Oasis, Stadium Of Light, Sunderland
Oasis made history as the first rock band to play at the Stadium of Light, and the event will Live Forever for those who were there.
Manchester's finest might be past their best as far as album sales go, but live they are still one of the most essential bands around, as they proved to more than 50,000 people.
I missed the first special guests, Sheffield's Reverend And The Makers, after having to wait half an hour to get in, but judging by the queues so did most of the crowd.
Coventry trio The Enemy were next on the bill, and their lad-rock was a perfect appetiser for Oasis's beer-swilling audience.
Frontman Tom Clarke might be a little fella, but he has a big personality, and he got the crowd going with a 10-song set including Had Enough, Away From Here, the excellent We'll Live And Die In These Towns and storming closer You're Not Alone.
Leicester's Kasabian were second on the bill, and justified it with a dozen slices of their finest groove-laden rock.
Shoot The Runner, Processed Beats, new single Fire, Empire, L.S.F. and Club Foot went down a storm, and it was a pity their set was interrupted halfway through when they left the stage.
The move seemed to be prompted by concerns for the safety of the crowd in the East Stand, with everybody coming into the stadium heading for the central entrances, causing congestion on the walkways.
Food and drink kiosks in the stand were closed in the half-hour before Oasis came on, though they opened again later, and this is another teething problem which needs to be solved before staging more events of this size.
On to the main act then, and although the Gallagher brothers' glory days are undoubtedly behind them, they still know how to put on a show.
They came on to Rock 'N' Roll Star - what else? - and the place went crackers.
For the next 90 minutes - appropriate for a football ground - they forayed back and forth through their extensive back catalogue.
Return-to-form single Lyla was followed by Shock Of The Lightning, the first one from their latest album, and the opening chords of Cigarettes And Alcohol, four songs in, drew a roar akin to the winning goal in a derby match.
Liam swaggered around the stage in his long green anorak, looking far more 'mad for it' than he did at their last North East appearance, a couple of years ago at the Arena.
But, while Liam is the frontman, Noel is the heartbeat of Oasis, and, for a spell, he was one of the finest songwriters of his generation.
The songs where he took on vocal duties were my highspots of the night: The Masterplan, The Importance Of Being Idle and Half A World Away.
He was in good humour, introducing Chris Sharrock as "our fifth and last drummer" and the bearded, long-haired keyboard player as "the son of God, Jesus Christ".
Wonderwall, Live Forever and Supersonic brought the main set to a thrilling conclusion, but Noel's finest moment was yet to come in the four-song encore.
He performed a stunning acoustic version of Don't Look Back In Anger, which not even the climactic Champagne Supernova and I Am The Walrus could top.
Oasis and back-to-back Take That shows have put Sunderland firmly on the concert map, with music fans surely having more big gigs to look forward to next close season.
Hopefully they will have the chaotic queueing system and the inadequate stewarding sorted out by then, so the Stadium can truly call itself a Premier League concert venue.
Source: www.shieldsgazette.com
Tickets are still available for a number shows on Oasis' largest-ever UK Stadium tour, click here for availability of tickets.
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From Journal Live
STADIUM gigs are akin to buses in Sunderland.
You don’t get any for ages and then three sell-out extravaganzas rock in at once.
Last Friday and Saturday saw the Take That Circus turn the Stadium of Light into a pop-filled big top... and last night the self-proclaimed rock-and-roll stars, who go by the name of Oasis, did the headlining honours.
And while they brought none of the pop pomp and circumstance of their predecessors to the stadium, it’s fair to say that when it comes to the brothers Gallagher there are no frills required. When you’ve got a back catalogue which houses the likes of Don’t Look Back In Anger, Cigarettes and Alcohol, Wonderwall, Live Forever and Roll With It, you can afford to let the music do the talking.
The band had headed North East from a trio of similar-size gigs in their beloved North West – and it’s fair to say the packed-in crowd were up (or should that be mad?) for it.
By the time their unrepeatable overture came over the PA system, the bouncing on the pitch had reached, well, fever pitch.
In the hours that led up to the 9pm(ish) arrival of lads – to the aforementioned Rock and Roll Star – the more than 50,000-or so assembled fans had been warmed up nicely via performances from a too-cool-for-school line-up – Reverend and the Makers, The Enemy and Kasabian, the latter of whom were remarkably fresh following a high-energy sweatfest at Newcastle’s 02 Academy on Tuesday night.
And that was despite the failure of the sound system during Underdog. But back to the main event. “This is the greatest concert in the world,” summed up 29-year-old Adam Emmerson from Roker.
Hard to argue when you were in the middle of an atmosphere like last night. Liam provoked hysteria with every swagger, tambourine shake and distinctive vocal. His self-penned Songbird went down particularly well.
Meanwhile Noel was his usual understated, yet wonderfully arrogant self.
There’ll be a full review of proceedings in tomorrow’s Journal.
:: THE Stadium of Light had obviously made an impression on Take That. Apparently Howard Donald opened the band’s first performance in Coventry with a heartfelt “Hello Sunderland!” Excellent.
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