Oasis – Croke Park, Dublin – Sat 16th August – Live review
by Killian Laher

There was no need for me to say I was sorry with a late offer of tickets for the big gig of the summer.  The atmosphere was feverish in and around Croke Park, with 80,000 people ‘mad fer it’.

Oasis stuck rigidly to a setlist packed with fan favourites, and the experience was akin to a football match with the crowd roaring along.  The story of the night wrote itself with the opening two songs.  They opened with Hello, and although “it’s never gonna be the same”, also “it’s good to be back”.  Acquiesce saw the feuding brothers call a truce, as Noel sang “because we need each other”.

Liam still has the swagger of the frontman of old, and he carried the role off well, informing us that this is the soberest he’s ever been in Ireland since he was four or five.  And if the night sagged a bit when Noel took centre stage for the likes of Talk Tonight and a brass-enhanced Half the World Away, the crowd certainly didn’t mind. The slower numbers were greeted with as much enthusiasm as the rockers, and even a plodding D’You Know What I Mean was well received.  We even got an impromptu outbreak of “Olé Olé Olé Olé” from the audience as a bemused band looked on.

Ultimately, it was hard not to get carried along as the band blasted out favourites Cigarettes and Alcohol, Slide Away and Champagne Supernova, evoking a time where the band could seemingly do no wrong.  As they sang themselves, “it’s just rock and roll”.  And as cash grabs go, it was an enjoyable one.