So my third trip to Wembley in a week meant that I was prepared for the layout if not the crowd...
Annoyingly The Enemy, who were billed as part of the support, weren't playing so we we hung about with nothing to do except eat popcorn until the first support act finally came on. Reverend and the Makers are a good band - a bit political for my liking but at least they have something to say. The frontman worked the crowd really well and I'm tempted to download a couple of their songs if not the whole album. I felt a bit sorry for them as they were obviously only allowed to use half the stage, but they made the most of it.
In the absence of The Enemy (boo), Kasabian were up next. Now, I'd been impressed with them at Live Earth and they certainly got the crowd going mad, but it was just a bit too heavy for me. Call me a musical lightweight but I like to be able to sing along to the songs and I couldn't do that with Kasabian.
Anyway, on to the main event - the Gallagher brothers and whoever else is making up the band at the moment (apparently they're on their 5th drummer). Liam, with his charismatic stance and his vaguely tent-like mac was instantly recognisable even from way up at the back.
Back in the 90s I was most definitely in the Oasis camp in the battle of the Britpop bands - while I like Country House as much as the next person, What's The Story was the album (on cassette!!) that never left my walkman. And I'd always wanted to see them live, so I'd been looking forward to this for about 14 years (ouch, that hurt to admit to). Their stage show is like the complete antithesis of Take That - no showmanship at all, and certainly no elephants. Just the band standing there, playing their instruments and singing. Back to basics if you like. Which I do like, but when you're up in level 5, 80,000 people away from the stage you kind of wouldn't mind the odd elephant as the band are about the size of ants at the other end of the stadium.
Anyhow, it really is about the music and we were lucky not to suffer from the sound problems that they'd had previously on the tour. The back catalogue of the band is super amazing - my favourite songs on the night had to be Morning Glory, The Masterplan and the magical version of Don't Look Back In Anger, featuring the audience doing all the singing accompanied by Noel on the guitar, was very special indeed. There's something about 80k people doing something in unison that is somehow much more fulfilling than it should be.
But before I finish, a couple of words about the crowd, the majority of whom were horrific. I'd specifically gone for the seats in the stand to avoid the moshing and bottle throwing on the pitch (it's official - I am old and boring!). Where we were sitting, however, we still got covered in beer from flying plastic glasses. Walking round the place wasn't nice either, it was like a bad night out in Magaluf with big gangs of completely wasted guys (the ones sat next to me had practically passed out), unable to walk straight and happy to fight anyone they might stumble into. And that really ruined the night for me - the final straw was when the guy in front of me clambered up to stand on his seat and proceeded to take off his shirt, blocking my view of the stage with his particularly unattractive pasty, sweating naked back. Yuck.
Because of the crowd I really struggled to enjoy the gig, although I'm pleased I went and I enjoyed the music. We even left before the end (and I NEVER do that) because I couldn't bear the thought of being stuck in the crowd waiting for the tube.
Final scores on the doors in the battle of the Britpop Bands rematch in the Noughties has to be Blur 3 Oasis 1. Maybe Blur just sound better after a break, but I think my teenage allegiances have finally switched.
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