Best Moments in Cardiff, Wales

How else could they start but with “F—in’ in the Bushes”? The 2000 track was their walk-on music for the final decade of their career, a bolshy two-fingers up rock ‘n’ roller that riled up the crowds. Their use of it was obvious, sure, but immensely satisfying. The boys walked on, hand-in-hand, and pumped their fists as press cuttings about their reunion played out on the screen behind them.

The sweepstakes for their opening song proper was won by anyone who plumped for “Hello,” but “Acquiesce,” the song that followed after, was the song that felt like a proper return. With Noel and Liam sharing main vocals it was the moment that all of this became real, the pair of them together again, doing what they do best. Spine-tingling stuff.

This will not shock you, but Oasis are sounding loud. Very loud, indeed. With the roof closed at the Principality Stadium, the sound was ginormous, with every inch of this 74,500-capacity arena being filled completely. The audience’s appetite for a good sing-along was mighty, of course, building a total wall of sound. “Bring It on Down” packed the same rawness the band showed in their early days back in Manchester; “Cigarettes & Alcohol” was bludgeoning.

Oasis is not about gatekeeping; on “D’You Know What I Mean?,” the band shout out “all my people right here right now,” without prejudice. It’s why 1994 B-side “Fade Away,” which nods to their upbringing in Manchester (Liam asked if anyone was from Burnage, their local district), was such a triumph. Later in the show, “The Masterplan” was dedicated by Noel to “all the people who are 20 and have never seen us before.” It was a reminder that Oasis are a band that encapsulates the highs and lows of being young, free and with a dream.

Noel’s talents as a songwriter are unquestionable. Every song in the 23-track setlist Friday night was chosen for a reason, either for the band or for the audience. Halfway through, Noel took over lead vocal duties for three songs: “Talk Tonight,” “Half the World Away” and “Little by Little.” Each one was worthy of their place in the setlist, particularly the former, which was written in a lost weekend for Noel following a disastrous show in the U.S. back in 1995. It remains one of his most personal songs, a paean to a mystery woman who picked him up at his lowest and showed him that life was worth living.

We’ve been starved of Noel and Liam banter since the reunion was announced, the pair realizing that less was more. Back onstage, they couldn’t stop themselves from running their mouth a bit. Noel joked about the so-called “dynamic pricing” that cost Oasis fans in their mad scramble for a ticket. Liam asked the crowd if it was “worth the £40,000 they paid to get in?” A roar came back to him. “Yeah, I thought so,” he laughed. When he was introducing the band at the show’s close, Noel called Joey Waronker, a brand-new member for this reunion tour, “our 14th drummer.” And hopefully their last.

“Live Forever” can either be read literally or metaphorically depending on your point of view. But tonight, it was meant to be very real. At the end of the song, the band played tribute to late Liverpool F.C. soccer player Diogo Jota, who died tragically in a car accident on Thursday. The band’s ties to soccer runs deep as beloved Manchester City fans, but this moment put tribal hate aside and honored a promising footballer, husband and father who has been lost too soon at the age of 28.

“Don’t Look Back in Anger” is something of an alternative national anthem for the English, a yearning for a lost love and better days. Particularly so in Manchester. Following the terrorist attack at Ariana Grande’s concert in the city back in 2017, which killed 22 people, the song became a rallying cry for resilience in horrible times. As it played Friday night, bees (the symbol of Manchester) buzzed on the big screens. The song is felt so deeply, Noel barely felt the need to sing the song’s chorus. You probably wouldn’t be able to hear him anyway.

For years, the band closed shows with a cover of The Beatles’ “I Am The Walrus,” but this has been ditched for their own masterpiece “Champagne Supernova.” It is a magnificent finale (you wonder why they didn’t use it sooner) and closes the gig perfectly. As Noel and Liam walk offstage, they hug sincerely, earning a massive roar from the crowd.