A Good Time For Oasis
Pop Review
Oasis
Reviewed by Simona Chiose
Noel Gallagher, left, and brother Liam in rowdier days. The duo seemed
to have fun Thursday night.
It would surprise Ayn Rand to find not an uppity American living out
the musical version of her Objectivist bible, 'The Fountainhead', but
two working-class hooligans from Manchester.
Wasn't that Howard Roark stalking the edge of the stage on Thursday
night at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens, gazing out at the 15,000 people
in the audience with the stare of a man certain that any one of them
would obey his silliest order? Perhaps not. But it was a fairly good
impression by lead singer of the British band Oasis, in town for a sold-
out gig. "All my people right here, right now/d'you know what I mean?"
Liam sang, as he belted out the lyrics to 'D'You Know What I Mean' from
the new album 'Be Here Now'. It's fairly certain that in fact no one
knew exactly what he meant, but they responded vigorously, with whoops
and cheers.
This wasn't your usual Oasis show. Once upon a time, Liam had an
annoying habit of walking off midshow - when he wasn't moping or
refusing to sing. Last year, he walked out in the middle of a U.S.
tour, all because of a feud with guitarist Noel Gallagher, his brother
and the band's songwriting talent.
But when the brothers appeared to enjoy themselves, even smiling a few
times, moving around the stage and, more importantly, playing a tight,
strong set that suggested there may be more to them than Beatles
rip-off tunes, the crowd lapped it up.
Many of the songs - 'Stand By Me' and 'Roll With It', to name two - do
seem to steal from their idols almost note for note. The album sales
may be starting to reflect that even their fans are getting tired of
the homage. Their second release, 1995's '(What's The Story) Morning
Glory?', sold more than 12 million copies. The current disc is sitting
at around 4 million.
Live, however, they're expanding. For example, they stripped the melody
from the old standby 'Supersonic' and turned it into a U.S.-style rock
'n' roll anthem.
The most interesting part of the evening was Noel's solo acoustic
outing, a four-song set that subdued even the crowd surfers at the front
of the stage. What has always been surprising to discover about Oasis
is that, despite their reputation (Liam is not opposed to brawls over
soccer matches), lyrically they can be as sugary sweet as they can
sarcastic and swaggering.
Nowhere is this dichotomy clearer than on the band's ballads. Alone on
stage, Noel launched into 'Don't Go Away', followed by 'Talk Tonight'.
The latter's lyrics are typically less profound, but still tender:
"I wanna talk tonight/until the morning light/'bout how you saved my
life." And while Liam can scream and still carry a tune, Noel's voice
is perhaps a little weaker, but deeper and, even in a hockey arena,
more resonant.
Then Liam returned, introducing "Champagne Supernova" with a good-
natured smirk. "This one's for my beautiful wife, yeah?" he said,
in his thick accent, and somewhere actor Patsy Kensit was surely
pleased at the tribute.
There's enough bluster left in Liam yet to ensure further brouhahas,
but for now that particular marriage may be rewarding for fans with
a glimpse of just how good a band Oasis could be.
'Oasis play Vancouver's General Motors Place on Jan.23'
(
geocities.com/sunsetstrip/stage) (
geocities.com/sunsetstrip)