It's hard to write a review of a gig when you're lost for words, but Oasis's return to the stage after 16 years last night was nothing short of a religious experience. The band played hit after hit in what was essentially a greatest hits set with only one song from the post-1998 era.
There was a huge amount of emotion in the crowd, but rather less on stage other than Noel and Liam walking out hand-in-hand at the start and a brief hug before Liam exited the stage at the end of the gig. It was a fitting way for the band to get back to business with casual nod to the enormity of their reconciliation.
Cardiff was the perfect city to kick off their return. The whole city around the stadium was buzzing the whole day, the pubs were full, the streets were packed, people singing, taking photos and having what looked like the best day of their lives.
The moment the band walked on stage to their famous intro music is a moment that no one inside the stadium will forget. Plowing straight into Hello, which was a surprise for many fans who were expecting Rock ‘N’ Roll Star, was an inspired moment. And from then, the pace of classic songs was relentless. My personal highlight was seeing Do You Know What I Mean back in the set after so long. I think it's the first time that had been played by the band since 2002. Liam's voice was better than I've heard it sounding for years. It was also interesting seeing some of the arrangements that had been built in their solo careers being brought into an Oasis context. Talk Tonight, for example, was another one of my personal highlights, with Noel playing it alongside Bonehead, but in a way that felt very new and fresh. Perhaps the most poignant moment of the evening was a tribute to Diogo Jota, the Liverpool footballer who'd been killed this week in a car accident, his image displayed on the big screen during Live Forever.
The night ended with Champagne Supernova, which, I’m fairly sure, is the first time that's ever been used as a final song, but it was a perfect ending, with Noel and Liam having a short hug as Liam head off stage, and the crowds went off into the Cardiff night, arm-in-arm, singing the songs that mean so much to all of us. Absolutely biblical night, a purely religious experience.