On the eve of an anticipated announcement of an Oasis reunion, I realized I had a lot of thoughts. I figured I may as well dump them here while I have a blog that I just renewed the hosting and domain name for.
“Of course I am”
That’s what I said to my wife when she asked if I planned on waking up for the announcement. It’s supposed to come at 8am, for which I assume UK time, so 3am here.
The last time I saw Oasis live was at Slane Castle in Ireland 2009. I walked three hours there and two and a half hours back from my friend’s house in Drogheda.
In the context of my passion for Oasis, getting up at 3am really isn’t that big a deal.
Did you just say you walked three hours to see Oasis?
Yes. It was my favorite band playing at a prestigious venue. I was determined to be in the front row, but none of the buses were leaving until noon, and I didn’t have a driving license. Walking it was it.
The 2009ness of those photos! I believe it was actually a digital camera rather than a smart phone. Lookit that aspect ratio!
Anyway, they played I Am The Walrus, and my favorite song of all time, Champagne Supernova, which they hadn’t played on the previous occassions I’d seen them. So, I didn’t expect to hear them, but it was a very lovely surprise.
The gig is in my top three of no particular order (the other two are Green Day at Citi Field a few weeks back, and Black Sabbath’s first reunion gig at the O2 in Birmingham in 2012).
15 years of Oasis reunion rumors
I wasn’t actually into an Oasis reunion until a couple of years ago. If you listen to disc 3 of Time Flies, you’ll note that Liam sounds absolutely atrocious.
However, in the past few years, his voice sounds as good as ever, so, I’ve had a little more interest.
Of course, there’s been a rumored Oasis reunion every week over the past 15 years. The most recent rumors have been more intense though.
After the exchange outlined above with my wife, I was cleaning the kitchen, and thinking about the role that Oasis continued to play, despite their absence.
And what a 15 years it’s been
15 years ago, I was a part-time receptionist, writing songs, being in a band, trying to be the next Oasis.
10 years ago, I sacked off a dead-end job and buggered off to Costa Rica. While Half The World Away was my personal anthem for that life tangent, listening to Morning Glory in the back of a Land Rover Defender on a lonely Tico road made it sound completely different. I wrote a song about that. Then, a few months later, I met a nice lady.
Then, 5 years ago, I married said nice lady. At our wedding, the mother-son dance was to Slade’s Cum On Feel The Noize. When the idea of a mother-son dance came up, I wasn’t really into it. I floated it to my mam, and she didn’t have any ideas for an appropriate song.
Cum On Feel The Noize was the only song I could think of that connected us. Because I remembered being a teenager and going up to her saying, “Oasis covered this song called Cum On Feel The Noize by a band from the 70s called Slade – do you know them?” She did indeed know them.
3 years ago, aforementioned nice lady gave birth to our daughter. The first songs I sung to her were Champagne Supernova, Half The World Away, and Songbird.
After a rotation of Live Forever, Don’t Look Back in Anger, and Stand By Me, for the past year I think, it’s Live Forever that I sing to her at bedtime.
It’s also Live Forever that we sing when we test the microphones in our local Guitar Center. We have matching t-shirts that say, “You and I are gonna live forever.”
All this to say, Oasis went away, but the songs didn’t.
Concluding thoughts about the anticipated Oasis reunion.
I’m a middle-aged dad. I have a sore shoulder from putting the cutting boards back when I was cleaning the kitchen, and I’m miffed that I can’t find my favorite screwdriver.
But…the last time I felt anticipation like this was when Fuckin’ In The Bushes came up over the PA at Slane Castle, 15 years ago. The goosebumps. The knowing that it was all about to go off.
30 years since Supersonic was first released, and us nobodies still want to be taken away, just for today.
Of course, it’s all speculation at the moment.
We could be just waiting for the announcement of a remaster of Standing on the Shoulder of Giants to commemorate its 25th anniversary, with Little James being released as a promo single.
Believe.
Belief.
Beyond.
Our morning glory.
See you in a few hours.
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