Oasis Rocks the Patriot Center

OASIS
The Patriot Center,
Fairfax, Virginia,
December 20.

The Gallagher brothers take on DC.
Photos by ClubDave, affectionately labeled: View from the 4th row. (left: Liam; right: Noel)


Times have changed for the Gallagher brothers, Liam and Noel, the only two remaining original members of Oasis. Noel alluded to playing their first show in DC 15 years ago when Washington was the murder capital of the world. Now it’s not, he said. “It’s just not the same anymore, is it?” No, indeed.

I was at that show, 14 years ago actually, at the old 9:30 Club on F Street, with a capacity of a couple hundred people. Then, the Gallaghers were emerging rock stars, and at the time a well-kept secret in America. They were utterly coked out (Liam blinked perhaps twice per song), crazily cocky, and rebellious, dangerously close to picking a fight with a guy taunting them about the greatness of rival band, Blur.

Today’s Oasis is slightly more refined. They seemed, if it’s possible, not high and not at all angry, though still loveably arrogant. And perhaps they were full of Christmas cheer as, toward the end, Noel sent the setlist to a fan going ballistic in the second row, while Liam, who had tossed out a couple tambourines to the crowd, at the very end gave away his microphone to a cheering girl in the front row. [Lucky them; all I got was one of Noel’s totally generic guitar picks from a sound tech].

One thing that hasn’t changed much is Liam’s uncertainty as to the Patriot Center’s exact location. “Hello Washington,” he said, adding they were in Fairfax, wherever the ‘fook’ that is.

Another thing hasn’t changed: they put on a fantastic live show. The set list is a constant on this tour so no surprises at this show. Their set included about half the songs from their new album, Dig Out Your Soul, three songs from the one before, the 2005 Don’t Believe the Truth, four songs from each of their first two albums, and one B-side, “The Masterplan.” Interestingly, they left the popular “Live Forever” from their first album, Definitely, Maybe, off of this tour’s list, but this Oasis fan was overjoyed to get “Slide Away” and “Cigarettes and Alcohol.”

Liam, possibly yielding attention or more possibly grabbing a smoke, left the stage three times, during each of the pairs of songs his brother sang. Perhaps most memorable was the veritable sing-along that erupted when Noel sang, "Don't Look Back in Anger," from their second and most famous album, What's the Story, Morning Glory? Another favorite Noel performed with conviction, "The Importance of Being Idle," comes from their 2005 album, as Noel sweetly sings, "I'll be fine, / if you give me a minute / a man's got a limit. / I can't get a life if my heart's not in it."

Liam never shed the shades the whole time so we didn’t get a peek at his baby blues. Luckily he did shed the pitch problems he had in the opening “Rock n Roll Star,” and only briefly wavered during the new ballad, “I’m Outta Time.” Noel writes most Oasis songs but this one was penned by Liam, and pays homage to John Lennon (as if most Oasis songs don’t already do that). In the chorus, he croons, “In my heart you grow / And that’s where you belong.”

Opening the show was Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, who performed an impressive hour-long set, though I apparently will have to go to a show in the bagel and pizza capital if I ever hope to hear “New York” live. Adams seemed a bit awkward in his new-found sobriety but his voice was lovely as ever.

Oasis Set List:
F**king In The Bushes [instrumental]
Rock N Roll Star
Lyla
The Shock Of The Lightning
Cigarettes And Alcohol
The Meaning Of Soul
To Be Where There's Life
Waiting For The Rapture
The Masterplan
Songbird
Slide Away
Morning Glory
Ain't Got Nothing
The Importance Of Being Idle
I'm Outta Time
Wonderwall
Supersonic

Encore:
Don't Look Back In Anger (Acoustic)
Falling Down
Champagne Supernova
I Am The Walrus [Beatles cover]