|
Oasis
Oasis with Jet
June 24, 2005 @ The Tweeter
Center
The crowd filtered into the Tweeter Center, woken up immediately by
opening act Jet. Every female in the room danced like they were single,
shaking everything they had during “Are You Gonna Be My Girl.” The band
played “Cold Hard Bitch” fast and furious, forcing the audience to
repeat the words back. Finally, friends and lovers embraced during “Look
What You've Done,” merrily singing the refrain. As the Australian group
swaggered off the stage, fans erupted as if they were the main act.
As the beautiful Friday night continued, Oasis played in front of a
packed house, exploiting their past success. The original group of
schoolmates has evolved over the years but continues to fill up the
seats of large venues, keeping fans coming back with their impressive
stage presence, despite producing much less impressive albums. Lead
singer Liam Gallagher may have a tender Lennon-esque voice, but he
carries himself on stage like Brad Pitt in Fight Club. His attitude
gives the band a gritty character, a throwback to the grunge age.
As Liam and guitarist Noel Gallagher feuded on and off stage, the band
pretended to ignore the drama. Although recent reports conclude that the
brothers’ relationship has improved, the concert proved that actions
speak louder than words. Liam would walk off stage while his brother
would sing, leaving one lonely microphone in the middle of the stage.
The front man would come back out only when it was his time to sing.
This continued the entire night and seemed to distract from the show.
The choreographed and bright LED lights gave the show a corporate rock
star face.
They played most of their classic hits like “Champagne Supernova,”
“Don’t look back in Anger,” and “Morning Glory,” but die hard fans left
ambivalent. Couples sang along to “Wonderwall” in key, showing that Liam
is still the leader of the band. Noel may think he has creative control
but most fans prefer him to stick to guitar. In fact, Noel sings most of
the songs off the new album ''Don't Believe the Truth," and as he
performed them the crowd grew impatient. His voice seemed whiney, making
the Brit Pop band sound a little wimpy. Gem Archer sounded great on
rhythm guitar, Andy Bell kept the banded grounded on bass, and Ringo
Starr’s son Zak played well, considering he only joined the band a year
ago. Oasis ended the show with a cover of The Who’s “My Generation,”
paying tribute to a band they will never trump.
The show was fun to see and reflect on, but who knows how long the band
members can keep going with this family feud. It seems only natural that
the group will fracture, and then we will see how the brothers survive
separately.
-Pratik R. Patel
© 2005 P. R. Patel
|
