San Jose Mercury

IT'S A GOOD thing Oasis still has its gloriously bad attitude.

Allowing Jet and Kasabian on the same tour, which pulled into the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View Sunday, was a masterstroke for the Britpop band, whose newest record, "Don't Believe the Truth," isn't exactly burning up the charts. Not compared to its id-'90s reign as the most important (and self-important) band coming out of Britain.

In the face of the apparent dominance of Coldplay and other bands influenced by Oasis, this was an important tour for the group, whose members probably wouldn't admit that they still aren't as big as the Beatles (not that they ever were). Still, they had to feel some pressure this summer, especially booking big venues when they haven't had a bona fide major hit in the United States for a long time.

They responded well Sunday. They needed to.

Kasabian and Jet are both up-and-comers and, while opener Kasabian has been all the rage this year, Jet nearly blew everyone off the stage Sunday, with its fiery AC/DC-meets-the-Who power that felt like a good kick to the teeth when it was all over.

Kasabian wasn't as energetic this time as during its last Shoreline appearance at BFD a few months back. But Sunday did allow them a chance to be more focused and play a fuller set. Singer Tom Meighan, with his Jagger stage persona in full effect, could be a star, if only his band was a bit more definable. The songs are good and their energy was infectious, especially on set closer "Clubfoot." They have a nice on-stage vibe and a lot of confidence, but haven't been around long enough to feel like they can let up.

Same goes for Jet, which brings some of the biggest guitar sounds from its native Australia since AC/DC crashed onto the scene 30 years ago. But Jet demonstrated it understands that nothing sets up the thunder better than the subtlety of a piano song like "Look What You've Done," a big sing-along favorite with the girls on Sunday.

There are a lot of other influences, all of which come from the '70s. From the swaggering boogie of the Stones to the blue-collar crunch of Bachman Turner Overdrive, Jet is loyal to good old guitar rock, no matter the direction of a song.

As well put together as their debut record, "Get Born," is, Jet sounds much tighter and explosive live, with layers of guitar spread over bass and drums. For all its straight-ahead ability, drummer Chris Cester almost had a swing feel in his constant pounding on the floor tom.

The band rolled through most of the record in 45 minutes, from the sneering "Cold Hard (expletive)" to the Bo Diddley-goes-punk- rocker set-ender, "Take It or Leave It." There was almost a challenge hanging in the air when they walked off stage.

Surprisingly Oasis responded, but not necessarily by playing up to the energy of the other bands. In typical Oasis fashion, they played well, unveiled an amazing light show and brought enough rock 'n' roll apathy to shame the Sex Pistols.

Of course it's mostly shtick with Oasis, especially notorious singer Liam Gallagher, who once refused to go onstage during an MTV special, forcing his guitarist brother Noel to sing the whole set. It was much more fun for Liam to climb into the balcony and heckle Noel throughout.

Liam didn't acknowledge his band on Sunday, constantly walked off stage when he didn't need to be there, and stood as still as a statue much of the night, grabbing his crotch and glaring at the crowd. It was hilarious, which probably wasn't his intention. So what? Oasis isn't as big as it once was, but they obviously have no idea. For them to act like anything but rock stars would be disappointing.

Oasis is one of the few bands that can get away with just standing onstage, playing and letting an epic light show bathe the crowd in mood. They sound richly loud onstage, play tightly ... and don't move. There's also that added tension to keep the crowd's interest, as if everyone waits for the brothers to start fighting onstage. It's happened before. At various times you could hear people in the audience yell, "Fight."

From opener "Turn up the Sun," Liam leaned into the mic like he was ready to either run away or kick it into the crowd. Noel drives the band with non-spectacular, layered guitar that never seems out of place. They rolled through "Lyla," "Bring it On Down" and a rocking "Morning Glory," a fond remembrance of the mid-'90s when Oasis could barely do wrong.

As richly textured as their material can be, it's easy to forget in the face of the moody hits that Oasis has a definite post-punk feel. That came out Sunday when they played their first big single "Live Forever." Still, things sagged a bit at times, which served to separate the still-loyal fans from everyone else (the others are the ones who sat through the down times).

No one sat, though, during the burst of atmosphere on back-to-back hits "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova," during which Liam pointedly glared off stage and stopped singing, as if someone wasn't doing his job. "Rock and Roll Star" kicked them back into rock mode, after which Liam gave away his tambourine to a fan. After a big sing-along to "Don't Look Back in Anger," they finished with a noisy version of the Who's "My Generation."

The bill seemed like a mismatch in terms of relevancy, but Oasis hasn't lost anything when it comes to capable playing and rock attitude. Or simply standing onstage and glaring at people. For them, it somehow seems right.


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