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Oasis Cardiff Show 2025
By: Malachi Lui

July 5th, 2025

Category:

Concerts

Oasis’ Cardiff Comeback: Miracles Can Happen For Cash

Biblical... but in what sense?

Last night, 75,000 people in Cardiff got a big surprise: Oasis actually went on stage and played a full, two-hour gig.

Sure, that’s what was supposed to happen according to the tickets we all paid too much for (mine was £200 for the back left corner of the middle bowl), but there wasn’t much evidence that it’d seriously come to fruition. Liam and Noel Gallagher uncharacteristically did zero press, and only a couple photo shoots from which most of the results look composited. They’ve barely spent any time in the same room as each other. Announcing a reunion tour doesn’t mean that they’ve mended their relationship, and I half-expected to fly across the ocean and find that the notoriously combustible brothers had broken up again.

But as the masses flocked to Principality Stadium (formerly Millennium Stadium) on Friday, it became clear that this silence was strategic. Letting the Gallaghers run their mouths would’ve been disastrous, because at least one of them would’ve said the quiet part out loud. During their 90s prime of being the biggest band on the face of the earth, Oasis and Britpop at large sold an idealistic dream of transcending one’s circumstances, of being able to become something. Now, Oasis sells the illusion that Noel and Liam don’t still hate each other’s guts, and getting either or both of them in front of an NME interviewer would’ve catastrophically destroyed that illusion.

No one knows exactly why they’re reuniting now specifically. Over those 15 years of estrangement and public insults, Liam was generally the desperate one while Noel refused to budge (maybe because the latter knew his younger brother wouldn’t allow a scissors player on stage). Then, Noel mysteriously softened out about it. Some speculate that genuine family dynamics centered around the brothers’ aging mother got the band back together. Much more likely, of course, is money. As Liam toured solo for Definitely Maybe’s 30th anniversary last year, Noel went through an expensive divorce (and some embarrassingly empty shows right before that), and an Oasis reunion would easily top off his fortune again. Noel has also considered selling his publishing catalogue to buy a yacht, and a reunion with all its attention would boost the value one last time for a nice lump sum from the highest bidder.

As the latest iteration of Oasis—Liam and Noel, original rhythm guitarist Bonehead, 2000s lineup veterans Andy Bell and Gem Archer, American session drummer Joey Waronker—took the stage to “Fuckin’ In The Bushes” and launched into “Hello,” it immediately became clear that this tour’s completion, especially once it goes international, is contingent on how much Noel actually wants that yacht. Is that yacht worth dealing with Liam? For how long? For years, I told everyone that if or when Oasis reunited, I had to be at the very first show, in case they fight on stage halfway through the set and break up again. I still get the sense that they could once again cease to exist in a month, but they made it through the first night in Cardiff, which still feels like a miracle. Turns out those can happen with enough money on the line.

Nothing could ever meet the biblical expectations of an Oasis reunion gig, especially when this band never had that much stage presence. But it was still fucking mega, to continue in Liam parlance. His voice sounds as good as it’s ever gonna get in the 21st century; in addition to fears about Oasis breaking up before the US leg, I also trekked over to hear Liam before any risk of him descending into Kermit the Frog again. Noel’s voice remains mostly ageless, and while he initially looked like he didn’t want to be there, he loosened up a bit as the night went on, especially during his mid-show lead segment when he didn’t have to deal with Liam on stage. That segment started with an utterly beautiful full band rendition of B-side “Talk Tonight,” which might be my favorite part of the show.

The entire band was in good form, especially with three guitarists: Noel playing most riffs and solos, Bonehead maintaining the rhythm parts (and standing as a buffer between Liam and Noel), and Gem Archer filling in the rest. However, I remain skeptical of Joey Waronker as Oasis’ drummer. Talented as he is, his playing was very directly on the beat and lacked the personality of Tony McCarroll’s amateurish mania on Definitely Maybe or Alan White’s almost jazz-drummer flourishes (some might say “overplaying”) on (What’s The Story) Morning Glory and Be Here Now.

Speaking of Be Here Now, the mass exodus for toilets and beer during “D’You Know What I Mean?” was disheartening, albeit representative of the crowd’s inconsistent enthusiasm. Many sang along the entire time, but only on the absolute megahits was the entire stadium roaring the way I’d expected. Patches of the crowd were surprisingly restless even during fan favorites like “Cigarettes & Alcohol” B-side “Fade Away,” though I admittedly tapped out during “Little By Little,” the only 2000s song they played. Mysteriously, two guys behind me stood completely expressionless for the entire show, which makes me wonder why they ended up there in the first place when there’s historic ticket demand from actual superfans. Of course, with that also comes casual listeners who mainly want to see what the hype’s about and/or brag that they were there.

