Oasis, Foo Fighters, Razorlight, The Coral, The Subways - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff - Saturday 10th December 2005

So, after 2 gigs the previous night, I set off unreasonably early in the morning for an extravaganza in the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. First announced back in July, this gig promised Oasis, Foo Fighters, Razorlight, The Coral and The Subways on the same bill - all in the Millennium Stadium with the roof shut.

Staying the Saturday night in Bristol meant that we went there first to check in. Then, just before midday, we caught the train at Bristol station, bound for Cardiff. Amazingly, given an event with 60,000 people in Cardiff that day, the return trains all finished at 9:30 - halfway through Oasis' set. It is incredible that our public "services" are allowed to so blatantly ignore us when we want them to serve us!!

After arriving in Cardiff, we retired to a bar for a few drinks, before getting into the stadium just in time to see The Subways play. They were surprisingly good, I had expected them to struggle in such a large venue, but they carried it all off very well.

After The Subways came The Coral, one of the bands I detest most in the world. Quite why was summed up by the number of times I heard the question "haven't they already played this one?" - given that all their songs sound the same, they of course played the same song a dozen times. Dull, dull, dull.

I had not seen Razorlight since Alexandra Palace in March, which did not go well! However, even at that gig, Razorlight sounded great, so I was quite looking forward to giving them another chance. And they didn't disappoint, they went down a storm, playing an excellent set that didn't dip at all during the hour they were on for. The singer is clearly an arrogant little bugger, but they get away with it by being a truly solid live band.

Next up, arguably a set that could have filled the stadium in its own right - Foo Fighters were warming up for a UK arena tour, and the fact that Oasis managed to get them as support act raised a few eyebrows when I told friends who was playing at this gig. A huge coup, and a truly world class live band didn't disappoint the audience at all. Some from the new album, some old singles from previous albums, a fantastic set all round.
Finally, Oasis. The big thing about watching Oasis is that your experience depends too much on those around you in the crowd, who can often be such tossers that they ruin the gig for you. It has happened many times before, that the idiot count in the crowd is just too high. A real shame, because your enjoyment of the gig often bears no resemblance to how good Oasis actually were. Little problem at this gig, as the crowd was a good one, so you could concentrate on enjoying the band. Lots to enjoy, albeit from a set which has been pretty much the same all year for Oasis gigs in the UK. There was a surprise outing for "The Masterplan" though, a very pleasant surprise indeed.

Being a stadium gig, we were all finished by 10:15, which allowed time for a quick beer in the Walkabout near the stadium - Welsh hen parties and all!! 2 hours, and a £60 cab ride later, we were all back in our Bristol hotel bar.