Manchester was always going to be a lively one when two of their famous sons returned for a homecoming gig with Oasis at the City of Manchester Stadium.
Playing three nights at the home of their beloved Man City, the second night we attended proved to be as eventful as you would expect, letting loose one of the most rebellious Rock and Roll bands in their own back garden and 50,000 boisterous and ale’d up fans in tow….. and neither let each other down in anyway.
But before the main event, Oasis brought with them some more local legends, The Doves and a rather unusual choice of the Subways - whose attempts at trying to be rock and roll didn’t really wash with those who could bother to even attempt to see them.
The Doves however come with a backlog of outstanding songs and are seasoned pros on the gigging scene and didn’t fail to disappoint. Most of their songs are epic, influential and faultless on the day.
Doors opened early for the gig and it had a carnival feel about it. It was a huge setting in the shiny new stadium at the time for one of the most anticipated gigs in years. Presumptuous comparisons to the iconic Maine Road gig back in 1996 were floated around pre-gig and were perhaps some way off the mark. Comparisons didn’t matter to anyone who were lucky enough to be here on this day.
This was a momentous gig in its own right and having played the night before in the same venue, with the absence of any real social media at that time….. details of set lists, footage or instant news from that gig just did not surface and gave us all more hope and expectation.
During the Doves set list, the atmosphere was intense. A frenzy of Mancunians along with those from further afar, donned in all the 90’s Indie regalia, were ready… waiting for that release of when Oasis would take to the stage.
It did have a feel of over spilling, that something big was going to happen… and as Oasis entered the stage, that something could have proved costly as the gig was halted due to crowd surges and barriers giving way at the front. The crowd was literally extreme. This felt like nothing else I have ever been in before and the halting of the gig only gave more time to build up again until the Gallagher’s and co came back into action.
Having avoided what could have been a near disaster, and only recently looking at actual footage of the surges and seeing what actually happened, it was this atmosphere that followed Oasis around and gave that unique, powerful and wild gig feel that only they could produce.
The gig was gigantic. It was overwhelming yet the best feeling all rolled into one, and approaching 20 years younger than I am now, I was having the time of my life.
That first song, Lyla was a fantastic starter. It was a immense sound. Once restarted, it smashed all of us in right in the face, exactly what we all needed and we were underway.
New album tracks at the time were sprinkled throughout the set list and definitely didn’t disappoint. But as expected, it was “those” Oasis tunes that were the headliners. The first to join the party was Morning Glory…. which once powered through, stepped aside for Cigarettes and Alcohol to swagger into the frame and that ramped up things, even further – if that was possible.
Stood and crammed in next to my fellow mad fer it companions, shoulder to shoulder, it felt at times we were literally picked up and moved without touching the floor. It was hot, it was sweaty, we were in awe…. eyes fixed on the brothers, whilst also having more than half an eye of the half-filled flying pints pots, raining their way down on to the crowd. What they contained was anyone’s guess….
We just didn’t care.
It was just perfect. They played track after track. Liam was orchestrating everything. His presence is massive. Tambourine in hand throughout, he barely needs to move a muscle, but has everyone transfixed on him. His voice was superb. As was Noel and the rest of the band.
If you could write a set list in advance of this gig, of what would be the most perfect gig, they pretty much nailed it. They had everything. Wonderwall, Acquiesce, Rock ‘n’ Roll Star and my absolute favourite, Champagne Supernova. If I were to be completely critical, Masterplan would have been a welcome addition in place of perhaps one of the newer tracks, but I genuinely wasn’t bothered about that.
As the encore break rolled up, it gave us all a tiny bit of respite. It felt like some tension had lifted and gave us all a chance for our shoulders to drop, to focus on the real world and look our friends in the eyes and take in what we had just witnessed.
It obviously didn’t end there. Two newer tracks came next followed by the inevitable Don’t look back in Anger. Liam making way for Noel to take centre stage on vocals… although he was hardly needed with the crowd giving it right back to him for every single word. The crowd, arms draped across each other and screaming in each other’s faces, sharing in that special moment with complete strangers, but joined together in this mad day we had all shared.
My Generation, a cover of The Who’s huge hit was the gigs finale.
For a band to finish on a cover, it is certainly not the commonplace… yet Oasis turned this legendary song into their own. For those who may have never heard it before, which albeit unlikely, you could be forgiven for thinking this is actually one of their own songs.
It was an outstanding way to finish. They had given it all and we certainly did too.
Having been lucky enough to see Oasis on several other occasions, they are truly very special to see. Stadiums, Arenas, festivals… it doesn’t really matter. They are powerful and enigmatic and although they no longer tour or write as a band anymore, we do still have the memories and a bonus of both Gallagher’s writing and performing their own material, whist still giving us live hits of Oasis classics along the way.
I for one rank this gig as one of my absolute favourites of all time.
LGR x
Images not taken by me
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