Liam Gallagher at the O2 review: a heartfelt celebration of Oasis' enduring power
Anniversary tours have become big business. But they don’t come much bigger than Liam Gallagher playing Oasis’ generation-defining debut album Definitely Maybe in full.
At the first of four sold-out shows at London’s O2 Arena, it was clear just how much care Gallagher had put into these gigs. As well as recreating the album cover onstage with inflatable flamingos and a flickering television set, a six-piece band performed alongside a trio of backing vocalists to add new flair to those rumbling rock ‘n’ roll classics.
As well as the album in full, fans were treated to era-specific deep cuts, demos and b-sides. There was nothing from Gallagher’s celebrated solo career, and no easy crowd pleasers like Wonderwall either.
Leaning into the warmth of the occasion, Gallagher even put aside a decade of squabbling and seemingly dedicated the dreamy Half The World Away to his brother Noel, “one of the greatest songwriters ever”.
There was a heavy sense of nostalgia to the evening with a majority of the crowd eager to relive their youth. There were plenty of people who weren’t even alive when Definitely Maybe was released as well though.
Fathers and sons giddily screamed the lyrics to Rock & Roll Star to each other, while Liam’s son Gene opened the show with his band Villanelle. The whole gig was a multi-generational celebration of Oasis’ enduring legacy, with Gallagher due to take the same show to the Gen-Z playground of Reading and Leeds Festival in August.
When Oasis wrote Definitely Maybe, they had everything to prove and their music was a youthful blend of swaggering confidence, wide-eyed hope and determined escapism. That gritty optimism felt just as important on Thursday night, especially with the world outside the venue feeling increasingly heavy.
However, it seemed like not everyone was ready to go as deep down memory lane as Gallagher. ”You’re a f***ing strange bunch,” he told the crowd after the riotous Cigarettes & Alcohol saw the room explode in a flurry of flung pints after a somewhat muted response to folksy b-side (It’s Good) To Be Free and rare demo Lock All The Doors. “I’m not arsed about these old tracks,” he added, not fooling anyone.
The evening ended with a trio of Oasis’ biggest hits – Supersonic, Slide Away, Live Forever – before a second encore saw Liam Gallagher take on The Beatles’ I Am The Walrus, just like the good old days.
It's hard to tell if this tour was a trial run ahead of a proper Oasis reunion, or what remains of a failed reconciliation. Either way, this heartfelt celebration of one of the greatest debut albums of all time was as beautifully rowdy as you’d hope. Same again next year for (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?
The O2, 7, 10 and 11 June; theo2.co.uk
