Oasis [in Singapore! ]concert review - from Han

Memoirs of a Oasis fan

"I was walking along and this chair came flying past me, and another, and another, and I thought, it's gonna be good tonight."? -- Liam Gallagher

I'm sure, that in everyone's life, there's a list of things that MUST be done before they die. These things, usually of no significance to others, yet so strong, personal to oneself that it has literally become a life goal of sorts.

Yesterday, I struck off one of those things on my list.

I attended an Oasis concert.


OASIS CONCERT 2006
DATE: 23RD FEB
VENUE:SINGAPORE INDOOR STADIUM



We met at 430pm, at the back gate of our hall. Alphonsus and Daniel (aka Abang), 2 A-blkers and fellow oasis fans, set off for the indoor stadium. The concert was slated to start at 8pm but we decided to grab some booze n dinner before the show hence the early meet up time. Besides, the queue would be long so it would probably be better if we reached earlier. Laremy and his cousins and sis would also be there (though unfortunately we didn't get a chance to meet up) Poor Lar, kena gastric pain, so he ended up taking the seats. The 3 of us on the roadtrip, bought the $100 tickets, mosh pit, free standing. Then , we took our 1st cab ride of the day (Merc no less) to Kallang.

Anyways, on the trip there, we were kind of reminiscing about the good old days. Concurring that Oasis were at their peak during our secondary school days, and how songs from Definitely Maybe and Morning Glory have so changed my life, how the songs got us started on playing 6 strings. All wonderful floods of memories past. Of course, inevitably, we whined about how their style has changed and how evergreen their early work still sounds and still having such a profound impact on our everyday lives. Then, the Bali incident too. I still remember that day, when I was stuck in Stagmont Camp during my OCS course, winding endless packs of D10 cables after some silly exercise. In those days, I was always looking forward to booking out and hanging out with my friends. Of course, I had Oasis tickets then, and was supposed to go with Damon. The days were coming with such anticipation and I was literally counting down to watch my idols in action. Then, Bali happened. Oasis cancelled their trip. Patrick (bunkmate) came running to me and said "hey hey they not coming to Singapore!" and I was shocked, disgusted, aghast, devastated. What could I do. Being let down in such a matter was heartbreaking to say the least. Cowards, you say? You decide.

Nearly 4 years have passed since that day. 2 more albums were produced, and they decided to give Singapore another go. So here we are, 3 fans, 9 years in waiting, 2 hours away from realizing our common dream. When we reached, we heard "Don't Look Back in Anger" being sound checked. It was going to be good, we knew. The customary gig-hawker was trying to prey on us, selling some lanyard with laminated picture of Oasis at the front gates. $5 per piece ! I mean. We aren't THAT stupid alright. The picture even had the UK TOTP website on it. So, we walked around a bit, trying to find some food. And who would know (not the 3 of us at least), that Leisurepark was closed... demolished ! Ok. We're quite an uninformed bunch. The nearest food place was the "No Signboard seafood" at the Oasis [place next to indoor stadium. not the band] which was quite out of our budget. So we decided to head towards the fastfood place at Stadium Boulevard. A cab came along conveniently and hence we took our 2nd cab ride of the day.

KFC was less than filling but we didn't want to be bloated. Al had to draw $$ so we asked around and realised the nearest ATM was at Old Airport Rd. So we walked there this time, regretting not eating there earlier, but still ended up at a kopitiam. Downed 3 bottles of Carlsberg, chilled out a while before taking our, yes, 3rd cab ride of the day back to Indoor Stad.

The queue had already started, but thankfully abang and Al saw their friend, Ailin (sp?) and her bf. Anyways so the 5 of us proceeded into the arena. We were about 50m away from the stage, and only about the 4th row of people from the barrier that seperates us and the $160 free standing area. So we thought not bad. Stage was big, with 2 big black banners at the sides (at 1st I had thought they would be used to screen some vids. wishful thinking I guess). Many lights lined the backdrop of the stage. Should be quite a spectacle I thought.

Then along came .... this PRC couple. Ok. To be fair it was pretty weird that PRCs come to watch Oasis. They even conversed in chinese, which was way too weird for me. "Wo di yi chi lai kan yao gun yue tuan" (my 1st time watching a rock band). and so on and so forth. Actually they were quite nice, cos Al and abang went toilet and I had to chope space for them. But being free standing , people still ended up squeezing in. Including this couple. So I asked them to move back and they actually did. Ha. I'm surprised myself. Unlike 3 rather snoobish bitches to my left, who kept
complaining about us moving into their space. abang was quite far behind and I pulled him to join us, and the 3 bitches started to complain. Well.

