FACE TO FACE WITH THE MADCHESTER ROYALTY.

 

 

OASIS is not exactly a band that I thought I would see in action twice, but that was what happened. In 2004, I backpacked with Union Guy to Bangkok to watch the 100 Rock Festival and Oasis headlined the 1^st day, along side Ian Brown and Franz Ferdinand. I went back after they sang “What’s the Story, Morning Glory”, much to the disappointment of Union Guy especially since my reason for making that quick exit was “to beat the traffic”. In 2007, I was in Glasgow and paid King Tut’s Wah Wah a short visit, The Amphetamines were playing. I recalled making that cold dreary trip to the club because I read somewhere; this was the place where Oasis got their big break. I remembered trying to touch as many walls and tables as possible in the club, making a mental note, that this was where it all started for those Madchester boys.  My loyalty to the band was a combination of half-baked admiration because I think they are so full of themselves and down right fascination because the sound they churned was one of the most original ones I heard in mid-90s.

 

But despite the “love-hate relationship” I had with the band since 1995, I chose to make that trip to Singapore for the second time in April to watch the Gallaghers in concert.

 

It was ironic that when OASIS came down to Singapore last week, it rained rather heavily at about few hours before the concert started. Just in case we did not have the time to grasp trivial information about this band or maybe we are not really diligent Wiki researchers, the band’s original name was “The Rain” before Liam or Noel came into the picture. My bet was Liam had perhaps dismissed “The Rain” as not catchy enough, hence suggested a name that might reflect generous amount of rain but in a more exotic way i.e. OASIS.

 

Trivia aside, the real deal was when they performed that night at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Well, if I were to compare my previous experience at Coldplay’s show with the Madchester boys that will be like trying to equate Pakatan Rakyat’s chances of taking over Batang Ai with defending Bukit Gantang. True, Coldplay exploited their atmospheric stadium-friendly songs by bringing in props and technology to enhance their concert’s ambience but Liam, I could imagine, would sneer at those huge bouncing yellow balloons and shiny confetti and prefer to throw complimentary packets of crystal meth to their fans during Champagne Supernova.

 

But of course they didn’t do that last Sunday because it was not a rave party. It was pure rock and roll madness. No opening acts, no props except for a minimalistic use of a tambourine thrown in with some rock star frown, Liam surprisingly made his grand entrance right on time. In addition to surprisingly dumping his rock star bravado of being fashionably late, Liam need not sing that night if he wanted to. He could just stand cockily near the microphone, throwing that well known intense stare of his at us and let us, fans do the singing, because we sang almost all the songs with him throughout the concert.  In short, OASIS is a master of raw rock and roll energy when they performed live.

 

To sum up the concert: Brilliantly euphoric in the rawest sense of rock and roll. Hats off to you, mates.

 

Favourite song of the night: I wanted to go for Lyla or Morning Glory but seriously, it was OASIS’s delicious cliché – Wonderwall.

 

Setlist:

Fuckin’ In The Bushes
Rock ‘N’ Roll Star
Lyla
The Shock Of The Lightning
Cigarettes & Alcohol
The Meaning Of Soul
To Be Where There’s Life
Waiting For The Rapture
The Masterplan
Songbird
Slide Away
Morning Glory
Ain’t Got Nothin
The Importance Of Being Idle
I’m Outta Time
Wonderwall
Supersonic
Don’t Look Back in Anger
Falling Down
Champagne Supernova
I Am The Walrus