Now that the hangover is subsiding and events can be viewed in the cold light of day, I can look back at the Oasis gig last night at Sunderland with something like objectivity. And I'm happy to report that rumours of the Gallagher boys' demise as a serious force have been greatly exaggerated!
I'm sure there couldn't have been many of the 50,000 or so who streamed out of The Stadium of Light in the steady drizzle who were in any way disappointed.

Thankfully the rain stayed away for most of the day, allowing our company and several thousand others to descend on the watering holes of Sunderland. The local pubs could rarely, if ever had so profitable a Wednesday afternoon. So much so that we gave up on attempting to manhandle our way to the bar at one pub and instead sat in the beer garden with carrier bags full from the local offie. A tactic, I noticed replicated by many around us. This was important; as any connoisseur will tell you, the correct level of alcohol is vital to the enjoyment of the concert going experience.

Anyway, to the gig itself: I can think of no other band in the modern era with a sound more suited to the stadium atmosphere. By the time the boys took the stage and the tech guys had tuned things up during the warm up bands sessions, the levels appeared pitch perfect.
Straight into Rock 'n Roll Star and the crowd were hooked. From thereon in it was full throttle through a perfectly delivered set. Age certainly seems to be mellowing Liam as well as slightly maturing his voice, as there were no signs of any past bad boy histrionics or sibling warfare, just the memorable Manc drawl that, though certainly not beautiful or classic, just sits so well with Noel's guitar driven compositions. Fair enough, things did seem to dip ever so slightly during the, shall we say "less well regarded" numbers from later albums, but there were enough of the old favourites here to keep the assembled more than happy. "Cigarettes and Alcohol", "Slide Away", "What's the Story Morning Glory", "Live forever" and "Champagne Supernova" were the soundtrack to a certain part of mine, and I'm sure countless other's lives. To see and hear them played live to a crowd of this size was beyond memorable.

Stand out track of the night for me though was "Masterplan", a song that just seems to keep on growing in stature every time I hear it. It was sung word perfectly by almost everyone in the audience and perfectly encapsulated the ethos and attitude of the night.
"Say it loud and sing it proud and they...
Will dance if they want to dance"

They did.
We did.

Nights like this don't happen often enough. In days when weak, ring tone inspired download pap passes for music, we need Oasis more than they need us. Come back soon boys, come back soon.