A few more observations in bullet points:

  • The setlist was essentially perfect for what I’d reasonably expect, though I wish they played “Shakermaker” or “Columbia” instead of “Bring It On Down,” my pick for the worst song on Definitely Maybe.

  • The two back-to-back Be Here Now songs in the set, “D’You Know What I Mean” and “Stand By Me,” sounded a little flat without 30 guitars going at once, but it doesn’t excuse the former being everyone’s beer and piss break. Nothing excuses that. Not for “D’You Know What I Mean.” Also, they cut down the intro and outro, which I assume Noel doesn’t have the patience for.

  • The screen visuals were fine, not exceptional and not terrible, except at times it got way too psychedelic and corny. The screens during “Roll With It” made me think of Noel’s commentary on the “All Around The World” music video.

  • People especially cheered at the end of “Live Forever” when a picture of recently deceased Liverpool FC player Diogo Jota appeared on screen. Jota’s car crash death two days ago at age 28 is one of Britain’s biggest news stories right now. I landed here the morning of the Oasis show and it was everywhere.

  • I still wish I could say that every single person at Cardiff night one was mad fer it, but even a slightly disappointing UK crowd for this type of thing is way more active than I would’ve gotten had I waited for the American shows. Assuming those happen.

  • Someone on the floor at one point waved around a device releasing clouds of yellow gas, followed a couple minutes later by a sulfuric smell up where I was. No idea what that was about.

  • I missed Cast’s opening set, and unfortunately missed Richard Ashcroft open his set with “Sonnet,” but what I caught of him was alright. Sad that he rarely plays anything from The Verve’s A Northern Soul (by far the best thing he ever did, and what I consider one of the quintessential rock n roll albums ever), but at least I heard everyone singing along to the less sleepy Urban Hymns tunes.

  • Those going to the US shows will have to stick it out through fucking Cage The Elephant as opener, a bizarre “asses in seats” move that makes no sense. Oasis never broke America the same way they conquered Britain, but their years of inactivity and fighting have still drawn in new audiences, who don’t need Cage The Elephant added to the bill as a “value” proposition. In fact, I’d argue that Cage The Elephant as North American opener actually detracts from the show, as they have absolutely nothing to do with Oasis and are merely there to swing casual radio listeners who might be on the fence about it.

If you have the chance to see Oasis this year, do it. Who knows when or if it’ll happen again. Who knows if they’ll even get all the way to your show. Just keep your expectations in check. This is a full-on nostalgia cash grab where they competently play the classics, minimize interactions, and leave. It's not the performance itself that's biblical—it’s the fact they've even gotten on stage together again.

Comments

  • 2025-07-06 03:30:51 AM

    Swann36 wrote:

    This validates my decision to stick with the faded memories of a gig first time around for them before the break up and the albums I have from then and not get dragged in to what I thought was simply a cash grab tour when it was announced. Having said that I do hope those who have paid so much an enjoyable experience and hoping the brothers grow into performing more easily as the tour progresses

  • 2025-07-06 05:39:54 AM

    PeterPani wrote:

    Thank you Malachi for your report of the show. I really trust your view, since you are allways spot on with your observations. I tried to get tickets for the first show, too. I even had tickets in my basket. But during creditcard payment I flew from the line. So I guess, you are right. All the wmrld tried to get tickets. Therefore the crowd was not 100% Oasis-fans for sure. I have been to Paul McCartney’s Glastonbury 2022 show (he went 80 this year). This was so moving. Every song was resonated by the crowd, moving many to tears. Peaceful and wonderful. And at the end - all was over and some people intonated God save the Queen and the singing from one peoples corner waved over the whole place. This was incredible. I will never forget that evening. Oasis could have been the same. Had only fans came to Cardiff, like you. A pity.

  • 2025-07-06 11:48:57 AM

    Rashers wrote:

    Congratulations on getting tickets for the show. The way you described the crowd at gig is emblematic of the type of people who go to the “event” rather than the concert (lots of talking, going in and out for beer followed by the obligatory toilet trek). This is really common in UK and Ireland. Lots of real fans were 500,000th or so in the queue for their local concert. It really irks. I cannot begin to describe how popular Oasis were in the 1990s in those islands: they were playing Wembley, Slane and Knebworth - and then playing theatres in the US. It’s great that they brought Bonehead back for this tour. It will be interesting to see if they mix up the setlist a bit.

