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The atmosphere is heaving. The fans are mad for it. Half of Cardiff is wearing a bucket hat. The roof feels as if it’s about to blow off.
The Oasis reunion can’t fail, can it?
Not commercially: ten million people tried for tickets. Not critically, either: the overnight reviews were raves. It’s tempting to go with the flow, to conclude that all you need is buzz.
But that’s not true, even here. Any performance, in any field, demands commitment from the performers. And the Gallaghers don’t seem mad for it at all.
In 34 years on tour, neither of them has developed a move. Liam just stands there with his hands behind his back, leaning forwards.
Noel just stands there playing his guitar, studiously.
The Oasis reunion can’t fail, can it? Commercially it can’t… but the Gallaghers don’t seem mad for it at all, (pictured: Liam Gallagher)
Rock’s octogenarians, from Mick Jagger to Paul McCartney , bring more energy than this. The Gallaghers might as well be holograms
Rock’s octogenarians, from Mick Jagger to Paul McCartney, bring more energy than this. The Gallaghers might as well be holograms.
Gigs, Adele once said, are 70 per cent about the crowd. That always seemed an exaggeration until now.
Oasis open with three minor tracks (Hello, Acquiesce and Morning Glory) and still the fans go wild. The stadium roof, which turns the music to mud, also magnifies the sound of the crowd.
Some celebs are famous for being famous. The Gallaghers are famous for being fractious. What’s the story? Lasting fury.
They’ve buried the hatchet without finding any bonhomie. They stand far apart, with their senior sidekick, Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs, in between.
Neither brother mentions the other. Noel introduces the band when Liam is off stage, so he doesn’t have to say ‘On vocals, Our Kid!’
They touch, briefly, twice. At the start, Noel raises a hand and Liam grabs his wrist; at the end, Liam puts an arm round Noel’s shoulder, which goes unreciprocated.
A minute later, with Noel still on stage, Liam slips into his getaway car. This feels like a truce, not a thaw.
Some celebs are famous for being famous. The Gallaghers are famous for being fractious. What’s the story? Lasting fury
They touch, briefly, twice. At the start, Noel raises a hand and Liam grabs his wrist; at the end, Liam puts an arm round Noel’s shoulder, which goes unreciprocated
The music perks up when Liam belts out Roll With It and Noel sings Half The World Away, which brings extra warmth as the theme tune for The Royle Family. But it soon sags again.
Even at his peak, in 1994-95, Noel specialised in songs that were just good enough, simple but derivative.
He would borrow a galloping beat from glam rock but miss the sense of fun. He would catch some chords from The Beatles while remaining immune to their ingenuity.
Although the pricing is dynamic, the staging is not. There’s no runway, no B stage, no attempt to get near the fans.
A band could hardly do less to please a crowd – yet the crowd couldn’t be more delighted.
It’s partly because Oasis represent an era, not just Britpop but the Nineties and Noughties. It’s partly that they represent a vast constituency – the white working-class male.
They always spoke for teenage boys; now they speak for middle-aged men too, with their clenched frustration. And they appeal more to women. The queue for the ladies is longer than the queue for the bar.
The music delivers in the end, with a rousing Live Forever, a raucous Rock’n’Roll Star and Noel’s two masterpieces, Wonderwall and Don’t Look Back In Anger. Slower and softer, these songs have the soul the fast stuff lacks.
As an event, it’s been immense. As a gig, merely middling.
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