Oasis Reebok Stadium Bolton 15th July 2000
I came late in terms of getting to see Oasis in concert. They came up during a time that my gig going was at a low point, and it wasn’t until 2000 that I finally got to see them. By then I had missed (and regretted doing so) their massive Knebworth gig, so I was pretty keen to see what the Gallagher brothers were like live. When they announced their next tour, I bought tickets immediately for their (relatively) home town gig at Bolton Reebok football stadium. Marie and I travelled across to Manchester by train, staying at the Midland hotel, and taking the train across to Bolton. We arrived just in time to catch some of the first support act, which was ex-Smiths Johnny Marr’s new band the Healers. Next up were Shaun Ryder and his Manchester heroes the Happy Mondays. Both went down well with the home crowd and warmed everyone up for the main attraction.
This gig came shortly after the Gallagher brothers had one of their bust-ups which resulted in Noel walking out of the European leg of the Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants world tour, and the scrapping of French tour dates. The tour tcontinued with a stand-in for Noel, but luckily the brothers had made it up by the time the tour reached the UK. Oasis opened their set with Don’t Let It Out, and played for around 90 minutes, featuring all of their well known songs. We were up in the stands to the left of the stage, and the sound wasn’t great up there, but Oasis were still impressive.
However, my most enduring memory of the day comes from the journey back to Manchester. We left during the encores in the hope of getting a headstart before the massive crowds rolled out onto the trains. The station was walking distance from the Stadium. We got onto the platform without any problem, and stood waiting for the next train. And we waited and waited, as more and more people piled onto the platform. Soon the station was completely packed to the extent people were in danger of being pushed onto the tracks. Eventually a train arrived and everyone piled on. I’ve never been on such a packed train; it was so full you couldn’t move at all, with people up on tables and every inch of space taken; to the extent it was dangerous and pretty frightening. The short journey from Bolton to Oxford Road seemed to take forever. How we managed to squeeze our way out of the carriage I don’t know. Marie lost a shoe in the process and I literally had to pull her out of the carriage. She wasn’t in too good a mood travelling back the next morning with only one shoe 🙂 Very bad organisation, which left a bad taste after what was, otherwise a great gig.
From a review of the time: “Oasis just know how to rock an entire stadium. The entire crowd rocked when ‘Supersonic’ played, they jumped when ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’ played, they laughed when Liam spoke, they reminisced about Knebworth when ‘Live Forever’ and ‘Champagne Supernova’ oozed from the giant speakers. You could see the atmosphere it was that rich.” Reblogged from: http://www.ciao.co.uk/OASIS_Bolton_Reebok_Stadium__44759
Setlist: Go Let It Out; Who Feels Love?; Supersonic; Shakermaker; Acquiesce; Step Out; Gas Panic!; Roll With It; Stand By Me; Wonderwall; Cigarettes & Alcohol; Don’t Look Back in Anger; Live Forever. Encore: Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) (Neil Young cover); Champagne Supernova; Rock ‘n’ Roll Star
Archive for the ‘Happy Mondays’ Category
14 Jan
Oasis Reebok Stadium Bolton 15th July 2000
4 May
Happy Mondays Newcastle Academy May 3rd 2012
Happy Mondays Newcastle Academy May 3rd 2012
Happy Mondays started their reunion tour last night with a great gig at Newcastle Academy. I was at a meeting in London yesterday, so David and Laura met me off the train at 8.30 and we walked up to the Academy. This meant that we missed support act Inspiral Carpets. The venue was absolutely packed and everyone was looking forward to seeing the first performance of the original Happy Mondays line up for 19 years. And we weren’t disappointed. Shortly after 9pm Bez walked onto the stage and introduced the band. Next up were Rowetta and the rest of the band, followed by front man Shaun Ryder. We were in the balcony, looking down on the stage, and the crowd downstairs were just going mental. 
The set was a mix of classics, with Step On You as the last song. Amazing gig, although the sound mix was a little murky from where we were. The band were very much up for it, and made lots of references to this being the first night back; they seemed pleased with themselves and the crowd reaction. Lots of swearing from Shaun, who had a cheeky go at Bez for being 50 and a grandfather. Star of the show for me was Rowetta, who looked and sounded stunning and had a smile right across her face.
Vintagerock's Weblog. 