Well, we've all been waiting for the North American tour to kick off, and it started with a bang in Toronto last night. I was fortunate enough to see them in Toronto in 2002 as well, and I suppose I can't stop drawing comparisons to that show. The 2002 show was simply amazing, with an outstanding setlist.

I did something funny leading up to this show...I didn't read any reviews, or look at any setlists from recent shows. I wanted to be totally surprised. So...here goes...

The show started as it has the past few years with Fuckin' in the Bushes. This turned what looked like a terribly bored audience into an immediate madhouse. Is there any better way to announce that the boys are coming on stage???

Immediately after, they launched into Turn Up The Sun, and it sounded good. The boys were on, and ready to rock. Is it as good a way to start a show as Hello, like they did on their last tour? Not quite, but it sounded great nonetheless.

Next camp Lyla, and holy crap did this ever set off the crowd! Turn Up The Sun was good, but the crowd was waiting for something to bring them together, and this was it. I tell you, it was exactly as in the video - as soon as the first chorus of "Heyyyyy Lyla" hit you had 16,000 people immediately jumping up and down. Enough to send chills down your spine, and absolutely fantastic. Totally full of energy, and a song truly deserves to be played live for many years.

Love Like A Bomb came next, and it was another great performance. Some songs sound good live, and some don't. This one needs to stay, and needs to be a few minutes longer. I suppose you could say that of many of the new songs...they're short, and short songs don't necessarily kick up the audience like the longer anthems do. Short, but oh so sweet.

A minute long pounding of the drums left much of the crowd wondeing was was coming, and kicked off the entry to Bring It On Down. As I said, I hadn't looked at setlists at all so that I could be surprised, and this was a surprise. So, they did want to play something a bit different. Nice choice. I've gotta say, it's not one of my favorites off of DM, but it might be now! Damn did it sound great. I thought it was 1994 all over again. After starting the show with a flurry of the new stuff, it was great that the boys played something for those of us that have been there from the beginning. Unfortunately in a crowd that big you have people that know all of the songs, and people that know the hits. Much of the crowd kind of looked at each other and mouthed "what's this." Maybe they'll go back and have a listen, because hearing this song performed live was special, and has given me a new appreciation of it, much like hearing Better Man on the last tour.

Next came the familiar opening screeches of Morning Glory, and the crowd erupted. Is there any better opening in rock? Bring it on Down might have thrown them off a bit, but there was no mistaking that everybody knew exactly what was coming next. The boys were in top form for this one, and so was the crowd. Not much to say except that it was classic Oasis at they're best - loud, and on fire. Thanks for keeping it in the set, boys.

Another one for the older fans, and by this time we're starting to figure out a trend...mix the very new with the very old, and not much else in between. Cigarrettes and Alcohol set the crowd rocking to another of the classics, with 16,000 fans raising their beers in the air. The boys played it with the perfection and intensity gained from years of experience sending fans into a frenzy. Liam was on top form, and seemed to be soaking up the energy from the fans. Often throughout the night you'd see him clapping along to the audience, or merely staring at them like a god looking over his people. He does it like nobody else can, for sure.

So we're approaching the mid way mark of the show and it's apparent that they'll probably skip over BHN, SOTSOG and HC. They're mixing the really old with the new, but they've got to know that there is so much more that we want to hear? This crowd was pumped, and you know they'd just explode if they heard anthems such as Stand By Me, Stop Crying Your Heart Out, Acquiesce, etc. Not to be. Maybe one day we'll get to hear some of that great stuff again. I'm not comlaining, but when you know that you're going to hear the same three or four each from DM and MG, it leaves little else to the imagination. Well, back to the show.

The lights went out briefly after Cigs & Alc, and you could see the guitar techs running around on stage setting up Noel. Are we going to get a bit of a Noel show? Accoustic? Please? No, but it was Noel's turn for a few. The familiar rhythm rifs of The Importance of Being Idle started up and I thought "here we go, this should be good." Some songs translate well into a live show, and some don't. I love this song, but it just shouldn't be played live. It's inherently a very quiet song, and both Noel's high pitched singing and the accoustic guitars were lost to the crowd noise. If I didn't know the words and the music I was searching for, it would have been lost to me as it was to much of the crowd. This quieted them down a bit as they strained to pay attention. It's one instance of me being glad that the song is so short.

Noel continued on with Little By Little, a pleasant surprise that got the crowd back into it with the sing-a-long chorus. I'm glad they've kept this in the rotation, but again Noel's quiet lyrics didn't do much for the casual fan who might not know the song all too well. Well played, though not quite at the standard of the last tour.

Some songs sort of blend into the album but, when played live, make you really take notice of them. Better Man did this on the last - it was an outstanding live song. Well, this year's kick ass live classic is A Bell Will Ring. Wow!!! I mean WOW!!! This is absolutely powerful, and is custom made for performing live at the larger football stadiums of Europe. It had been a great show up to this point, but this my friends was the icing on the cake. Obviously Liam loves it, loves to sing it, he's already made it a classic in the same way that Live Forever and Acquiesce are classic.

Speaking of classics...if you ever hear Live Forever live and it doesn't send chills down your spine, then your either deaf or dead. A Bell Will Ring was great, but this is the grandaddy of great. One of the greastest songs ever. Oh yeah. The greatest LIVE song ever? Without a Doubt. Three years ago Liam had told the crowd "if this is your first time seeing Oasis play, this is what it's all about." I'll never forget that, because it's so true. Live forever is what brings out the best in them, and in the fans. It brings every single person in the crowd together, and whether you've heard it a million times or never before, there is absolutely no mistaking the importance of that song. No introduction this time, but brilliant as usual, and capped with Liam's classic "thank you very much."

