Oasis reunion: the dream setlist
Picture the scene. A sodden field in suburban Manchester, on a breezy British summer evening. The Mancunian flags are at full mast, smoke and weed fumes waft through the air, and then, suddenly, the lights go down. The drums start, followed by a bombastic wall of sound, and here they come. Oasis are back.
Noel bends a guitar string out of shape as he finds his groove, and before, out of nowhere, amid the flares and fumes and flashes of lights, Liam saunters up to the mic like his band’s never been away. Pressing his top lip into the gauze, he sneers, “There we were, now here we are…” A first line that means more now than it ever did.
It doesn’t matter how bored the band got of starting every set the same way for five years. Now, it’s payback time. A whole generation who never got the chance to see them in the flesh wants that Oasis. Sure, it’s never going to be what it was. Noel is pushing 60, and Liam hasn’t managed a top-drawer vocal performance in decades. But it’s still them, and Oasis still open with ‘Columbia’. The song that kicked off their first gig in Manchester’s Boardwalk 33 years ago.
If the crowd isn’t already bouncing, the kick drum on ‘Lyla’ will make them. Then the group weaves in between early classics and mid-era showstoppers. And no, Britpop battler ‘Roll with It’, a song Noel referred to as “shit” on the BBC’s Reel Stories, isn’t one of them. Until they get to the first truly anthemic singalong moment of the night, with ‘Stop Crying Your Heart Out’. Next, Liam does his John Lennon impression and wanders off for a toilet break.
Now we get Noel in his element, taking centre stage, a single spotlight illuminating him and his songwriting implement. 200,000 sway to ‘Half the World Away’, gasp in awe as Noel hits the high notes on ‘The Masterplan’, and let loose while he indulges in ‘Magic Pie’.
And who sings ‘Wonderwall’?
What follows is something unprecedented. A display of magnanimity we didn’t think either Gallagher brother was capable of (this is just a dream, after all). Noel continues with his acoustic interlude, singing ‘Wonderwall’ as it was intended to be sung when he wrote it. Before, with the first chorus out of the way, Liam returns, the drum fill follows, and the elder Gallagher gives way to “Our Kid” on the second verse.
With the sentimental stuff out of the way, we’re right back to rock and roll with ‘Supersonic’. They only crank it up further from there, chasing ‘Morning Glory’ with two singalongs absolutely belted out by emotionally charged festival-goers as far as the eye can see. To finish, The Beatles (who else?). Oasis might be a bit past their ‘I Am the Walrus’ days, but they don’t care. They’re having a blast, with Liam hellbent on using the song to incite a riot.
Once he’s had his fill meeting delirious members of the front row and mocking various stage crew, he strolls off two minutes early while the rest of the band and a 30-strong orchestra unravel ‘Walrus’ until there’s nothing left of it. Light vanishes without warning, guitar feedback is all that remains.
Ten minutes of endless cheering gives way to screams as the stage brightens once more. The slow build begins, as we’re asked where we were while they were getting high. For some, the answer is, “Not even born yet”. And finally, one last heave as the whole field joins together to see the most oxymoronic lines in the English language.
But they’re not done yet. This show is a massive deal and deserves an extra special ending, which it duly gets in the form of ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’. “I live my life for the stars that shine”, Liam bawls, aiming at the throngs of masses stretching out in front of him. A crescendo of noise swells around the gig’s epitaph, “It’s just rock and roll.” It isn’t clear exactly when it’s over amid the ruckus and spray of flashing lights. But eventually it is, layer upon layer of guitars still ringing in our ears. It might just be rock and roll, but in moments like this, it’s everything that matters to us.
Far Out’s dream Oasis setlist:
- ‘Fuckin’ in the Bushes’ (instrumental)
- ‘Columbia’
- ‘Lyla’
- ‘Acquiesce’
- ‘D’You Know What I Mean?’
- ‘Slide Away’
- ‘Go Let It Out’
- ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’
- ‘Some Might Say’
- ‘Stop Crying Your Heart Out’
- ‘I’m Outta Time’
- ‘Half the World Away’ (acoustic)
- ‘The Masterplan’ (acoustic)
- ‘Magic Pie’ (acoustic)
- ‘Wonderwall’ (acoustic)
- ‘Supersonic’
- ‘Morning Glory’
- ‘Live Forever’
- ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’
- ‘I Am the Walrus’
Encore:
- ‘Champagne Supernova’
- ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’
