<\/p>\n
Liam Gallagher and his brother Noel led Oasis through their first U.S. concert date in 17 years Thursday night in Chicago. – Credit: Joshua Halling\/Courtesy Big Brother Recordings<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The last time Oasis played a concert in the United States, it was December 2008, and the band was just months away from a backstage fracas between brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher in Paris that would prematurely end the tour, estrange<\/a> the siblings for more than a decade, and sink any lingering hope of them ever conquering America the way they did their native U.K.<\/p>\n Thursday night in Chicago, however, at the first U.S. show of Oasis\u2019s still hard-to-believe Live \u201925 reunion tour, the Gallaghers \u2014\u00a0after weeks of increasingly warm hugs, smiles, and ass grabs<\/a> \u2014 seemed intent on finishing what they started on their debut tour of America in 1994. This was a band that, despite 16 years apart, looked and sounded capable of taking over the stadium-rock throne that\u2019s soon to be vacated by perennial seat fillers like the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and U2.<\/p>\n More from Rolling Stone<\/strong><\/p>\n But would U.S. fans match the energy of the rapturous crowds at Oasis\u2019s U.K. shows<\/a>? In Chicago, anyway, the answer was an undeniable yes.<\/p>\n A day before the stadium concert, a sellout of 52,000, the Oasis faithful queued up for 90 minutes or more at a pop-up store on Milwaukee Avenue about seven miles from the stadium to buy all manner of merch \u2014\u00a0track jackets and bucket hats, especially. Adidas sneakers were ubiquitous in line, as were T-shirts from past U.S tours, including that ill-fated 2008 trek, the Dig Out Your Soul<\/em> tour.<\/p>\n Any fears that this tour would implode before it reached American shores proved unfounded, and fans celebrated the seemingly impossible on a pristine late-summer night in Chicago. They reveled in the on-the-nose message of set opener \u201cHello,\u201d bonded over the brotherly unity of \u201cAcquiesce,\u201d and linked arms and jumped up and down en masse in a soccer poznan<\/em> ritual during \u201cCigarettes & Alcohol,\u201d to the delight of Liam. \u201cEverybody said Americans wouldn\u2019t do that fucking shit,\u201d he addressed fans after the song. \u201cOf course they will.\u201d<\/p>\n Liam\u2019s discipline and steady demeanor have been the revelation of the Live \u201925 Tour. No frontman in rock & roll conveys so much by doing so little, and at Soldier Field, his most grand gesture was marching in place during a show-ending \u201cChampagne Supernova.\u201d During \u201cWonderwall,\u201d he pulled up the hood on his anorak to all but obscure his face, letting his vocal \u2014\u00a0that unmistakable whine still packs a wicked punch \u2014 command the stage.<\/p>\n But Oasis fans don\u2019t come expecting outsized theatrics from Liam. He long ago cemented his place in the pantheon of rock silhouettes simply by singing with his hands clasped behind his back, his neck craning upward to the microphone. During \u201cStand by Me,\u201d he added a dash of flair, goading fans into singing the final chorus by repeatedly flicking his ears. \u201cFookin\u2019 mega to be back in America,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve always loved ya.\u201d<\/p>\n Older brother Noel, meanwhile, has loosened the dour visage he seemed to be sporting at early reunion concerts. To some fans who dissected the first few shows of the tour with all the intensity of history buffs examining the Zapruder film, it seemed that something was amiss with Oasis\u2019 guitarist and chief songwriter. He looked sheepish, even reluctant. But with every concert since, he\u2019s let down his guard, shooting smirks and glances at Liam and cheekily introducing the band \u2014 \u201cMr. Bone,\u201d Noel referred to original guitarist Paul \u201cBonehead\u201d Arthurs in Chicago. During \u201cChampagne Supernova,\u201d he was all but beaming.<\/p>\n Oasis, often workmanlike in their performances, have played the same set on every night of the Live \u201825 Tour, but no matter \u2014 each of the 23 songs landed with an ovation. To the U.S. crowd\u2019s credit, they didn\u2019t come only for hits that were all over radio and MTV in the Nineties. While \u201cDon\u2019t Look Back in Anger\u201d and \u201cWonderwall,\u201d off their massive 1995 album, (What\u2019s the Story) Morning Glory?<\/em>, unsurprisingly received the biggest pops of the night, a host of cellphones greeted non-U.S. singles like \u201cSlide Away\u201d and \u201cWhatever\u201d too. And fans vied to match the vocal prowess of their U.K. counterparts during Noel\u2019s performance of \u201cLittle by Little,\u201d hollering \u201cMy god woke up on the wrong side of his bed!\u201d in unison.<\/p>\n The response to the whole of Oasis\u2019 catalog, as well as the remarkable amount of twentysomethings in the crowd, made the case that the band has grown a whole new fan base across the Atlantic. Thirty-one years since they first performed in the U.S., the Gallaghers can still break America. Or, maybe in Chicago, they already did.<\/p>\n Oasis in Chicago @ Soldier Field set list: Best of Rolling Stone<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for RollingStone’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/strong>\u201cHello\u201d
\u201cAcquiesce\u201d
\u201cMorning Glory\u201d
\u201cSome Might Say\u201d
\u201cBring It on Down\u201d
\u201cCigarettes & Alcohol\u201d
\u201cFade Away\u201d
\u201cSupersonic\u201d
\u201cRoll With It\u201d
\u201cTalk Tonight\u201d
\u201cHalf the World Away\u201d
\u201cLittle by Little\u201d
\u201cD\u2019You Know What I Mean?\u201d
\u201cStand by Me\u201d
\u201cCast No Shadow\u201d
\u201cSlide Away\u201d
\u201cWhatever\u201d
\u201cLive Forever\u201d
\u201cRock \u2018n\u2019 Roll Star\u201d
\u201cThe Masterplan\u201d
\u201cDon\u2019t Look Back in Anger\u201d
\u201cWonderwall\u201d
\u201cChampagne Supernova\u201d<\/p>\n