Oasis USA Tour (1994)
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Surprisingly, many Americans were among the 62,000 fans at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium to see the historic event, because they didn’t think the two brothers, Noel and Liam Gallagher, would be corrigible with each other by the time they land in America.
Oasis at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (April 13, 1996)
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I’ll do one better, as I previously mentioned, I have seen the band two years prior, in 1994, at Melarkey's, in Sacramento.
Let me set up this story for you. In the early 90s, I was already well on board into British Rock (which would later be known as Britpop). I was into Blur, Pulp, The Auteurs, and, of course, Sleeper (as far back as 1993). Naturally, this new band called Oasis came onto the scene with their explosive 1994 debut single, “Supersonic”. I was already familiar with the band before their single came out, as they were regularly being featured in the NME and Melody Maker weekly music papers.
Oasis’ songs were unapologetic rock and roll. Lyrically, Oasis didn’t hold a candle to The Smiths (which Noel had expressed was some of their inspiration), but Noel’s lyrics just sounded good against the aggressive guitar sound. The songs just sound so good, and there was no singer that sounded like Liam’s exaggerated pronunciations.
By the time the band released their debut album, Definitely Maybe, I knew Oasis was going to take over the world. Definitely Maybe is one of the few albums that I can listen from start to finish. That’s a rare thing, as every album had one or two bad songs, not Definitely Maybe. That entire debut album had nothing but hits.
Vu’s FCC Radio License (Jan 26, 1995)
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It proved to be a good choice, as when we got there for soundcheck, the band was casually just hanging around the city. Liam and Bonehead was sitting outside; fans were just walking up to them. No securities, they weren’t famous in America… at least not yet.
I long-lost the cassette tape with my interview with Liam. I’ve lost that photo of Liam and I. What I will forever have is my fond memory of the whole event: I could not literally understand Liam’s thick Manchester accent.
One of my questions that I asked Liam, and I assumed he wrote Oasis’ songs (remember this was kind of pre-internet) and asked him about the songwriting process. I think Liam got offended by it. I only remember that answer, “I’m the fooking singer.” I should have put two-and-two together, because we saw the soundcheck - and guess who was doing all the work? Noel. He sang and played the guitar. I don’t recall any of the other band members checking their instruments either!
Oasis: Definitely Maybe (autographed)
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We spent the rest of the day walking around the city and then came back to the venue when the concert started. We didn’t see the opening band (Melinda didn’t care for them), and we didn’t stay for the full show, because it was a two-hour drive back to Fresno, and we both had to work in the morning. I think we left when they played “Live Forever”, which I thought could be a good single (and it was eventually a hit single).
Nicole Garrison (May 22, 1994)
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Yeah, we did see Oasis again in 1996 (as regular fans) and have followed their musical career until their end in 2009, and I still love the band. It would be nice to see them in 2025, on their 30th anniversary of Definitely Maybe… but seeing as their entire tour is sold out (and at astronomical prices) and at very limited three USA venues (nowhere near Jacksonville!), it is just not possible to see them now.
Still love Oasis, I am very happy to see them back together again.
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