New York City: Hammerstein Ballroom- October 7th, 1997
A special thanks to Pete G. for doing this review! His e-mail address is GRUCA@murray.fordham.edu
Oasis was there then! In their first headlining show in America since last year's disaster, oasis was "mad fer it!" No stage props, no amazing light show, simply oasis doing what they do best, blowing the roof off. After the opening act, Fun Loving Criminals (interesting pairin with oasis), the stage was set. Nothing extravagent, just the instruments and stage lights. The crowd's vibe was great and everyone waited in suspense. The room darkened and the opening piano from "Be Here Now" blaired and our boys stormed the stage. Liam was clad in all black (sweatpants?, black t-shirt and a leather jacket) while Noel came out in baggy jeans and a Verve t-shirt (who happened to be at the show). The band exploded into "Be Here Now" and the crowd was rabid. The show maintained its high level through "stay Young" and "Stand By Me" but as soon as Whitey pounded the opening of "Supersonic", the crowd went wild. Liam was even urging the crowd to "keep
f**king moving" which we did. A scary moment arised when a bunch of balloons landed on stage. Fearing the band would react negatively, I held my breath. But Liam seemed entertained and started to kick the balloons as if they were soccer balls. "Do You Know What I Mean?" was even better live and it was also dedicated to the, as Noel put it, "The next best band in the world, the Verve". Noel broke into his solo set of "Magic Pie" and "Don't Look Back In Anger". Before playing "Magic Pie", he told the crowd to "calm down, calm down. I know, I know, I know I'm a genius."(a bit cocky). "Don't Go Away" and "Wonderwall" sounded great electric and there was a bit off confusion befor "Champagne Supernova". Noel had started playing the opening to "Ciggarettes & ALcohol" when he caought himself and started playing the right song. The new solo during Champagne Supernova"
was great as Noel and Whitey really assaulted the song with a high furious pace. "Fade In/Out" (an o.k. track) was amazing. Noel was even surprised with the version saying, "Wow, that was a great f**king version." "All Around the World" had a good Noel solo and concluded with the band leaving the stage. After a minute of crowd cheering, oasis came back on and blasted into
"Acquiesce". A great version of the song concluded with Liam trashing his mic and amps as Noel sang the final verse. The band left and ended the amazing night which will not be forgotten by anyone who was there, then.
Set List
1) Be Here Now
2) Stay Young
3) Stand By Me
4) Supersonic
5) Some Might Say
6) Roll With It
7) Do You Know What I Mean?
8) Magic Pie
9) Don't Look Back In Anger
10) Don't Go Away
11) Wonderwall
12) Live Forever
13) It's Getting Better Man!
14) Champagne Supernove
15) Fade In/Fade Out
16) All Around the World
17) Acquiesce
Back to The Oasis Homepage