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Thursday, January 29, 1998

Here now

MUSIC: Oasis wages a rockin' battle for staying power

By Trinh Bui

Daily Bruin Contributor

In England, the rock'n'roll band Oasis, who played a sold-out gig at the Universal Amphitheater on Tuesday night, has the distinction of being a public demigod. They command front-page attention and easily sell out shows with audience capacities of 250,000. Each album released in their homeland breaks new sales records, causing mass pandemonium. These British brats have come to represent working class blokes that like their beer strong and music loud. Yet despite Oasis' cemented appeal in the United Kingdom, the boys are still on shaky ground in the States.

After going multi-platinum with their sophomore release, "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" Oasis appeared primed and ready to conquer America. Their breakthrough hit, "Wonderwall," stayed at the top of the Billboard Modern Rock charts for over twelve weeks. Unfortunately, a series of break-up rumors, some bad-boy behavior and the occasional tasteless outburst curbed further progress as Oasis began to be known in America more for their antics than their music.

With the band's third album "Be Here Now," Oasis seemed to has refocused its energy back to the domination of the world. Even still, sales for the record haven't been as big as they were for "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?," causing some critics to label the platinum-selling album as a "flop."

In support of the underachieving album, Oasis stopped by the sold-out Universal Amphitheater (after cancelling twice there in 1996, angering ticketholders) and delivered a standout performance. Tuesday's show definitely affirmed Oasis' status as one of the best pure rock bands around. Everything clicked that night as the songs sounded crisper and the energy level never dipped below ecstatic.

Before the Manchester crew stepped on stage, the British band Cornershop valiantly tried to warm up the still-gathering crowd with Indian influence-laced Britpop. It was all in vain as the antsy crowd chanted incessantly for Oasis. Cornershop did have their moment with the addictive "Brim Full of Asha," but for the most part the hypnotically mellow music was too mundane for the psyched-up crowd.

As the time drew closer to the main event, notable celebrities began to fill the joint. Lars Ulrich, drummer for Metallica and a big Oasis fan and Gwen Stefani, lead singer of alt-pop band No Doubt, were among the 6,000 plus fans eagerly anticipating the emergence of the Gallagher brothers. Surely they weren't disappointed as Oasis took the stage and worked the crowd over with the energetic title track from "Be Here Now." A classic Oasis-type tune, "Be Here Now" gushed with thick guitar action and a catchy, often repeated chorus. The band played songs from all three of their albums, mixing the harder traditional rock songs from their debut album,"Definitely Maybe," with poppy ballads off of "(What's the Story) ..." and "Be Here Now."

Oasis maintained a high-tempo atmosphere for the first 30 minutes, performing such get-up-and-shake songs as "Roll With It," and the T-Rex inspired "Cigarettes & Alcohol." Probably the best moment of the night came with an amazing rendition of "Supersonic," which basically wrapped everything that is good about alternative music into four and a half minutes of bliss. Lead singer Liam Gallagher's singing was especially emotional and forceful during that number.

After a riveting beginning, the obligatory Noel Gallagher (the guitarist-brother of Liam and songwriter for the band) acoustic set began, which slowed down the pace considerably. Noel is a great lyricist and a good guitarist, but unlike Liam's, Noel's voice doesn't carry the same brashness and sneering qualities that brings life to Oasis' songs. As a result, the beautifully constructed "Don't Go Away" and b-side "Talk Tonight" suffered from Liam's absence.

Oasis quickly jacked the excitability level back up to pre-Noel status with a Liam-led, electric fueled "Wonderwall," adding some spunk to an otherwise soft ballad. From then on, Oasis rode the wave of fan enthusiasm to the end with strictly upbeat 'shakermaker' music, capping the main set off with an extended, guitar-jam version of their classic, "Champagne Supernova."

Surprisingly, the Gallagher brothers were on their best behavior that night and were more animated than usual. Liam actually interacted with the crowd, bouncing a beach ball off his head and teasing his adoring fans instead of just standing with hands behind his back for the entire evening. They only threatened to "go home" once during the entire show (after a flying object almost pegged Noel).

With an appreciative crowd mouthing the words to every song, Oasis laid down a set with a vicious intensity and purpose that turns a music veteran like Ulrich into a wailing fan. Oasis played like they had something to prove on Tuesday and at their best showed why all of Europe is under their control. Inching ever so close to American super-stardom, Oasis for at least one night reestablished themselves as a premier rock group with the potential to fulfill their own hype as "The Biggest Band in the World."