for subsequent LPs, with fewer memorable songs and incessant sibling rivalry press coverage that overshadowed the early brilliance.
I first saw Oasis in 1995 in Philadelphia’s Theatre of the Living Arts (capacity 1000) on the Definitely Maybe tour (and a year later as they quickly jumped to an arena show for Morning Glory). Even with the sizzling excitement everyone in the room felt then, it would have been hard to imagine that I would one day see them playing in the States for 60,000+ ecstatic fans paying top dollar for tickets (and endless merch) for Oasis Live ‘25, a stadium spectacle where Oasis thrives.
This reunion tour features a lineup melded from founding rhythm guitarist Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs (who left in 1999) and later members & Creation friends Andy Bell (of shoegaze legends RIDE) on bass & guitarist Gem Archer (who played in Gallagher solo projects—Liam’s Beady Eye and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds —and with Paul Weller) with ace drummer Joey Waronker (Beck, The Who, R.E.M.) expertly offering almost note-for-note renditions of the heavily streamed original recordings that have burnished the band with a rabid younger fan base who have spent over a decade pining for this Gallagher brothers’ truce, which seemed genuine last night, with Liam and Noel walking out together with hands clasped, singing well together with Noel harmonizing, and embracing in a valedictory hug after the final encore “Champagne Supernova” as the personal fireworks of the past were superseded by well-earned literal fireworks to send the happy crowd home with joyful memories.
The 23-song tour setlist rightly focuses on the cream of the 1994-1996 era, including additional show highlights “Live Forever”, “Slide Away”, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”, “Whatever”, “Some Might Say”, “Wonderwall”, “Acquiesce”, ”Morning Glory”, and “Roll With It” (I would have found room for bangers “Columbia” and “Up in the Sky” from the debut, later choice b-sides “Headshrinker”, “Stay Young”, and “Step Out”, and even bloated Be Here Now LP winners “I Hope, I Think, I Know” and “Don’t Go Away” over the 3 post-1996 choices).
Despite Noel’s notoriety for loquacious quips in the media, Liam did most of the talking on stage, encouraging the communal revelry with shoutouts to the many British expats present (even teaching us Yanks the Manchester City football Poznań chant before “Cigarettes & Alcohol”, which involves turning away from the pitch/stage, linking arms, and jumping in unison), while giving his brother space by leaving the stage during Noel’s lead vocal spotlight sections, which included a moving “Talk Tonight”, a horn-section augmented “The Masterplan”, and giving over the soaring choruses of “Don’t Look Back in Anger” to the willing crowd.
The vibe in the stadium was cheerful throughout the evening (even if not as boisterous as the UK fans seemed in the videos I’ve seen), which kicked off with a rousing short set from still-active ‘90s Britpop compatriots Cast (now managed by Creation founder Alan McGee, who famously discovered and signed Oasis in Glasgow; see below for the full performance of “Alright”), and Nashville-via-Kentucky brothers’ indie rock band Cage The Elephant impressing with an energetic middle set that included catchy songs like the Pixies-ish “Trouble” and “Come a Little Closer”.
Who knows what the Gallaghers’ musical future holds, but 2025 belongs to Oasis for bringing back their past glory into mega-clear focus for both original fans and a new generation.
Oasis setlist:
Hello
Acquiesce
Morning Glory
Some Might Say
Bring It On Down
Cigarettes & Alcohol
Fade Away
Supersonic
Roll With It
Talk Tonight
Half the World Away
Little by Little
D’You Know What I Mean?
Stand by Me
Cast No Shadow
Slide Away
Whatever (with a snippet of The Beatles’ “Octopus’s Garden”)
Live Forever
Rock ‘n’ Roll Star
Encore:
The Masterplan
Don’t Look Back in Anger
Wonderwall
Champagne Supernova
