Some of the concert reviews I've done over the years are no longer online, so I am reposting them here. This one--Oasis live in Singapore--is certainly one of the most memorable, especially since the band broke up a few weeks later. I also got to meet and interview Liam Gallagher before the show, which still sounds unreal even to me, today, six years later.
Oasis
Singapore Indoor Stadium
Singapore
5 April 2009
I was with a couple of friends with floor tickets to the
show. We flew in a few days early to see the sights around the city-state, and
also came to the venue bright and early for my interview with frontman Liam
Gallagher (see main story). We managed to plant ourselves just a few rows away
from the stage, close enough to actually see Liam, brother Noel and the rest of
the band. When the lights came down and the first few strains of “F***in' In
The Bushes” came on, there was complete and utter chaos. We were shoved around
like life-sized rag dolls, elbowed and kicked by audiences hungry for Oasis and
not being completely satisfied by the fact that they were right there onstage.
There were no hosts that went up onstage to welcome
everybody to Oasis' big concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium last week. No
spiels inviting everyone to watch any new TV shows, no expressions of gratitude
to corporate sponsors and no advertisements flashing on the giant screens prior
to the show. When the band casually strode up the stage, there was just endless
screaming – deafening and contagious – and a simultaneous rush by the audience
to get closer to the stage.
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| Me interviewing Liam Gallagher |
The airconditioning was working, as far as I could tell, but in just a few minutes,
we were sweat-soaked and burning. But we didn't care. One of the biggest bands
in the world were right up there just a few feet away from us, and, over the
opening song, “Rock N' Roll Star,” it was insanely exciting to realize that we
were experiencing a concert experience like no other.
The band played a mix of old and new songs, and the setlist
is one that they've been using for most of the current “Dig Out Your Soul”
tour. Earlier during my interview, Liam mentioned that it was Noel “who sorts
out” the setlist. “We got some new ones definitely but certain songs
are gonna get left out, which is a shame. People are always going to be
disappointed that we don't play this or that song, and I know where [they're]
coming from.”
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| Oasis! |
While I was a bit bummed that they didn't do
personal favorites like “She's Electric” and “Some Might Say,” the show overall
was pretty solid and nothing to get cranky about.
Liam rarely ever conversed with the audience; he just
stood there and looked all hip and glamorous, but he engaged his followers
nonetheless with his trademark singing pose (arms behind his back, slightly
bent forward looking up at the microphone pointed downward) and, in between
songs and during solo instrumentation, striking a more rock-star pose: standing
straight up, face serious, eyes fixed on a point far away, while hundreds, even
thousands of digital cameras snapped away.
They were promoting their new album, Dig Out Your
Soul, which sees them trying out a much
bigger, more lush sound than their previous efforts. On the newer songs, few in
the audience could mouth the words along with Liam and Noel (big brother did
vocal duties on a couple of numbers), but on old favorites, like “Shakermaker,”
“Slide Away,” and the classic “Wonderwall,” it was easy to get swept away in
the moment and just sing along with the band.
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| Liam was as cocky as you'd expect him to be |
From where I was standing, I could see dozens of
cameraphones twinkling like little digital fireflies, capturing the moments
forever (or until they could upload it on YouTube or their own personal
websites). I've always found it particularly strange that peole would much
rather spend time during concerts focusing on getting a decent shot on their
phones than just enjoying the moment clearly, without distractions and
interruptions. But I suppose “living the moment” means different things to
different people.
During the encore, Liam disappeared and it was up
to Noel to sing one of the band's signature hits, “Don't Look Back In Anger.” I
couldnt help but get all sentimental, it was a song I've listened to and sung
countless times before: in the shower, while dressing up for school or work, in
the car during rush hour traffic, in my old walkman and now, iPod. And there I
was listening to it live. It was just too surreal.
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| Has to be one of the best concert experiences in my life, ever |
On “Champagne Supernova,” there
was just a palpable sense of kinship and camaraderie amongst all the fans of
Oasis that I felt like hugging everyone there, even the obnoxious guy behind us
who kept banging himself to us as if we were willing participants of a mosh
pit. And on the explosive finale, their cover of the Beatles classic “I Am the
Walrus,” we knew we've reached the end of one gigantic head trip. My legs were
rubbery and my voice was hoarse, and we had yet to put some sustenance into our
growling stomachs, but it was all worth it. After all these years, Oasis have
proven that they can still rock it, and I'm just over the moon that I was there
to experience it.
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