Rock

Was there ever any doubt? The (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? opening track was tailor-made for this moment, when the long-dormant group reintroduces itself to a rabid fanbase. The final chorus even finds Liam repeating “Hello” as Noel fittingly sings “It’s good to be back.” Is it ever.

The title to the barreling opening track from the band’s massive 1994 sophomore album Definitely Maybe tells you all you need to know about the group whose bravado was as ubiquitous as Liam’s contemptuous sneer. In case anyone needed a reminder, this typically bold statement telegraphs that, 30 years later, they are still truly rock n’ roll staaaaaars.

Another DM classic, this T. Rex-like wall of noise rager bangs on about the futility of looking for meaning in life anywhere but at the bottom of a bottle, ashtray or bindle of coke. After all, as Liam shouts over Noel’s cascade of distorted riffs, “You gotta make it happen,” and you can believe fans will be hoisting their beers and counting their tears of joy.

The energy will stay all the way up by continuing the string of rockers with this semi-title track from their blockbuster 1995 sophomore album. (Bonus points if they kick it off with an IRL helicopter buzzing the stadium.)

For a writer who never tired of cribbing from The Beatles’ songbook, this Noel-penned psychedelic shuffle from 1997’s Be Here Now is the perfect breather after the headlong rush of the opening quartet. Plus, the arms-around-shoulders-drunken-sway potential for punters yelping “All my people right here, right now/ D’you know what I mean?” at their fellow golden ticket holders is priceless.

A longtime standard in the group’s live shows, and their sixth of eight No. 1s in the U.K., “Times” is a proper driving, trippy rocker that serves as the obvious segue from “D’You Know” to …

Given that most of the group’s fans are now nearing or past middle age, the geezers might need a breather in the first third of the show. The swaying first single — and another U.K. No. 1 — from the 2000’s Standing on the Shoulder of Giants does the trick. One of Noel’s most blatant Beatles bites, “Go Let It Out” is the quintessential sing-along, as you can imagine a stadium of emotional superfans affirming “we’re the builders of their destiny!!!!!”

As the euphoria begins to settle in, a jump back to the start for this beloved dreamy ballad about an endless love from Definitely Maybe has all the feels. Not that they need it, but Oasis fans love nothing more than a song about an intense connection, whether it’s with a lover, or each other.

Time for the first ballad of the night, the earnest second single from Be Here Now. Get your lighters out, throw your arm around your mates, and thank your lucky stars that the Gallaghers are once again standing by each other.

“Some might say” that this whole reunion tour is a radical optimist’s dream, so it only makes sense to deploy the Morning Glory lead single, a rose-colored-glasses anthem that suggests “we will find a brighter day” if we just look hard enough for one – or if we wait 15 years.

We suggest Liam grab a pint during this Noel-fronted acoustic twofer, giving proper shine to a pair of fan-favorite ballads from 1998’s B-sides compilation The Masterplan. While “Talk Tonight” was aptly inspired by one of the band’s (many) near-breakups, “Half the World Away” made headlines when Liam dedicated it to his then-seemingly-estranged brother at Reading Festival just last week — making this an especially poignant pair of tunes.

OK, enough weeping; back to the rock. Oasis’ first-ever single included all the touchstones we’d come to expect from the Manchester lads, from the perfectly unapologetic opening line (“I need to be myself/ I can’t be no one else”) to the on-the-nose Beatles references (“You can sail with me in my yellow submarine”). What better way to celebrate the band’s new beginning than by going back to where it all began?

Time to shake along with your fellow concertgoers to this Definitely Maybe single, a swirling, neo-psychedelic Britpop update of the tune that inspired the 1971 soda ad jingle “Buy the World a Coke.”

One of the few enduring standouts from the band’s sixth studio album, 2005’s Don’t Believe the Truth, this buoyant, foot-stomping track has also become a set staple. Plus, c’mon, an hour into the greatest night of your life, you can’t wait to hear 60,000-plus fans bellow, “Hey Lyla!!!!” 

Optimism is a recurring theme throughout Oasis’ catalog, and that unbridled positivity is never more sincere than on the chorus of this “Wonderwall” B-side: “Dance if you wanna dance, please brother take a chance!” We have a feeling the audience will accept Noel Gallagher’s invitation.

The second track from what is arguably a perfect album, this Morning Glory favorite not only properly kicked off Oasis’ chart rivalry with Britpop contemporaries Blur, but also provided yet another example of Noel’s unequivocal mastery of writing stadium-worthy anthems about not giving any F’s what people think of you. This far into the show, fans will surely be feeling pretty good about themselves and the track’s message, ’cause after all: They didn’t let anyone get in the way of seeing their beloved band onstage again.

In our book, there are no bathroom-break songs in this magical set. Some newbies might pop off to the loo during this sedate acoustic weeper dedicated to Noel’s concern about the then-perilous existence of The Verve singer Richard Ashcroft, but if you don’t raise a pint and howl the chorus into your seatmate’s face, what are you even doing here?

Now we’re getting to the big guns. The epic Morning Glory ballad will be the ultimate psychedelic sing-along – as well as a crowd air-guitar-off during the extended instrumental interlude – as we ramp up to the very biggest hits of Oasis’ career.

In the Oasis catalog, there are typically the Liam-fronted songs and the Noel-fronted songs and never the twain shall meet. But the brothers Gallagher, well, acquiesced on this one and split up lead vocals, with Liam tackling the verses and Noel handling the chorus – including that so-true-it-hurts line that we can’t wait to hear onstage: “Because we neeeeeeeed each other.”

All the roads we had to walk are winding — and they all led to this moment. We wonder if we’ll even be able to hear Liam’s vocals over the crowd shout-singing to Oasis’ most enduring anthem. Over the past 15 years, both brothers have continued to perform their own versions of the band’s signature hit – the fourth single from Morning Glory – but nothing can ever replace the original: Noel’s simple strumming backing up Liam’s unmistakable voice.

This one will be particularly moving – especially for the brothers’ five hometown shows – after the Morning Glory single was embraced as the unofficial tribute song for the victims of the deadly Manchester Arena bombing in 2017. And in the light of the reunion tour, it symbolizes a range of healthy turning points for the once-warring siblings: burying the hatchet, living life without regret and generally finding the silver lining in every cloud. Whatever the song represents to each fan lucky enough to be at Live ’25, this sing-along will bring the house down.

Forget what we said up top. If you’re not totally wrung out and on the verge of tears of joy by this absolutely titanic Definitely Maybe classic you’ve done it wrong. Even now, nearly a year out, we’re already screeching “you and I we’re gonna live forever!!!!!” into our screens in our worst Liam falsetto. Be honest, has there ever been a better message to send us off after the greatest night of our lives?