    • 2025-07-08 05:39:44 AM

      Malachi Lui wrote:

      the phenomenon of people going to the 'event' rather than the actual concert is also an american thing, ESPECIALLY post-covid. literally days before i flew out to see oasis, i saw brand new in newark, new jersey (right outside of NYC) and TONS of people were having casual conversations even as the band played their greatest songs. brand new is another one of my favorite bands ever (my best friend and i flew down to nashville in march to see one of their very first comeback shows, which was populated only with true loyal fans), and the newark show (second time i saw them) was one of the top three greatest concerts i've ever seen in my life, but most people there were casual fans who only showed up to hear the hits from their 2003 album 'deja entendu' whilst ignoring the rest of the set, which was the later (and arguably better) stuff. in fact, i saw people walk out during the acoustic intermission bit halfway through and never come back. great show, amazing band, terrible audience. i've been to way too many shows like that in recent years. generally, the best audiences i've seen in recent years are in small or mid-size venues for other 'cancelled' artists like morrissey or mark kozelek (brand new in nashville was the same, unfortunately not in newark). but for shows that especially attract younger and/or drunker audiences who aren't as deeply in touch with the music, regardless of the venue size? it's been hell over the last few years.

      another one of the greatest shows i ever saw was injury reserve and black midi on the same bill. injury reserve opened, playing a fascinating, often improvised live set based on their final and best album. except they were the opening act, so people casually talked through their set. honestly, i remember them more than black midi that night. this was 2022. so it's been a problem for a while now.

      • 2025-07-09 08:29:25 AM

        Rashers wrote:

        I went to see “The Who turns 50” a few years ago. The entire row behind us talked non stop and loudly the entire time (I was sorry the band didn’t ramp the PA up to the Live at Leeds decibel level). They only stopped for the one song they knew “Baby O’Reilly” - a more recent hit for The Lightning Seeds.

      • 2025-07-09 06:36:42 PM

        MrRom92 wrote:

        Your assessment of the crowd for Brand New at Newark was equally true for the Long Island show at UBS. It was the first time they played LI in 12 years - and at that last show, they were BOOED for not playing Deja Entendu or Your Favorite Weapon (that particular show was termed “Daisygate”)

        We didn’t get a single song from Your Favorite Weapon at UBS, not even Mixtape which they had played at several other stops on the tour. I’d like to think it was a 12 year late FU to the entitled “fans”. Getting up for drinks or a peepee break is tame compared to practically rioting over not hearing your favorites.

        Would love a review and comparison of those new tour exclusive pressings, by the way. Some of those albums have so many different cuts out there by now it’s hard to know what’s what anymore.

        • 2025-07-10 04:54:59 PM

          Malachi Lui wrote:

          i picked up the tour exclusives of ‘YFW’, ‘daisy’, and ‘science fiction.’ ‘YFW’ and ‘science fiction’ are the same cuts already in circulation, the latter also lacks the poster included in the original/standard edition (but still has the foil stamped tip-on gatefold). ‘daisy’ is a GZ in-house cut pressed at one of GZ’s US affiliates, plays mostly quiet and sounds pretty decent actually (obviously all of these albums are cut from the loud CD masters, but some cuts indeed sound better than others). as far as i can tell, the tour pressing of ‘deja entendu’ is the GZ in-house cut also used for the current standard pressing (which i have and it’s fine enough), and ‘TDAG…’ is probably the same saff cut that’s been circulating since approximately 2021. i gave michael a standard saff cut copy of ‘TDAG’ and we compared it to my MOV pressing. the saff cut had more bass and a better spatial sense, but the MOV hit much harder with the drums and the guitars had more presence (even if overall it has more midrange richness than the CD/digital).

          they didn’t play ‘mixtape’ at the newark show either, but i was fine with that. jealous that LI got ‘vices’ (‘daisy’ remains insanely underrated) but i prefer the structure of the newark setlist, opening with the full band ‘play crack the sky’. the setlist for LI was structured similarly to the dallas/kentucky/nashville warm-up shows, with the ‘deja entendu’ hits first then everything else.

          • 2025-07-14 06:36:17 AM

            MrRom92 wrote:

            If Daisy is an in-house GZ cut, and/or using the CD master, either of those things would be a disappointment. Seek out an original. For one, it’s not a GZ cut, so that’s a win, but it’s SIGNIFICANTLY more dynamic than the digital versions and therefore one of the better things in their discography to own on wax. It was pressed at United, and surprisingly plays very silently, however side 1 on my copy is so shockingly off-center it’s not even funny. I was hoping for a competitive pressing that may be able to replace it, maybe I’m better off just drilling out a new hole.

            My copy of the YFW 10th anniversary (on white vinyl) is unfortunately very sibilant and splattery, I’ve never quite been able to figure out what went wrong with that one. A new pressing from those metal parts on better vinyl may or may not fare better.

  • 2025-07-06 01:28:47 PM

    Todd wrote:

    Great comments. Terrible comment section.

    • 2025-07-06 02:46:40 PM

      Michael Fremer wrote:

      Yes the delay causes people to re-submit. We tried once to eliminate the problem and did but it causes the software to do all sorts of worse things.

