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Boston, Tweeter Center, 24.06.2005 (Quelle: bostonherald.com)
Oasis brings charm and skill to the art of song recycling
By Sarah Rodman
Saturday, June 25, 2005
There was something mildly comic about Oasis closing its set at the Tweeter Center last night with the Who's ``My Generation.''
The Manchester-spawned quintet - aided by a touring keyboardist - did a bang-up job with the sneering classic, bringing their solid 90-minute set to an end with a righteous racket. And, deservedly, the sold-out crowd ate it up. But the fact that there were few in the crowd actually alive or cognizant at the time of the 1965 original evoked a certain irony for a band famous for its recycling skills.
Indeed, the generationally split congregation of Britpop devotees was almost as interesting as the band itself, who were their typically stoic selves.
Thousands of teenagersand tons of thirtysomethings who got on board back in 1994 sang with gusto side by side. The kids seemed tofavor newer stuff like stomping current single ``Lyla,'' while the older folks went nuts for mid-90s classics like ``Morning Glory.'' The divide became most apparent during the lighters vs. cellphones showdown during ``Champagne Supernova.''
There was time to contemplate such things since, as usual, there was very little happening onstage. While they made a beautiful, hard-edged pop rock noise with their instruments each member of the band stood or sat, in the case of phenomenal drummer Zak Starkeymore, or less. But who needs stage antics when you've got the blissful melodies of singer-songwriter-lead guitarist Noel Gallagher?
Nicked or no, the soaring anthem ``Dont Look Back in Anger,'' the hypnotic ``Wonderwall,'' the tremulous boogie ``Bring it On Down'' and the delightfully Kinks-ian ``The Importance of Being Idle'' are manna from pure dirty pop heaven.
Gallagher further proved his mettle with several great lead vocals and a plethora of short, sweet and tangy solos, providing electric sparks on rocking rant ``Mucky Fingers'' and the tart ``Little By Little'' among others. Brother Liam, taking his traditional if now tedious statuesque stance, is still indispensable thanks to his bratty yet mesmerizing whine.
There were a few duds, like churning placeholders ``Love Like a Bomb'' and ``The Meaning of Soul,'' but the lads did themselves and their promising new album proud.
Continuing the theme of bored-looking rock bands as living tributes to older rock bands, Australian quartet Jet did its irresistible Who-AC/DC thing for a taut 40 minutes. A sizable chunk of the audience arrived early enough to shimmy with abandon to hits like ``Cold Hard Bitch'' and sing along to the plaintive, clean-lined piano ballad ``Look What You've Done.''
While guitarist Cameron Muncey couldn't have looked more uninterested in performing, like Oasis the songs had a kinetic energy of their ownand lead vocalist Nic Cester riled up the crowd with his feral screams.
Rounding out the atmosphere were openers Nic Armstrong and the Thieves who at first glance would seem scruffy mods but who jangled and harmonized their way to a spot somewhere near Hamburg-era Beatles.
It may all have been done before, but it was all done with charm and skill last night.
Boston, Tweeter Center, 24.06.2005 (Quelle: bostonherald.com)