It was 5am on a Saturday morning on a fall day in 1995. I was 17 years old and was awaiting my ride to the cross country meet at Kit Carson Park. As I was awaiting my ride, I opted to turn on the television and my teenage instinct immediately lead me to tune it to MTV. Back then, MTV would play music videos and the most obscure of these videos would play in the early morning hours. As I sat there, this song called "Live Forever" by Oasis was on. The very beginning was in black and white, with this guy looking like a sixties hipster staring at me. As the drum beats went on, and as this guy snarled the worlds "Maybe, I don't really want to know, how your garden grows..." I was immediately drawn to this song and music video. I just sat there, probably part in awe of how terrific this song was but also partly because I'm sleepy as fuck. The video finished and I ran outside to meet my ride.
My love for Oasis didn't materialize that day. I didn't really pay much attention to that song or that video much until my friend Roman gave me a mix tape. This is the mix tape from the heavens. The mix tape that radically changed my life. In this mix tape was the Oasis song, "Live Forever" as well as "Supersonic." I loved "Supersonic," with that singer's snarl and confidence saying "I'm feeling supersonic, give me gin and tonic, you can have it all but how much do you want it?" I then bought Definitely Maybe.
Fast forward to 1996. I was in college and I was driving home from La Jolla on Miramar Rd. I tuned it to 92.5 FM, the now defunct Flash, and heard this song. The beginning was this really soft, yet simple, acoustic guitar. Dr. Dre says that you can tell a lot about a song by listening to the first 20 seconds of it. Well, the first 20 seconds were terrific and I immediately turned up the volume. Then it was the snarl again. It was Oasis. I didn't even know they released a single that day, let alone another album. "Today, was gonna be the day..." I was hooked. This was my band. I immediately made a u-turn and went to the Music Trader in Miramar. I bought (What's the Story?) Morning Glory.
Oasis became my band that day. The #1 band in my little world. I was obsessed. I traded in a majority of my alternative CDs in exchange for 3 to 4 song import singles released by Oasis. I remember trading in Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Vitalogy so I can get Oasis' Whatever EP. And boy was that trade well worth it. Then I heard they were touring, the first stop being in San Francisco on a Saturday. I didn't hesitate. I flew to San Francisco and witnessed my very first Oasis show at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium that night. As I entered the venue, being one of the first few in line, I saw the huge Oasis banner in this equally huge venue. I ran to it, with this rush of excitement going through every bone in my body. I ignored the calls of security to "slow down" or "no running". I was there in front. It was an
amazing show! I raised my hand up high, "LIAM!!" "NOEL!!" I sang to every tune, bounced to every beat, pushed and shoved to every word out of Liam's mouth. After the show, I was a wreck. Physically, I felt like I just went through a war zone full of thugs. Emotionally, I cannot believe I witnessed my first Oasis concert. This was certainly not my last.
From that point on, I made every effort to see Oasis whenever possible. No matter how near or far, I will see Oasis. If there was a weekend date and nothing pressing was going on, I will fly to see Oasis. So far, I have seen Oasis in Los Angeles, San Francisco (x2), New York (x5), Detroit, Chicago, and now Philadelphia, and very soon, Austin and San Diego.
Now that you have that background about my profound devotion to Oasis, let me begin my review of my Philadelphia experience. I cashed in my US Airways miles and got a first class ticket on the red eye to Philly from San Francisco on Friday. Arrived in Philly at my friend Pat's flat at around 6:30am. Slept for a bit. Ate brunch. Slept for a bit again. And then we were off to his friend's place at around 6pm for drinks. Boy, we were drinkin'! Beer was flowing like tap water from a faucet. I don't remember how many I drank before the show, nor how many I drank overall, but I was well near drunk when we all got to Festival Pier. And that's the way I liked it.
I was with Pat's friends, all of whom were very nice and loved Oasis. I couldn't have asked for better company. We missed Jet, which we weren't too concerned about, and decided to grab some more drinks before the show. The area was small for an Oasis show, about 3,000 people, and it is outdoors. The forecast was for a steamy and balmy night in Philly, but it wasn't even like that. The weather was ideal and the setting couldn't have been better. It was a lot like Pier 39 in San Francisco, where the venue overlooked the bridge and it's all standing room.
Then the recorded countdown began. Oasis has been using this as their entrance music since at least Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. The lights got dimmer, the crowd got noisier, I got ancy and wanted to go as close to the front as possible. Glenn, Pat's brother, and I decided to squeeze our way closer, but got as close as the middle because this rather big guy prevented my advancement. Rightfully so, since I hate guys like that too, but I didn't care.
They started off with "Turn Up the Sun" and the band sounded fantastic. My view was somewhat obstructed, but from what I saw Gem was wearing a red Penguin brand shirt and Liam was wearing a white shirt with pinstriped blazer like in Madison Square Garden. The band sounded clear and well rehearsed. Liam's voice couldn't have been better. Then "Lyla" came on. With my hands tied behind my back and one knee slightly bent, I sang along - much to the dismay of some people around me. I didn't care. This is my band and I can do whatever the hell I want! I'm Mad Fer It!
Then the classics came on. "Cigarettes and Alcohol," "Morning Glory" and "Bring it on Down" came on next, though I don't know in what order. "All your dreams were made, when you're chained to the mirror and the razor blade" was sang by me really loud. Fist in the air! Others were doing it too. When Liam sang "So I guess that you might as ...." I sang the "Well..." part of it. Fucking amazing!
More new songs were played such as "The Importance of Being Idle" and "Love Like a Bomb." "Meaning of Soul" was also played and it was played really, really fast. I don't know whether the band were anxious to leave, but it seemed like all the songs were much shorter than they were supposed to be. I guess me being in the state that I was may have contributed to that perception as well.
"Champagne Supernova" and "Live Forever" were played and they were beautifully done. Pure bliss. At that point, I was just so happy to see my band play and for them to play this song. The band left, then they immediately returned for their three song encore. It was no surprise that they played "Wonderwall" next and I jumped up and down like a rabbit during mating season. "Don't Look Back in Anger" was next and at that point, I had one arm around some bloke who was enjoying the show to my left and then Glenn to my right. We all sang it in unison. Oasis song gives me and others a sense of camraderie. I've never met either person on my side before until that night, yet we sang this song as if we knew each other for years.
In typical Oasis style, they ended their set with a cover of the Who's "My Generation." I was so drunk that I mistook the Who with the Rolling Stones, but who cares. "My Generation" Oasis-style was superb, with just so much energy and bravado that the Who probably wished they did it Oasis-style. The key to a show is that the band leaves you wanting more. Well, I definitely wanted more Oasis but that's how the story goes. It was unfortunate that they didn't play "Hindu Times" or "Supersonic" or even anything from Be Here Now, but beggars can't be choosers.
It was around midnight at that point. After luckily hailing a cab, we went to the pub again for a night cap. We talked Oasis and all its glory. I stumbled home to Pat's apartment at around 3am, awaiting my 5am cab ride to the airport for a 6am departure to Atlanta, and then a 10am departure to Los Angeles. I was mad drunk, the world was spinning and I had the biggest headache. When I entered the plane, I reeked of cigarettes and alcohol (they still let you smoke inside bars in Philly) and my eyes were bloodshot red. I just sat in my aisle seat and slept the entire flight. To Los Angeles, the same thing.
I'm rejuvenated and ready to take on another concert tonight, this time my #2 favourite band at the moment. But nothing can top Oasis. Their show in Philly was outstanding, and I can hardly contain my excitement in seeing them in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Austin in September.
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