An unbelievable gig

The build up to the Oasis reunion gigs Live 25 has been well documented.

I was there for the announcement back in August 2024 on screen at the end of the Liam Gallagher set at Leeds festival which was electrifying. The energy at that moment was absurd and the level did not subside. The process of buying the tickets in itself a huge feat back in September 2024. The anticipation a huge high and then hours of waiting in a Ticketmaster queue, only to unsuccessful an equally huge low. Months of this continued until I finally secured the tickets before Christmas- only seven months to wait!

It finally happened, Oasis- together again in Manchester and somehow they sounded better than ever.

Their split in 2009 felt final, I had resigned myself that I would probably never see the Gallagher brothers share a stage together. Having seen Liam on his own 3 times in 2024, the idea of a reunion felt less like a possibility and more like a dream.

But on Wednesday July 16th, standing at the front of the front among 80,000 fans at Heaton park, it all became real.

This wasn’t their first show back, they had already played Cardiff and a couple at Heaton Park already, but this felt like their first one. The air had something and the crowd was buzzing – Oasis were fully focussed and they were fully locked in.

Starting with Cast, a good sing a long to get the crowd going. Richard Ashcroft was a step up, a sign of what was to come. ‘Bittersweet symphony’ being sung by tens of thousands, arms swaying and a sea of bucket hats, the crowd was almost hysterical in anticipation.

Liam’s vocals were amazing, his delivery was strong and pitch perfect and packed with his characteristic attitude which make him the iconic frontman he is so well known for. When he sang out ‘its good to be back’ you could feel the energy across the entire field and a shared agreement that it was indeed good to be back. The set list was full of crowd pleasers, sounding as fresh as ever. Noel was cool, calm and just as you would expect. Nailing lead guitar on those legendary solos. ‘Don’t look back in anger’ as powerful as ever and with the entire crowd singing the chorus was more like a shared hymn.

Oasis delivered something unforgettable, something emotional and life affirming and the whole of Manchester felt it.