Liam was noticable quiet tonight - not at all cracking jokes and messing around like he did three years ago when he told a mosquito to go buy a tee shirt. Tonight he seemed to be totally absorbed with the energy of the fans. Honestly, it seemed that he was thanking US for being there, often taking the time throughout the evening to stand at stage front and applaud the fans. There was big energy in the audience, and he noticed it and seemed to be soaking it up like a god standing before his people. There will never be another one like him, ever.

The crowd ineraction on this night oddly enough came from Noel, who told the crowd to stop throwing demo CD's up on stage. "Do you really think anyone's going to listen to them? Pick them up and you'll get a record deal? Well, that would be a story wouldn't it! How f--king insane are you?" Funny as hell. He also took the time to introduce Zak Starkey, and I tell you he's a wild man on drums. Mind you, he's no Tony McCarroll...thankfully.

The next two, The Meaning Of Soul and Mucky Fingers, fall into the category of "well, now we've played them and you'll probably never hear them live again." Once again, good on the CD but not really great on stage. Meaning of Soul has no real purpose in being there, and was a big filler after following Live Forever. Mind you, almost any other song would be. Mucky Fingers? These new Noel sung songs are good, but unless it's a quiet accoustic song, his voice just gets lost behind the wall of noise. He either needs to be belting at the top of his lungs as he does on Don't Look Back In Anger, or else you hear nothing but the music. Better to save it for quieter venues.

Champagne Supernova came on next and again whipped the crowd into a high energy frenzy. It seemed to be like that all night - the energy would go up and down - quiet song, loud song, etc - and it was all due to the setlist and the order. This crowd wanted to let loose, but there seemed to be to rhythm or flow to the set list. Instead of building throughout the night, the crowd was constantly bring brought up and down all night. Champagne Supernova was great, as you would expect, and was a treat for Toronto because they haven't played it in a few years.

Now for another one of the songs that were absolutely stellar tonight...Rock and Roll Star. We've all heard this a million times, but never like this. I'd fly to see Oasis again this summer just so I can hear them let loose on this one again. This was the closer to the night (except for the encore), and everything bombarded you at once...lights, guitars, vocals and killer drums. Absolutely unforgettable, and more than you could ever ask for. This is high energy rock and roll, in a display of greatness that will live on and on. There could not possibly be a better way to end the set.

Time for the encore...this should be something special for the fan...a surprise of sorts. But seeing as how we were missing a few songs that we know they'll play, some of the excitement was missing. That's not to say that the energy wasn't there, it's just that you knew exactly what was coming.

Whoa - hold on...a surprise of sorts. They're starting the encore with Songbird? We know they still need to play Wonderwall and DLBIA, but of all the songs to add to the encore they settle on Songbird?

Well, songbird was played nice, but 16,000 people don't especially want nice. They want to let loose, to get blown away in a way that Acquiesce, Supersonic or even Fade Away would fire them up. Well, Songbird it is. I'm personally not a fan of it, and though it was fine to hear it, it's not what I came for. So, Songbird came and went and we moved onto Wonderwall.

Wonderwall was given to us in it's heavy guitar splendor of the Be Here now tour. It was different than the slow and soft, newer version that Noel had been tinkering with last tour, but fantastic nonetheless. It was more reminiscent of the older Oasis that we've all known and loved - let's play it loud and lets do it right. They did it right...fantastic.

Don't Look Back In Anger was unreal, as it always is. It just makes you look around and be amazed at how good 16,000 people can sound when their hearts are all focused on one thing...living and feeling the song. Is there any other song that is so eagerly anticipated, where everybody knoes every word, and wants to show it? It's a crowd favorite, and it must be amazing that after all these years it will still send every crowd around the world into a high pitched sing along. You really have to experience this song live to understand it's true popularity. Always a nice treat.

The closer was again My Generation. It was great, but it was also expected and maybe it's time to find something else. How about bringing back All Around The World? The boys seem to have lost a bit of their enthusiasm for this song, but as Noel said "they'll keep playing it until they find something better."

Track count: 18 (not including Fuckin' In The Bushes)
DM - 4
MG - 4
HC - 2
DBTT - 7
+ My Generation

Noticably Absent : Supersonic, Some Might Say, Stop Crying Your Heart Out, Acquiese

New Songs: A mix. Some were spectacular (Lyla, A Bell Will Ring, Love Like A Bomb) and some aren't made to play live (Mucky Fingers, Meaning Of Soul). I really wish they would have included Keep The Dream Alive.

The highlight: I heard a quote the other day that said something like "life is not about the amount of breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away." We're lucky that we may get a few of these moments each time we go to see Oasis. Really, it's a breathtaking event to the hardened fan or the casual listener. Tonights moment of mements? Rock and Roll Star...hands down! I've never heard anything like it - it was just incredible, unreal, unbelievable....

Overall: Obviously a fastastic gig, but the setlist was weird and somewhat disappointing. It just seemed to have no flow - they would wind up the crowd, then bring them down a notch. Oasis are the kind of band who could play 2 hours of high energy songs, but they seem reluctant to dig that deep into their back catalog anymore. Bring it on Down was cool, but is it just me or does anyone else thing that Digsy's Dinner would be cool too? Fade Away?

In 2002 they played a spectacular setlist (including Supersonic, Columbia, Hello) and the new songs from HC kicked ass live. HC had some real live classics in SCYHO, Little By Little, Better Man, Born On A Different Cloud. And if we look back further to the Glory days of the Be Here Now tour, there are some amazing songs that we may never hear live again. Maybe one day they'll give us a truly inclusive setlist spanning all of their albums.

Anyway, fantastic show. Not as good as 2002, but better than Brotherly Love tour. They were in top form for us, and Oasis in top for is a world better than anyone else, regardless of the setlist. Just bring back some of the Be Here Now stuff...please?