Biblical. A word any Oasis fan knows is part of Liam Gallagher’s everyday online vocabulary. But looking back on last night’s show at Rogers Stadium, marking the iconic Britpop band’s first show in Toronto after seventeen years, it’s the only word that fits.
A fan for as long as I can remember, I grew up knowing that there was a very real chance I would never get to see Noel and Liam Gallagher share a stage. I watched any and every documentary about the second “British Invasion” in the 1990s, where Britpop took over the world, and the 2016 Supersonic documentary about the history of Oasis and their rise to fame. Having had the privilege of seeing both brothers as they toured with their own respective solo works, it felt like my imagination would have to do the work of melding these performances together as my own pseudo Oasis reunion. Safe to say, when the whispers of a reunion started to spread and were then confirmed by the brothers, I could not keep my cool. How can you go back to normal when Oasis are back?
I was not the only person going into this return as if it were the biggest event on the planet. The completely sold-out “Live ‘25” tour had already graced fans in the United Kingdom and Ireland earlier this year, with Toronto being the first stop of the North American leg of the tour. Making the trek to Rogers Stadium from the Downsview Park subway showed fans from all walks of life excitedly chatted about what songs would be played, what merchandise they were going to get, and most importantly, how they couldn’t believe this was finally happening. Entering the stadium grounds you are surrounded by banners triumphantly waving, donning the faces of the Gallaghers, almost like they were overseeing every single moment of our experience leading up to the show. The lines grew as we all eagerly waiting for our change to get into one of the merchandise tents with many walking out donning their new merchandise before heading to find their seats.
After an energetic performance from Cage The Elephant the you could feel the energy shift in the stadium. It felt like time started to move differently and suddenly the lights dim as we hear sound bits from news sources as the stage’s screens are splashed with clippings of news headlines throughout the years documenting the Gallagher’s feud and subsequent reconciliation, along with tweets from fans all over the world freaking out about the show we are about to see. The phrases “the great wait is over” and “this is it Toronto” fade as cheers erupt from the crowd seeing Noel and Liam hand-in-hand make their triumphant walk onto the stage. Immediately we are welcomed to the show with the appropriate “Hello” from 1995’s (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? And we’re off. The set is a fan’s dream, spanning across their incredible discography with hits like “Morning Glory”, “Rock and Roll Star”, “Supersonic”, “Live Forever”, and “Roll With It”. Each song is accompanied by their own special graphics to either match the feeling of the song, or supercuts of footage from the band’s career. The energy is palpable, with fans screaming, singing, and dancing like there was no tomorrow.
Over half way through the set Liam takes a pause from singing to allow Noel to lead us into a moody, dreamier set of ballads such as “Talk Tonight”, “Half The World Away”, and “Little By Little”. This section of the show left as if we were being serenaded, thanked for still being here for the band. The love between the stage and the audience can be felt in every note, and mother nature was feeling the it too as the sky opened up and began to rain down on us all. Normally a show being rained on would cause panic that the show was going to be cut short, but being from Manchester, you could tell that this was nothing the group is not already used too. With some jabs at what was supposed to be “nice Canadian weather”, the show carried on with the same energy as before, we didn’t wait this long to let rain stop the fun. If anything, seeing the lights reflect off the rain made everything feel more. More passionate. More fun. More dreamlike. More than just your regular concert.
As the rain continued to pour, we continued to sing and dance all the way to the incredible encore. The songs every Oasis fan can’t wait to hear. “The Masterplan” from the album of the same name led us into the songs – “Don’t Look Back In Anger”, “Wonderwall”, and the etherial “Champagne Supernova”. It felt like I was in a movie, screaming the lyrics to my favourite songs in the rain, surrounded by tens of thousands of people doing the same. No matter who we are outside of the stadium, we were all brought together by our love of these songs and this band. It’s an incredible and emotional experience as I looked around the crowd. Fathers and sons singing and crying, groups of best friends with their arms over each other’s shoulders, and parents holding their children who are singing along with the same excitement as the adults around them.
These are the moments that are a testament to a band like Oasis, that no matter what happens to them or how long they’re gone, their music will continue to find new fans through the generations at love these songs as much as fans did when they first came out. As “Champagne Supernova” came to an end and fireworks exploded in the sky above us no one wanted to leave. There was something different leaving the stadium and taking that same walk back to the subway, instead of that usual post-concert sadness that comes and makes you want to run back in and ask for just one more song, fans were singing and cheering the whole way home. That magic doesn’t fade, it will carry on through us, knowing that we experienced a life-changing show. For anyone who is not able to be at these shows in spirit, I recommend heading over to Spotify where there is an official playlist for Live ‘25 that has the exact set list for the tour. I know it’s not the same, but I feel the care that was put into this show can be felt in each song selected.
You can feel the love whether you’re singing along in your car or with 60,000 people, because Oasis will live forever.
Connect with Oasis: Website || Twitter/X || Instagram
Be sure to check out Live Nation Ontario to see all of the artists they’ll be bringing to Toronto
