Oasis Reviews Archive

Reviews from as many Oasis albums, singles and concerts as I can fine. Hopefully in the future incorporating pictures, audio and video.

Monday, September 12, 2005

Los Angeles, USA (Hollywood Bowl)

SETLIST:
1. Fuckin' In The Bushes
2. Turn Up The Sun
3. Lyla
4. Bring It On Down
5. Morning Glory
6. Cigarettes & Alcohol
7. The Importance Of Being Idle
8. A Bell Will Ring
9. Acquiesce
10. Live Forever
11. Mucky Fingers
12. Wonderwall
13. Champagne Supernova
14. Rock 'N' Roll Star
15. Guess God Thinks I'm Abel
16. The Meaning Of Soul
17. Don't Look Back In Anger
18. My Generation


PRESENT:
Liam Gallagher
Noel Gallagher
Gem Archer
Andy Bell
Zak Starkey


REVIEWS:
NME.com

Oasis paid tribute to victims of Hurricane Katrina last night as they played their biggest ever show in Los Angeles (September 12).

The Manchester outfit were performing for the first time at the city's Hollywood Bowl , when midway into their set, frontman Liam Gallagher paused to pay tribute to one of the locales affected by the tragedy.

"The next one's for the people in New Orleans ," he said simply before the group launched into 'Live Forever' .

The band played a 90-minute set including the likes of 'Lyla', 'Champagne Supernova' , 'Wonderwall' , 'Don't Look Back in Anger' and 'Rock 'N' Roll Star' .

Before the group's second to last song - 'Don't Look Back In Anger' - guitarist Noel Gallagher took time to recognize Oasis reaching the landmark venue after over a decade of playing live the USA.

"It's nice to get here after all the years of fucking about in nightclubs," he laughed before dedicating the cover to "people of Mexican origin".


----------------------------
Variety.com
Steven Mirkin

For the first half-hour or so, things went along pretty much as expected at Oasis' Hollywood Bowl appearance Monday night. Noel Gallagher's songs have an embattled swagger, but they are only as good as the songs he steals from. "Lyla," from this year's "Don't Believe the Truth," nicks its clarion call (and opening lyrics) from the Stones' "Street Fighting Man," and "Cigarettes and Alcohol" remains the best T-Rex song Marc Bolan never wrote. But when the music faltered, there was no show to fall back on.

The band stood on stage like a couple of guys waiting for a bus (except for Zak Starkey, who sat and played drums while waiting for the bus to come). If they don't show any interest in what was going on (Liam Gallagher even walked off stage during instrumental passages or songs featuring vocals by brother Noel -- in the old days, he used to just sit on the drum riser), why should anyone else? They were preceded on stage by a prerecorded "Fuckin' in the Bushes," which got a more raucous response than anything that followed. In short, it was your typical Oasis show.

But about 15 minutes into the hourlong set, the bottom dropped out of Liam's voice. During "Cigarettes and Alcohol" his sneering bray deflated, turning strained and flat. And like President Bush's polls, it just kept getting worse and worse. Instead of the old Oasis, where the battles were Noel vs. Liam, at the Bowl it was Liam vs. Liam.

On "Live Forever" (which he dedicated to the people of New Orleans) it became almost painful, he seemed to have no control over his effects; all that was left was an off-key rasp. "Mucky Fingers," featuring Noel on lead vocal, arrived toward the end of the set, giving Liam a short rest. The lead guitarist has a better-than-serviceable voice, but he's given his brother all the best lines. This song, combining a Dylanesque melody and lyrics with an insistent piano from Velvet Underground's "Waiting for My Man," is one of those times he supplies superior material. Liam sounded a little stronger when he returned for "Wonderwall," but by the second chorus, his problems were back, and he screamed his way though "Champagne Supernova" and "Rock and Roll Star."

Jet didn't exactly set the house on fire, but at least lead singer Nic Cester had the good sense to get proactive about it. Their riff-heavy, '70s rock -- mixing AC/DC, Bad Company, Deep Purple and Humble Pie with a heavy dose of the Rolling Stones -- had an appealing sloppiness. Oasis returns to the Los Angeles area to headline KROQ's Inland Invasion on Sept. 17 and hits Gotham for the Across the Narrows festival on Staten Island Oct. 2.

Friday, September 09, 2005

Seattle, United States (Everett Event Center)

SETLIST:
1. Fuckin' In The Bushes
2. Turn Up The Sun
3. Lyla
4. Bring It On Down
5. Morning Glory
6. Cigarettes & Alcohol
7. The Importance Of Being Idle
8. A Bell Will Ring
9. Acquiesce
10. Live Forever
11. Mucky Fingers
12. Wonderwall
13. Champagne Supernova
14. Rock 'N' Roll Star
15. Guess God Thinks I'm Abel
16. The Meaning Of Soul
17. Don't Look Back In Anger
18. My Generation


PRESENT:
Liam Gallagher
Noel Gallagher
Gem Archer
Andy Bell
Zak Starkey


REVIEWS:
HeraldNet
Victor Balta

Oasis shows Everett it's no mirage

You wouldn't have really known it to look at lead singer Liam Gallagher and his guitarist brother, Noel Gallagher, Friday night at the Everett Events Center, but they seemed pretty pleased.

Why, you might wonder?

The notoriously volatile pair are leading their band Oasis through something of a comeback after taking off like a rocket in the mid-1990s and fading into relative obscurity in this country well before the end of the decade.

There was a time when Oasis packed the biggest arenas in all the land, but they only drew a hearty crowd of about 4,500 at the Everett Events Center.

"Are we in Seattle, or some other place?" Noel Gallagher asked the crowd at one point, hearing only a chorus of mumbles and grumbles.

"Seriously," he replied. "Because we got on the freeway and drove for, like, 45 minutes."

Hearing a bit more of a response from folks in the front rows, he repeated, "Oh, Everett. OK."

And that seemed to be quite all right.

Fellow British group Kasabian opened the show with a raucous half-hour set before giving way to Jet, who proved once again that everyone in Australia is either famous or bound to be famous. The band sported shaggy hair and flared jeans to boot, in presenting its brand of recently resurfaced 1960s-style rock in a 40-minute set highlighted by its breakout hit, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?"

Oasis' on-again, off-again brothers, vocalist Liam Gallagher and guitarist and chief songwriter Noel Gallagher, are apparently on again. They've played nice since the release of the new album and throughout the first leg of the tour. They kept it together Friday along with their bandmates, guitarist Gem Archer, bassist Andy Bell and drummer Zak Starkey, the son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr.

Standing nearly motionless, but nonetheless dramatic, Liam Gallagher mostly stayed at the front of the stage wearing a long-sleeved black shirt, dark blue jeans and shades. He kept his arms at his sides as he leaned into the microphone, often pushing it forward on the stand with his upper lip.

Apparently reaching his happy, playful limit, the stoic and straight-faced Liam Gallagher amused himself by occasionally balancing his tambourine on his nose or on his head - of course, remaining perfectly still so it wouldn't fall off.

In a more serious moment, Liam Gallagher dedicated the band's breakthrough 1994 hit, the hopeful power ballad, "Live Forever," to the people of New Orleans.

Oasis ripped through 17 songs in a 90-minute set that included a heavy dose of new material. The band kicked off the show with "Turn Up the Sun" and "Lyla," off the May release, "Don't Believe the Truth," on its way to playing seven songs from its new album.

But the guys mostly stuck to the bookends of their career, ignoring the three albums they produced during the past decade, much like most American fans did.

But it was a night of reflection and rebirth, and one that certainly left many fans hoping the band's resurgence isn't as fleeting as a green spot in the desert.