Oasis at Bridlington Spa
By 5.00pm the queue was already sprawling up the coastal road. With thousands of Oasis fans waiting to see their idols in such an intimate setting the atmosphere was electric and the excitement in the air was growing. The disbelief that the band had come to the unfashionable Yorkshire coastal town was visible.
Support act Detroit Social Club kicked things off and breezed though a set high in quality and potential guitar anthems, but there was no doubt everyone was here for one thing.
Cue 9pm and the thumping beat of ‘Fuckin’ in the Bushes’ to send just over 3,000 people mental. The band strolled on stage and kicked straight into ‘Rock n Roll Star‘, sending the crowd into raptures. By the time they had whirled through stomping renditions of ‘Lyla’ and ‘The Shock Of The Lightning’ there was no doubt the band and the crowd were up for it. ‘Roll With It’ and ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’ were as loud and vicious as ever with Liam belting out every word at his aggressive best, the floor was now moving under the weight of the bouncing fans. By the time Liam left the stage to leave Noel on singing duties for ‘Waiting For The Rapture’ and an epic as always ‘Masterplan’ the heat was unbearable but no one cared, least of all Liam in has now traditional Pretty Green parka with the sweat pouring through the material.
It was obvious by now Noel and Liam were ignoring each other as usual but both were playing with the crowd a little, seemingly relishing rocking such a small venue. Noel was chatting with the fans down front playfully giving a cheeky wink and sticking his tongue out for the cameras whilst Liam acknowledged the crowd and how up for it they were, letting the crowd know he was a rock n roll star in Bridlington Spa during the opener. The crowds chants of “Yorkshire, Yorkshire” met with Liams disapproval and a sarcastic request that we spoke in English. That was about as much as we got from them though as they seemed intent on letting the music doing the talking, and it did. The band has never sounded tighter, in particular Chris Sharrock’s drumming is a revelation giving Liam a real run in the aggression stakes.
Upon Liam’s return ‘Songbird’, a heartbreaking ‘Slide Away‘ and a huge ‘Morning Glory‘ followed. Liam’s voice sounded as good as ever with every word being spat out as if we were back in 1994, the intimacy of the venue only heightening the sense that he was at the top of his game again. If any question marks hung over his vocal abilities at the start of the tour they must surely now be banished. The set continued as it has throughout this tour with the new key changed version of ‘My Big Mouth‘, the crowd lapping up the ‘Be Here Now’ classic. It takes a second for some of the crowd to realise which song it is but once Liam takes hold of the first line the crowd are left in no doubt. Whoever decided it needed a key change for Liam to sing it is a genius, and I think we can guess who that is…
Noel then took centre stage again leading us through ‘Half the World Away‘ before Liam came back for ‘I’m Outta Time’ and ‘Wonderwall’, which rather predictably got the biggest cheer of the night as Noel played the opening chords. That just left a storming ‘Supersonic’ and an anthemic ‘Live Forever’ before the lads left the stage to deafening applause and chanting, the fans begging for more.
And they got more as Noel and the boys came back for ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger‘, treating us to the acoustic version favoured since Noel’s solo gigs in 2007. Perfect doesn’t cover how epic the song sounded: Noel letting the crowd take the lead in the chorus, Gem getting an ovation for his guitar solo before the crowd led the band through the final chorus, kicking back in with a simple nod from Noel.
That set the stage for Liam’s return and the final onslaught of ‘Champagne Supernova‘ and I Am The Walrus. By now the heat in the tiny venue was unbearable, everyone was drenched in sweat but no one cared as the final drones rang out from Noel’s guitar. Liam threw his tambourine away to a sea of reaching arms before taking up Noel’s side of the stage to steal some more of the limelight from his brother. Cue Noel and Liam ominously exiting the stage at different sides, with Noel making sure he exited last.
So we didn’t get any set list surprises, we didn’t get any onstage banter between the brothers and we didn’t get much interaction with the crowd let alone any clues as to what the future holds for the band once the tour finishes. But what we did get was a generation’s best band at the very top of their game sending 3,000 people away into the sea air left in no doubt they had seen something special.
Setlist:
Rock ‘N’ Roll Star
Lyla
Shock Of The Lightning
Roll With It
Cigarettes And Alcohol
Waiting For The Rapture
The Masterplan
Songbird
Slide Away
Morning Glory
My Big Mouth
Half The World Away
I’m Outta Time
Wonderwall
Supersonic
Live Forever
Don’t Look Back In Anger
Champagne Supernova
I Am The Walrus
(Review submitted by Simon Bilevych)
