Oasis in concert for this holiday weekend – Recorded March 7, 1996 in Fairfax Virginia at the George Mason University Patriot Center during their tour promoting What’s The Story Morning Glory?
Hearing the news last week that an Oasis reunion was in the works, after a hiatus/split that lasted some 15 years it came with a prolonged sigh of relief. Despite repeated assurances Oasis was dead in the water, even by their own admission, there was that nagging suspicion in the back of my head that the story wasn’t quite dead. Families are funny things and we can’t really know all the dynamics nor can we accept all the actions at face value. They are brothers after all – and even ones who don’t speak eventually find some common ground at some point.
No pressure, but Oasis represented, at least to me, one of the high points in this long history of Rock Music. That Oasis were at the forefront of a change which swept Pop music out of the doldrums and gave it something to look forward to spoke volumes. Oasis represented a spirit that contemporary music will always be vital and continuously evolving. They were in the right place at the right time – it was a shot in the arm then – it’s a kick in the ass now.
Are Oasis going to become one of those “greatest hits bands” that freeze in time, relegated to playing “Some Might Say” over and over for eternity? I doubt it – between successful solo forays the Gallagher brothers have continued their musical progression. And it’s an opportunity to see if all the parts fit.
That’s the exciting part – they’ve been away – they’ve come back and hopefully they are bringing fresh ideas to the table.
How long before the honeymoon ends? It depends on how differences were arrived at and settled and whether or not that much bandied about notion of “getting older” had anything to do with it. You can’t know and we won’t know until sometime next year when the first concerts take place. It’s not known at the point whether or not there’s a trip to the studio with new songs or if it’s just dusting off the suitcase that’s been in storage the past fifteen years and figuring out what fits and what doesn’t.
I am not looking at this as an homage to nostalgia and a fanciful trip back to “the good old days”, rather they were a great band who made an enormous impact – it is good to see them reunite and, fingers crossed, it signals an attitude of “picking up where they left off”.
But for a detour and an 80+ minute side-trip to March 7, 1996 here are Oasis as they were one night in Fairfax Virginia, playing to a capacity crowd at George Mason University’s Patriot Center.
You might just want to crank this up and spend the weekend with it.
