Oasis, Glasvegas - Roundhouse, London - Sunday 26th October 2008

The final show in the BBC's Electric Proms was a big one. Oasis and Glasvegas, at the Roundhouse in Camden. It was announced a few days before their album came out (although those in the know had been hearing rumours for a while before that), and when tickets went on sale at 8:15am one day, they were all gone in literally a few seconds. Then they were all over eBay for silly money. So, I was delighted that the promoters (and presumably the BBC themselves) put some very strict anti-touting measures in place. Ticket holders had to go to the venue any time from 10am on the day of the gig; show photo ID, a credit card, and proof of address, and be wristbanded, along with their guest. You then needed your wristband and a ticket (the number of which was cross referenced against the wristband) to get back into the show later. Really strict, and hopefully this will be applied to other gigs in huge demand in future. Anything that makes tout vermin's lives harder, or that removes their customers by making them not willing to risk cash if they may not get in, is great news.

Anyway, I got into the venue just in time to see most of the Glasvegas set, although I did miss the first song or two. Watching from the back, they looked and sounded incredible as ever. Since I last saw them, their album has come out, almost outselling Metallica in its week of release - so they are becoming really big news. I thought that their sound was much clearer than any time I've seen them before - maybe because there were professional TV sound engineers looking after it. And, they were very very loud - even after half an hour, my ears were fully ringing when they left the stage. A really good set, and I'll definitely aim to go and see them again soon.

Between Glasvegas and Oasis, there was the opportunity for plenty of celebrity spotting in the seats upstairs in the venue. First person we saw was Joe Cole and his WAG, sat in the front row at the side of the stage. Then, more and more people kept appearing in the centre of the upstairs - Samantha Janus, Nicole Appleton, Russell Brand, and eventually James Bond Daniel Craig. When that lot were all in place, it was remarkable how crap Joe Cole's seat was by comparison - definitely a second class celebrity at this gig!

Eventually, Edith Bowman bounded on stage and introduced Oasis, and we could then get on with probably the best Oasis gig I've seen in a long while. The small venue helped, and the idiot count was extremely low - this was fairly hardcore, pretty cool Oasis fans only. Liam seemed up for the show, and all of the band in general seemed to be really enjoying themselves - when that shows through, it always makes for a good gig. In many respects, this was like the triumphant homecoming gig in front of a select group - and in that regard, it was a privilege to have been there.

There were rumours of special covers, and songs that aren't played very often, but none of that materialised - the set was identical to the one that has featured on the current tour. Although there was a 50 piece choir backing Oasis, they didn't really seem to do anything different as a result - the choir just fitted in around the band's normal set. In the venue, you couldn't even really hear the choir, it was only when I got home and put the TV on that you knew they were there. Having said that this was a fairly standard Oasis show, the sound was very good, and there was a fairly riotous atmosphere for the vast majority of the songs. So although the songs were the same, the occasion, performance and atmosphere were all significantly better than a normal Oasis gig.

The set lasted for about an hour and three quarters, and hearing songs like Slide Away, Wonderwall and Morning Glory never fails to remind you of how absolutely fantastic Oasis are/were as a band. The old songs sound so good (even if Liam's voice can't quite do all that it used to any more), that you almost wish they would stop making new records, and just play all the classics every time. Of course, everybody, including the BBC, NME, and Gigwise were at this show, so reviews are ten a penny. From my perspective, this was a special show, one that I feel lucky to have been at, and a great reminder to the world of what a good band Oasis are.