Oasis\u2019s U.K. shows<\/a>? In Chicago, anyway, the answer was an undeniable yes.<\/p>\n\n\tA 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 Michigan 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 Tour.<\/p>\n
\n\tAny 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\n\tLiam\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\n\n \t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
\n\tBut 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
\n
\n\n
\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\tOasis perform at Soldier Field in Chicago on their Live \u201925 reunion tour. Photo courtesy of Big Brother Recordings.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\tOlder 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\u2019s 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
\n\tOasis, often workman-like 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\n\n \t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n\n\n \t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
\n\tThe response to the whole of Oasis\u2019s catalog, as well as the remarkable amount of twentysomethings in the crowd, made the case that the band has grown a whole new fanbase 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
\n\tOasis in Chicago @ Soldier Field set list: