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The importance of this sing-along aspect cannot be overestimated when assessing Oasis’ music. After this concert, I’m now convinced that it’s the cornerstone of their appeal. Noel Gallagher is not a great or even cogent lyricist, and his melodies can sometimes seem a little samey. But when it comes to writing songs that large groups of individuals in various states of inebriation can sing in unison, perfectly, Bob Dylan and Beethoven have nothing on him. He is the absolute genius of that very specific art form. Oasis is constantly compared to the Beatles, the Sex Pistols, and the other iconic British rock bands. But their songs actually have more in common with “Happy Birthday” or nursery rhymes. (In the case of “Some Might Say,” and “my dog’s been itchin’/itchin’ in the kitchen once again,” I’m talking literal nursey rhymes.) In England, for a certain generation, I imagine they are the kind of tunes you don’t remember ever learning, they just seem implanted in your brain from the time you’re born.

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When the Oasis shows were announced last summer, my friend Steve Gorman — who toured with Oasis many years ago in another lifetime — called it the last big rock reunion tour. At first, I pushed back. Surely there will be others. But then I thought about it: Who is left to reunite and tour on the level that Oasis can? The few remaining big bands/brands that haven’t cashed in already — Talking Heads, The Smiths, anyone else? — seem unlikely to do so. And time is running out for the last remaining giants, a fact reiterated by the tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne that flashed on the jumbotron screens during “Live Forever.”

Stadium shows get a bad rap for good reasons — the sound is lousy, the sightlines are worse, the drinks are overpriced, and getting in and out of the parking lot feels like it takes twice as long as the concert. But at their best, they have a sense of scale that is emotionally overwhelming. They create a temporary world that feels vast and utopian, where the only tasks at hand are music and revelry, where you don’t even care that an extremely high yob karate-chopped your drink because you’re also psyched to hear “The Masterplan.” A great stadium show connects you to a hive mind the size of a decently populated Middle American city, and that’s a very powerful feeling.

Oasis is back because Liam and Noel are (relatively) young middle-aged men, and because there are so few other bands in their lane. The world’s stadiums require groups that have 12 to 15 songs that tens of thousands of people know by heart and want to experience one more time as part of a mass-population event. Oasis can do that, and I suspect they will be on the road for a very long time and will make an extreme amount of money in the process.

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