On Wednesday, for one night only, Oasis took over the Montreal Forum. Well, technically, the IMAX screen inside the Cineplex. But for two hours, it felt like we were all transported somewhere else.
I was fortunate enough (or maybe unfortunate given that the band was about to break-up in 2009) to see Oasis on what was, at the time, their final North American tour when they stopped at Montreal’s Bell Centre in September 2008. Sixteen years later, the idea of Liam and Noel Gallagher sharing a stage again still feels slightly unthinkable. After everything that happened, seeing the brothers on stage together once again is something biblical.
Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger is a concert film documenting the Live ’25 reunion tour, but it’s also a film about reconciliation, memory, forgiveness and the mythology that has surrounded Oasis, and particularly its two famously combustible brothers for decades.
What makes it work so well is that it understands the reunion is about much more than two musicians getting back on stage. Oasis knows what it has put its fans through over the years: Cancellations, breakups, arguments, disappointment, and the constant question of whether Liam and Noel would ever share a stage again. Even they seem surprised by just how massive the reunion turned out to be.
The backstage and rehearsal footage gives the film its most intimate moments. Away from tens of thousands of screaming fans, the enormity of the reunion gives way to something much more human. There’s history between the brothers and the band, and you can feel it.
But what stayed with me most was the audience. I was also lucky enough to be at a show for the reunion tour, which made watching this film an especially nostalgic experience. Seeing those crowds singing every word brought me right back to being there. I smiled—and sobbed— for nearly two hours.
Finish “Oasis’s Reunion Film Makes the Obsession Easy to Understand”
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