Oasis: Wembley Arena - 17/10/2008

Oct 20, 2008

I'd love to be able to begin this by telling you about Oasis's support, the hotly tipped Twisted Wheel. Unfortunately though, despite arriving at the behemoth/shit heap that is Wembley Arena at around 7 o'clock, their set was long finished by the time we got through the ridiculously officious security, which seemed to consist of slowing entry to a crawl by demanding that everyone put the contents of their pockets into little plastic bags, then summarily ignoring said contents. Had they been forcibly emptying everyone's bladders and breaking their throwing wrists (more of that later) then I would gladly have missed Oasis's set as well as the support.

As soon as we walked into the main arena, it was obvious that this could only be an Oasis gig, as pint after pint of piss weak lager flew over our heads. As the band walked onstage to the familiar strains of 'F*cking in the Bushes', Liam offered a typically succinct summary of what he surveyed...'We always know when we're back in London, as you c#nts can't hold your drink, and have to f#cking throw them instead.' Well said that man. They say that a band gets the audience it deserves, but noone deserves the gaggle of f#ckwits that follow Oasis round nowadays. Well, maybe Mark Ronson.

Opening with the ubiquitous 'Rock 'n' Roll Star', one thing was soon obvious...Liam doesn't have the voice he once did. He may act like cutting every line short in a venomous spit is punk rock, but the truth is he just can't hold the notes anymore. The band still sounded ferocious (impressively so for such an established band), but Liam was like a cartoon version of his earlier self.

As with much of Oasis's more recent work, the tracks from Dig Out Your Soul translate far better live than on the consistently dry, insipid production of their albums. 'The Shock of the Lightning' is a case in point; the laboured recorded version transformed into a truly swaggering monster. There is no excuse for them still playing 'Lyla' mind.

Strangely, for someone who grew up idolising the younger Gallagher, the combination of his over strained vocals (on 'Cigarettes and Alcohol' and 'Meaning of Soul', it actually seemed like his voice may give out completely) and pantomime version of the charisma he used to exude so effortlessly meant that the standout moments were the Noel sung offerings...'The Masterplan' was shimmering, and during the chorus it was actually possible to block out the fact that the beer hitting the back of my head at regular intervals was getting far too warm. 'The Importance of Being Idle', though ever so slightly dad rocked up, still retained its place as probably the last great pop moment Oasis will ever produce. The star of the show though was 'Falling Down'. Now, at this point, the liquid hitting us was far too warm to have ever been beer..well, without having passed through a complex system of bodily parts first anyway, but the standout moment from Dig Out Your Soul was utterly stunning, its rhythmic subtlety (yep, subtlety) worth the admission on its own.

As a whole, Oasis, against all odds, are still a phenomenal live band. It seemed like Liam and Noel may have had a disagreement pre-show. Never has Noel been quieter between and even during songs, but this meant that, even with Liam's wafer thin vocals, tracks like 'Slide Away' flew in a Definitely Maybe era way without being swamped by the backing vocals which Noel has smothered them with in recent times. Unfortunately, all good points are outweighed by the shower of mongs which made up most of the crowd. Of course, Oasis gigs have been about communal spirit and terrace chants for well over a decade, but if I wanted to listen to 15,000 tone deaf cockneys I'd go and watch West Ham instead. And I'd be less likely to end the experience covered in urine.

Oliver W J Rock

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