They better be thankful they were oasis fans, so I didn't get too hard on them. Al just told them to fuck off, which was pretty hilarious. Anyways I told them we're here earlier so we're just coming back and they kept on bitching. Even sms-ing their friends about being pushed and shoved and groped (not by us). Well, this is free standing dear. Don't like? Get some goddamn seats morons. Anyways we went on our own business and ignored them, still building up the anticipation with each passing moment.

Then, the lights went out.

Total frenzy. It was like everyone in the mosh went mad at the same time. It was, orgasmic, the feeling. the rush. wow.

Everyone started pushing and shoving each other, even we were pushed behind to about the 6th row. (the 3 bitches even got on further behind. lost them totally) and this bunch of 2-3 brits came in looking high with their Manc flags and started waving around. When the band appeared on stage, everyone literally did baby screams. It was awesome. All of us, strangers just minutes ago, now embracing one another as if?long lost friends, at this moment linked together by our musical destiny (yes I actually believe in such stuff).

Liam didn't really bother much with his usual stage antics, seems like he just wanted to come on stage and do his songs. All the hits came out one by one. I can't remember the order, but off the top of my head, there was Lyla, Cigs and Alcohol, Morning Glory, Champagne Supernova, Wonderwall, Liveforever, Masterplan, DLBIA, Importance of being Idle, Guess god thinks I'm Abel, Rock n Roll Star,?+++ . It was only midway through the gig that Liam felt more at home and started chatting with the crowd. Esp referring to the Bali-cowardice incident. Noel's voice was fantastic during his songs, while Starkey certainly didn't let down his father's name with his hard hitting solid drumming.

As abang and me would concur, when they played those hits, like Wonderwall, CS, and , for me, especially Live Forever, all the nolstagic memories of the last 9 years kept flooding back. I still remember, 9 years ago, this Ah-Beng at German class was singing D'ya know what I Mean, which sounded damn cool to me, back then still a chinese listening geek-nerd (no offence to chin listeners, just that I've found my heart belongs elsewhere today)

I still remember 9 years ago, watching the premier of DYKWIM on MTV. which inspired me to buy their album Be Here Now right away. I still remember Wonderwall, the song that made me pick up a guitar to start strumming.

I still remember Live Forever, the song which made me start learning solo-ing on the 6 string.

I still remember Don't Look Back in Anger, the 1st song me and ek and the lion dance people jamming in our little room with boxes as a pseudo drum and a classical as-if-an-electric guitar.

I still remember Champagne Supernova, a song on constant repeat on my computer for almost a week just because I couldn't get over the Maine Road solo. Countless other treasures and tidbits of flashbacks kept coming at a pace so fast, I actually teared during Live Forever. Tears of joy, nonetheless.

Wonderful, wonderful moments.

When it ended with a rocking rendition of My Generation, many fans were still begging for more. We just can't get enough of them. No doubt, there were some downs in the show, eg many hits missed like Supersonic, Stand by me, Some might Say, Whatever, etc. and they weren't exactly the most electrifying act on earth. Yet, their melodies which till now still resonates in my head and my heart, has really struck a chord deep down within me, as sure as it did to hundreds other in the same space we shared that night.

The gig ended about 10pm, lasting slightly over 90 mins. After that we went for drinks and food down at Old Airport Road, still feeling the concert high, and ended up taking our 4th cab trip of the day, back to KR. The 3 of us ended up exchanging our oasis ringtones and stuff, like some Bengs on MRT playing loud noisy tunes. We couldn't care less to be frank.

24 hours later, still seeing the images of yesternight, still feeling the beat of the snare drum, the chunk of distortion sounding guitars, the nasal voice nd arrogant swagger of Liam, and above all, the couldn't-care-less look on Noel's face, the can't-be-happier-than-this look on our faces during the concerts ..... unforgettable. Damn my education, I can't find the words to say, about the things caught in my mind.

Was it worth it ? 9 years, $100, drenched in sweat , shoved around , sore throat. Was it worth it??you bet.

I do hope that you out there, find a band that touches your heart and soul just like oasis has done so to me. And that one day, like me, you would strike off one of those to-dos on your own personal list.

To Oasis: thank you for making my life more complete.

cheers
hAn

"If you'd written "Live Forever", you'd be walking to a different tune the next day too" -- Noel Gallagher