26 May 2005

Oasis, The Subways - Hammersmith Apollo, London - Thursday 26th May 2005

This was part of a series of 4 unusually small gigs for Oasis, taking in London's Astoria, Coronet, Clapham Grand, and the Apollo in Hammersmith; venues with a total capacity of less than 15,000 combined. So, a privilege to see a stadium band in a club venue.

The Subways supported on this date, and seemed to be genuinely overwhelmed at the opportunity, continually thanking and paying tribute to Oasis, and the inspiration they provided. It seemed like a dream come true, and the Subways raised their game to sound excellent. The audience did not really take much notice of them at all, which was a shame as they played well enough to deserve the attention. But then, that is Oasis crowds for you - the support bands are uninteresting to many people, for the simple and stupid reason thay they're not Oasis.

I hadn't seen Oasis for about 3 years before this, since their last album in fact (I missed the Glastonbury headline debacle last year). Not having really heard the new album in detail, I was interested, but at the same time secretly hoping for a good sprinkling of older songs too. The set included some of the highlights of the new album,. but also some of the rockier old classics that I was really glad to see making a live return. In particular, Bring It On Down and Morning Glory are amongst my favourite Oasis songs ever, so I was pleased that they were thrown into the set so early on.

The 5 songs at the beginning, Fuckin In The Bushes, Turn Up The Sun, Lyla, Bring It On Down, and Morning Glory actually make for one of the best introductions to a live set you could wish for. As the set progressed, it reverted to more old classics, reminding a sceptical member of the audience that, when you've had a few to drink, and want to sing along to some loud music, you could do a hell of a lot worse than having Oasis playing live in front of you. A classic live band, still great to watch since they were last touring.

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