Blog

Thu 4 Jun – Oasis, Kasabian, The Enemy, Twisted Wheel

Growing up in Greater Manchester there is one band who everybody relates to, a band that at one point or another everybody who's passionate about music will go and see, the band of course is Oasis. Now over the years my brother, my friends, class mates, etc. have all gone to see Oasis and I had to admit I was rather envious, so when I found out Oasis were doing 3 gigs in Manchester's Heaton Park, I knew I had to go. Luckily i managed to get tickets for the first of the 3 dates, June 4th 2009, the start of what would be Oasis summer tour, I was set to rock and roll.

The gates opened at 2pm, with the first support act set to start at 4pm...or so I was told. I was running late getting to the gig and ended up only getting there abut 4, when I got into Heaton Park we could hear music being played so we hurriedly made our way towards the stage, where as we got closer we could see there was no band on stage, but just preliminary music being played out through the speakers. After about a 2+ hour wait, we finally got the first act of the day on, Twisted Wheel.



Twisted Wheel, or Wheel as the crowd affectionately chanted towards them in support where a band i hadn't heard before, so I was anxious to hear what they were like. Wheel, played through a selection of their songs, which were quite good, the crowd were getting in the mood and giving the show a bit of an atmosphere. The highlight of the set, was a the song You Stole The Sun which was a simple song that enabled the crowd to latch onto the chorus and sing-along. Wheel's latest single We Are Us was also played to a decent reception. All in all, Twisted Wheel gave a good performance which perhaps was only hindered by lack of crowd participation due to the band being largely unknown to the crowd. There was then about a 10minute break before The Enemy were set to come on stage, however they were apparently ill, so Reverend and The Makers took their place.



Reverend and the Makers took the stage with Jon McClure aka the Reverend taking the mic and saying "come on this is Oasis not Coldplay, let's fucking have it!". This being the second time in a month that I had seen the Jon McClure live took the edge of a bit as I was expecting the Enemy, but it didn't matter as R&TM played through their set-list that got a slightly better crowd reaction from the crowd, yet still didn't have it's full attention. R&TM played a set of songs mainly from their debut album The State Of Things,with the highlight of the set being the modern day love story, He Said He Loved Me which was carried by beautiful Laura Manuel, who was the only female to appear on stage all day which made her stand-out even more. R&TM also treated the crowd to 2 songs from their forthcoming album, which included political song There's No Soap In A Dirty War. This was a decent performance from Reverend and the Makers, but it was again lessened by the lack of participation from sections of the crowd.

Next up after a 30min break where Kasabian



They got the crowd going, with large cheers for the band as they made their way onto the stage [at this point I'd like to give an honourable mention to Kasabian drummer Ash Hannis who played the some sort of injury making his way onto the stage via quite a slick walking cane]. As Kasabian started their set, it was easy to see that this was going to be hectic, with everybody jumping around to the music, which was harmless at first until people started pushing, knocking people down, scuffles broke out in the crowd but it was largely peaceful. Kasabian's set had the crowd in a fluster with numerous people feeling faint and being carried off to the first aid tent. Numerous highlights in this set, with too many to list, with a repetitious of hits like Kasabian it was easy to get the crowd 'up for it', a great set from the lads and they got a great ovation when they left the stage.

Then finally after about a 20minute wait, here comes the band that everyone had been waiting for, Oasis.



They came out to rapturous applause with all 70,000 people eagerly anticipating these Manc lions. Oasis started the set with the classic Rock 'n' Roll Star, with the crowd in a frenzy jumping up and down to the beat, young children, grown adults all as one, when the music cut out and the Gallagher's storm off stage, the crowd starts to get riled, but knowing the Gallagher's reputation for having short-fuses, it was accepted as everybody expected them back on in due course. In the mean time the crowd began an ironic chant of "shall we sing a song for you?".

10 minutes go by and Oasis stroll back onto the stage and begin Lyla, when a minute into the song the sound cuts out again, with the Gallagher's storming off yet again. This led to about a hour an hour break with the fans deciding to entertain themselves with chants of
"Blur, Blur, Blur!"
"Are you Winehoue in disguise?" as in Amy Winehouse.
"Ian Brown, Ian Brown, Ian Brown"
"Refund!"
Unrest started to grow in the crowd, with the fans beginning to lose patience, cursing out the Gallaghers. In the interim boredom, fans were openly urinating in the crowd, doing drugs and having scuffles to appease their own boredom.

However Oasis finally returned to the stage, for the 3rd time and Liam took the mic and told the crowd "from now on, this is a free gig, you're all gunna get your money back!", much to the delight of the crowd, then Oasis got back into it with The Shock Of The Lightning which got the crowd back up again, the good spirits continued throughout the set, with the lads powering through a 23 song set which ended on a cover of The Beatles song I Am the Walrus. A world class performance from the Oasis lads, showing that they do still have it and that they are indeed the biggest band in the world.

