What's the Story? Oasis' Evening Glory

While Their Latest Album Hasn't Exactly Flown Off Record Shelves, Oasis Can Still Play.

A peek into my reporter's notebook will reveal the following words, scribbled before the show began: "Orpheum-old classic setting but showing signs of age-comparison to Oasis?" When in doubt, turn to journalistic cliches, eh? Oasis' concert last week, however, forced a reconsideration of the review I was going to write.

But then, what else was one to expect? The latest Oasis album, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, has hardly received critical or commercial attention, while their previous one, Be Here Now, couldn't have been less noticed if it had sank into the pool featured on its cover. Reports of temper tantrums on this current tour hardly improved my expectations as I walked by hordes of ticket scalpers into the Orpheum.

Travis, Scottish sensations du jour, took to the stage first, a somewhat odd fact given that their most recent album (The Man Who) outsold the main act's. Except for their opening song (the much-overlooked 1997 single "All I Want to Do is Rock") Travis' set contained mostly songs from their recent album, with the biggest response coming for the gorgeous current single "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" Lead singer Fran Healy has the unique ability to make something trite sound like a display of pure vulnerability, and his use of speeches in between songs never came across as pretentious.

After the meekness of Travis came Liam Gallagher, Oasis' lead singer, strutting about the stage as though about to inherit the earth. This was Oasis just as the crowd wanted it, a band impudent enough to counter criticisms of its Beatles-like sound by displaying a video of New York that culminated in a shot of John Lennon. Liam was appropriately swaggering, blithely lapping up the audience's cheers, while brother Noel let his guitar.

The new material came first: "Go Let it Out" (lead single off _Standing_) opened the concert, while "Gas Panic" also made an appearance. But the crowd was obviously there to hear the band's older songs, as shown by the whoops of recognition in response to "Supersonic" and the cheeky New-Seekers-alluding "Shaker Maker." Conspicuously absent were songs from _Be Here Now_, but no one seemed to mind, at least not when they could sing along to Liam's rousing rendition of "Roll With It."

Just before the encore, the band broke into more anthems than the band at the Olympics: "Wonderwall," "Cigarettes and Alcohol," "Don't Look Back in Anger," and perhaps their finest song, "Live Forever." There was something about hearing a packed Orpheum all sing out the climactic line of "Live Forever." Grown men hugging. Quibbles, can, of course, be found: where was "Champagne Supernova"? Where was "Some Might Say"? But then, who knew Oasis had so many songs that I would miss hearing?

Yes, it wasn't a particularly imaginative set. And yes, the new songs played were good but not in the hits-you-in-the-guts way of the earlier albums - not a good sign for the future. But all I could think of was a group of should haves: should've brought a lighter to wave, should've brought a camera to capture this moment. It all closes where it started: "Rock 'n' Roll Star," the first track off their first album. "Tonight / Gonna Be a Rock and Roll Star." And last Thursday night, Liam Gallagher was one.