this butthead cant even keep the brothers straight



DALLAS - On their way to the Austin City Limits festival this weekend, the English rock band Oasis stopped off at Smirnoff Music Centre Thursday night, bringing with them material from a great new album and their traditionally cavalier attitudes.

With fellow Brits Coldplay dogging them in record and ticket sales, now would be an obvious time for Oasis to resort to traditional, predictable crowd-hyping, if only to make themselves still feel relevant. It was nice, and somewhat of a surprise, to see the Gallagher brothers -- lead singer Noel and guitarist/singer Liam -- as casual and nonchalant as they usually are. At the same time, Oasis fans know that Noel isn't going to jump around or try to get the crowd to sing along; they know, and were reassured, that when he's not singing, he's just going to stand there like a pole.

And so it went at Smirnoff, where the band, with openers Jet and Kasabian, played to a crowd of about 7,500. They touted their fantastic new record, Don't Believe the Truth, via the opening one-two punch of the melodramatic Turn Up the Sun and the jangly Lyla, the group's current single.

Wearing sunglasses and a sport coat and singing in his pleasantly raspy voice, Noel embodied a detached-cool aura, barely acknowledging the audience -- or his band mates, for that matter. Occasionally, he hung a tambourine from his nose.

Liam got his turn at the mike with The Importance of Being Idle, a '60s-pop-influenced gem and one of Truth's best songs.

Visually, the show was stunning.

Soft and harsh lights accentuated each song. On the majestic Morning Glory, orange and red lights colored the stage like a sunset. For the rowdy Cigarettes and Alcohol, which Noel dedicated to "all the alcoholics" in the audience, twinkling white lights and purple rays created a Vegaslike mood -- fun but still a little dangerous. Yeah, same 'ol Oasis.

GRADE: B+

Star Telegramm