Liam Gallagher performs at the first of two sold-out Oasis shows at Rogers Stadium in Toronto on Sunday.Nick Iwanyshyn/The Globe and Mail
Making the first stop on the North American leg of its long-awaited reunion tour, Oasis played the first of two Toronto concerts in a windswept, rain-pelted Rogers Stadium on Sunday. Before the final song, singer Liam Gallagher thanked the audience, saying it must be a “nightmare” to be a fan of the band. (The Manchester rockers test their supporters’ resolve by spatting and splitting apart regularly.)
“Respect,” the 52-year-old frontman said, paying it with that word.
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The feuds between him and his older brother, guitarist Noel Gallagher, are legendary. The current ceasefire ended a 16-year hiatus and allowed for the current Oasis Live ’25 Tour, which began in Cardiff last month. The only fireworks on Sunday were the pyrotechnics that screamed and popped into the soggy night after the concert-closing 1995 hit Champagne Supernova.
(In the same way Champagne is only authentic if it is produced in the Champagne region of France, Champagne Supernova is the real deal only when performed by Oasis. Otherwise, it’s just sparkling Britpop.)
Fans were pelted with rain at the first of two Toronto Oasis shows.Nick Iwanyshyn/The Globe and Mail
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and Oasis fans are very fond indeed. According to the Greater Manchester Police, more than 300,000 people attended five concerts at the band’s hometown Heaton Park in mid-July.
Oasis followed that up with five sold-out performances at London’s Wembley Stadium. Some 80,000 fans each night set a record by drinking more than a quarter of a million pints of beer per concert, according to figures shared by Delaware North, the company that operates the catering at the massive soccer stadium.
Judging by the trail of empty cans of beer and other alcoholic beverages littering the pathway leading to Rogers Stadium, Toronto fans started consuming early. The concert began before the rain came, with Oasis introducing themselves with, what else, Hello, from the band’s second studio album, 1995’s (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?.
It was typical of the rock numbers that populated the setlist, all mid-tempo stomp and layered guitars churning through an unambitious chord progression to the delight of the crowd. Verses set up soaring, anthemic choruses.
When it comes to soloing, some guitarists belong to the “less is more” school. Noel, a basic player, seems to be of the “less is less” mindset. Oasis today is just as musically uncomplicated as we left them. Never underestimate what attitude and a well-placed Em7 can do.
The Oasis Live ’25 Tour began in Cardiff last month after a 16-year hiatus from the British rock band.Nick Iwanyshyn/The Globe and Mail
Liam has fun with lyrics. Rhyming “I’m feeling supersonic” with “give me gin and tonic” always makes me smile. He still sings with his hands behind his back, as if he were a hostage. His sneer is iconic − it is as if he heard John Lennon on the Beatles’ I Am the Walrus when he was young and just assumed that was how one should sing. It works for him.
Oasis does not deny its appreciation of the Beatles. The Fab Four knockoff Whatever was topped off with a snippet of Octopus’s Garden.
A sense of existential despondency lyrically threaded its way through the material. “Nobody ever mentions the weather, can make or break your day,” Liam sang on Hello. ”Nobody ever seems to remember, life is a game we play.”
And on the very next number, the crunchy, squalling riff rock of Acquiesce: “There are many things that I would like to know/ and there are many places that I wish to go/ but everything’s depending on the way the wind may blow.”
There was banter. From Liam: “It’s nice to be in Legoland,” an apparent criticism of Rogers Stadium, a temporary venue built by concert promoter Live Nation Canada in Toronto’s Downsview area. Later, he sarcastically suggested he loved the “chaos” of the rain: “All that sunshine. Not good for ya.”
A four-song encore set at the Rogers Stadium on Sunday ended with Noel Gallagher’s beloved Wonderwall.Nick Iwanyshyn/The Globe and Mail
Footie fan Noel practically spit the words “ice hockey.” Before strumming an acoustic guitar and leading the stadium-sized singalong Half the World Away, he asked if anyone was from old England.
The concert marked the first Oasis appearance in Toronto since 2008, when a man attacked Noel on stage at Virgin Festival at Toronto Island Park. The assailant pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm and was sentenced to 12 months of house arrest. The guitarist suffered three broken ribs, causing the cancellation of a number of concerts.
The band also included Paul (Bonehead) Arthurs, Gem Archer, Andy Bell and Joey Waronker. A horn section made appearances. The Toronto shows are the only Canadian dates on the reunion tour.
A four-song encore set ended with Noel’s beloved Wonderwall, a minor key ballad that is as much a reminder of the 1990s as flannel shirts, Beverly Hills, 90210 and aggressive body piercings.
The softly psychedelic finale Champagne Supernova, lyrically reflective and vaguely wistful, surely stoked a collective sense of nostalgia. “Where were you when we were getting high?” the song asked. Of course, the fans were right there with you, Oasis. They’ve been there the whole time.