      • 2025-07-06 04:53:25 PM

        Silk Dome Mid wrote:

        Patience, my friends. Patience.

      • 2025-07-07 02:08:10 AM

        David L wrote:

        Added a feature tonight that prevents multiple submissions.

  • 2025-07-06 04:17:41 PM

    Lemon Curry wrote:

    If the Beatles hadn't broken up and were touring in '72, it might have been just like this.

    Even two brothers who hate each other need to make the mortgage payments. Powerful incentive.

  • 2025-07-06 07:21:38 PM

    Mark Ward wrote:

    Great to see a piece of Malachi writing after too long a break. Excellent field report - felt like I was there, and I'm not an Oasis aficionado by any stretch of the imagination, but I got a real taste of what the evening was like. Was always more of a Blur fan myself... Hope we don't have to wait too long for another Malachi missive...

    • 2025-07-07 02:55:32 PM

      PeterPani wrote:

      Agree! We need more Malachi

    • 2025-07-08 04:49:59 AM

      Malachi Lui wrote:

      it’s funny that blur is the one band i haven’t seen yet. i prefer blur and especially pulp over oasis (but the three bands are very different), and i saw pulp last year (they’re amazing!) and oasis just now but blur hasn’t played america in too long! though i’ll fly over if they do the UK again.

      i’m actually overseas for most of the month since i’m seeing haruomi hosono at the royal festival hall in a couple weeks. right now i’m in paris before heading back to london then returning to new york after three weeks away.

      • 2025-07-08 05:59:44 AM

        Mark Ward wrote:

        I LOVE Pulp!! - and the Jarvis Cocker solo albums (yet to hear him or them live - or the new album). That gig at the RFH should be wonderful - I am quite jealous, though I cannot say I am familiar with his music. Oh to have seen Ryuichi while he was still with us... You are in my hometown - and I am jealous! Try and catch some theatre if that's your thing. The NT on the South Bank will have several great shows for sure. Take a stroll down the south bank from the RFH, to the Globe and the Tate Modern beyond. Maybe cream tea at Fortnum's in Piccadilly (!!!!) A few doors away the Temple Church is like stepping into medieval times, and the site for many exceptional recordings - including Barbirolli's famous Tallis Fantasia by Vaughan Williams, one of the true classics of the gramophone. If art is your thing, then the Turner galleries at the old Tate are stunning. If there's some good jazz at Ronnie Scott's, then why not... Have a blast - it's such a great town. If still in Paris, you cannot beat the historic Vagenende brasserie on the Blvd. St. Germain on the Left Bank. Like stepping into the age of Art Nouveau... I hear you re. the live audiences, but had an amazing night at the Beat Tour last year (doing 80s King Crimson, and actually exceeding the original). Bunch of die hard fans who couldn't get enough.

  • 2025-07-07 10:34:24 AM

    Jeff Glotzer wrote:

    Yeah, I kinda thought it would go like this. It is 30 years later for the most part and the whole of every crowd going to a rock show extant has changed- for the worse. I do get a lot of fans were missing from the show but then again, we've been paying attention for 30 years... lol. I'm glad no one stormed off the stage and they aged well for the most part. Love Joey W on the Atoms For Peace stuff, but I do get your point about fit. Kudos on flying to the UK for a show!

    • 2025-07-07 11:43:26 AM

      Jeff Glotzer wrote:

      Listening to Verve's ' A Northern Soul' was great again, thanks. One for you with a similar pysch push- Death Song by The Black Angels... One of my favorites of all time. Even more even than the strong Verve album above.

  • 2025-07-08 02:23:18 AM

    Wishful Listener wrote:

    Indeed a cash grab.

    These two brothers could learn a thing or two from Robert Plant and the late Leonard Cohen.

    • 2025-07-08 06:02:58 AM

      Mark Ward wrote:

      Saw Robert Plant at the Greek with Alison Kraus last year (I think). Phenomenal show - even the Zeppelin covers rivaled the originals. Plant has been putting out one amazing album after another the last 15 or so years - Band of Joy is a particular favorite.

    • 2025-07-10 11:33:13 AM

      Jeff Glotzer wrote:

      Seeing Plant / Krauss in Madison last year was a lot of fun, but the crowd was only interested in the last part of the set where Zeppelin covers were being played. While the band was tight, they were not rivaling the original band- not close to even the Page / Plant shows in 1995, imo (unreal on every level and probably the most full realization of those strings-based songs). Still a great show, but I came to hear their Plant/Krauss and those 2 fantastic, legendary albums. The crowd was self-absorbed and disconnected and further proof of de-evolution of humanity. Most were unfriendly and cliquey, as expected. I really would have loved to seen Pulp & Wolf Alice at Glasto, among others. I bet this year was amazing.