In order of how good they were, a list of all the artists I've seen LIVE!

Oasis in 2009


Elbow in 2009


Kasabian in 2009


Mongrel in 2009


Twisted Wheel in 2009


Noah and the Whale in 2008


Pink in 2006


The Zutons in 2008


Reverend and The Makers in 2009


Ezra Bang and The Hot Machine in 2009


Richard Hawley


Young Kof in 2009


Mudbone in 2006


Fionn Regan in 2008


Fiery Furnaces in 2009


a tiny list, but hopefully I'll be adding to it in due course ;)

When i was new to this site, I thought i'd start with something easy & quick!

So, here it is my (enthasis on the word my) top 10 indie albums.

10.Different Class by Pulp

As an album, i've not really listened to it, but there's some awesome tunes on the album, so i had to have it in my chart, at least in last position.

9.Screamadelica by Primal Scream

As much of a dance album as it is indie, but still had to be included in here, especially seing as i was running out of indie albums that i really liked.

8.Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay

Coldplay hit the mark every time for me and this album is a perfect example of their qaulity.

7.Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys

The band of my generation and with a debut album like this you can see why.

6.Life by Inspiral Carpets

A band who not many people remember, but this album is top notch, Clint Boon's vocals are a personal favorite of mine.

5.Pills N Thrills And Bellyaches by Happy Mondays

The Mondays, if there's any band i can relate to, it's them, their crossover between guitar music and dance tunes was awesome.

4.The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths

An all-time classic album, once you look past the depressing tone of the music and accept the qaulity of the album, you're sure to love it.

3.Urban Hymns by The Verve

Come on, there's no need to even talk about this album, everybody knows the words to songs like Drugs Don't Work and Bittersweet Symphony. The more you resist them, the more infecious the songs become.

2.Definitely Maybe by Oasis

The band that has made Manchester forever cool, their debut album opened the eyes of a lot of people to different genre's of music and still does today.

1.Stone Roses by Stone Roses

Last, but no least, the BEST ALBUM EVER (in my totally un-bias opinion of course). Almost every track is worthy of 5 stars, with the exception of the anti-monarchy song elizabeth my dear, a must have album for indie record collectors.

p.s, i wrote this a year ago, you may notice this list differs to my altogether album rankings...oops!!

My current top 10 bands

1. The Courteeners
2. Reverend & The Makers
3. Last Shadow Puppets
4. Oasis
5. Glasvegas
6. Bloc Party
7. The Streets
8. Coldplay
9. MGMT
10. The Pigeon Detectives

1. How did you get into 9?
I heard one of their tracks on a tv advert

2. What was the first song you ever heard by 2?
Heavyweight Champion Of The World

3. How many albums by 3 do you own?
1, the onlt one they have done, the brilliant Age of the Understatement

4. What is your favourite song by 7?
Prangin' Out

5. What is your favourite song by 5?
Geraldine

6. Is there a song by 6 that makes you happy?
errr...not particulary

7. What is your favourite song by 10?
Everybody wants me

8. What is a good memory you have involving 10?
none spring to mind

9. Is there a song by 9 that makes you happy?
Electric Feel

10. How many times have you seen 5 live?
never i tried getting tickets for a gig in 3 days, but it sold out =/

11. What is the first song you ever heard by 3?
age of the understatement

12. What is your favourite album by 1?
St. Jude

13. Who is a favourite member of 1?
tbh i can only name Liam Fray

14. Have you ever seen 4 live?
nope, again i tried getting tickets for a gig next month, but the sold out quite quickly, as i'm sure you can imagine

15. What is a good memory involving 7?
listening to A Grand Don't Come for Free in my first year of college, like all the time

16. What is your favourite song by 6?
Flux

17. What is your favourite album by 8?
Viva la Vida

18. What is your favourite song by 1?
Not Nineteen Forever

19. What is the first song you ever heard by 6?
Helicopter on one of the Fifa games

20. What is your favourite album by 2?
State Of Things

21. What is you favourite song by 3?
Standing Next To Me, it's even my text-tone

22. What is you favourite song by 8?
Viva La Vida

23. How many times have you seen 7 live?
none, i don't really get the urge to either

24. What is the worst song by 2?
hmm, not really sure, there's a few that annoy me on ocasion, but none stand out as bad

25. What was the first song you ever heard by 8?
Yellow

26. What is you favourite album by 7?
A Grand Don't Come For Free

27. What is your favourite song by 4?
hmmm tough one, Married With Children

28. Is there a song by 1 that makes you happy?
not that i can think of

29. What is your favourite album by 4?
(What's the Story?) Morning Glory

30. How many albums do you own by 10?
one, their debut