Oasis Are A Blast In Cardiff

The old ones are the best, says Gavin Allen, who was at Thursday's Oasis gig in Cardiff

Oasis at CIA

Oasis showed exactly what fans will be paying for at the Millennium Stadium next summer with the first of their two dates at Cardiff International Arena last night.

Having shifted around 15,000 tickets for these two CIA gigs they will be looking to at least double that number, if not quadruple it, on June 12, 2009 when Kasabian and The Enemy will join them to ruin the turf for Welsh sports teams.

On this evidence Oasis are still well worth the ticket price.

They compiled an interesting set list; heavy on hits and their first two albums in particular, with one B-side and a smattering of tracks from the new album, Dig Out Your Soul.

Live, the new album is seemingly not as good as their last, Don’t Believe The Truth, with The Importance Of Being Idle getting a great reception and Lyla, despite Liam destroying the vocal as badly as he might have in 1994, getting the place stomping.

It’s easy to say that Oasis are not as good as they used to be, and very true, yet there is no denying they still carry their primal power of yore at times.

From the eruption of excitement that greeted Rock N Roll star – the security guards earning their money as a river of people swelled dangerously against the crash barriers – to the stunning melody of The Masterplan, the best stuff was the oldest.

You cannot deny Slide Away, Columbia or Cigarettes and Alcohol, which an on-form Liam – lobbing tambourines into the crowd - dedicated to Katherine Jenkins for reasons unknown.

Liam’s best moment came during The Shock Of the Lightening when a white jumper flew from the crowd and landed on Noel’s head, refusing to budge; Noel looked like a caught fish as he tried to shake it off without disturbing this guitar line.

Liam strode over and stood in front of him protectively before surreally threatening, "if you want to make people look stupid I’ll make you look like your grandma."

Noel excelled where expected, in the big songs, and there were huge responses for Wonderwall and Don’t Look Back In Anger, on which a 7,500-strong Welsh choir offered their voices in full heart.

As the gig edged towards a climax they relied on older material, Champagne Supernova among a four-track encore that eventually closed on I Am The Walrus.

"See you next year at that stadium over there," concluded Gallagher senior.
Maybe, Noel, but not definitely.

Source: www.walesonline.co.uk