Oasis Concert Review: Devoted delirium for Oasis Live ’25 in Croke Park

‘THE guns have fallen silent. The great wait is finally over.’ As these words filled the screens at Croke Park on Saturday 16 August, Noel and Liam Gallagher walked on stage, arms overhead, hands clasped together. A thunderous cacophony of euphoric screams and rapturous applause met the brothers as they stepped out in front of a frenzied 80,000 people, ready to deliver two hours of pure rock’n’roll nostalgia.

After a 16-year hiatus, punctuated by numerous false alarms of reconciliation, the Irish-born Gallagher brothers are finally reunited on stage at GAA headquarters. Oasis is back.

When the Manchester band announced their long-speculated reunion in August 2024, a supersonic scramble for tickets quickly ensued. With only two nights in Dublin forming the Irish leg of the Live ’25 Tour, an exceptional sense of exclusivity and occasion was immediately attached to these shows. Epic online queues (far exceeding the capacity of Croke Park) and controversial dynamic pricing did nothing to dissuade the legions of fans, who had been waiting years for this moment. I was fortunate enough to be able to secure a ticket and it was worth every dynamically priced penny.

I can’t quite recall a concert, or in fact any major event in recent history, that has stirred up such levels of hype and hysteria in Ireland. Earlier in the week, I visited the Oasis pop-up shop in St Stephen’s Green and the swarms of fans who had flocked there could be likened to last-minute Christmas Eve shoppers who had forgotten the turkey. On the day of the concert itself, the whole of Dublin city was flooded under a sea of bucket hats and striped Adidas apparel. Not since Pope John Paul II’s visit to Ireland in 1979 has the country been gripped by such devoted delirium.

As we made our way to the night’s venue, excitement reached a fever pitch. 80,000 concertgoers poured into the home of GAA, filling the three stands and the entire pitch of Croke Park. Sitting in the Davin Stand I looked across the pitch, beyond the growing mob of “Madferits” to the impossible sight of a towering stage, framed on each side by massive, jumbo-screens. Sitting atop this stage was a single, beautiful word: OASIS. Still struggling to believe that the time had finally come, I held my breath, along with the rest of Croke Park, waiting impatiently for what was ahead.

After two hours of support from Cast and the sublime Richard Ashcroft, the entire stadium felt like a powder keg ready to blow. As the final notes of The Auld Triangle hung on the air, the image of a pressure gauge with its needle jumping erratically illuminated the screens and two painfully missed faces appeared on-stage. And that was it. The powder keg blew. Croke Park erupted. It was happening.

Beginning their set with the aptly chosen Hello, Liam Gallagher’s brilliantly distinct voice rang out, as iconic as ever. With his hands behind his back as always, leaning into the microphone with an aggressive stance, Liam quickly barreled through Morning Glory and Some Might Say, with his brother strangling his guitar beside him. Briefly interrupting the onslaught of rock’n’roll anthems, Liam addressed the crowd, proudly proclaiming: “This is the soberest I’ve ever been in Ireland since I was four or five.” He then instructed his loyal subjects to turn away from the stage and link arms, as we readied for the famous Poznan celebration of his beloved Manchester City. As the opening riff of Cigarettes & Alcohol roared from Noel’s guitar, the audience began to jump in unison under the rain of a thousand overpriced beers.

As the show to end all shows continued, Liam took a step back to allow Noel his time at centre stage. Forming the perfect contrast to his brother’s unique snarl, the pleading melancholy of Noel’s voice beautifully delivered Talk Tonight and Half the World Away before belting out Little by Little with deafening support from 80,000 background singers. Demonstrating the ultimate display of approval and acceptance, the crowd began to chant Olé Olé Olé which seemed to elicit an emotional response from Noel. Taking a moment of silence to appreciate this reaction, the musician gazed out at the sea of supporters with tears in his eyes before asking, “Shall we carry on?” Returning to the spotlight, Liam showed no restraint in spoiling his audience with an unbelievable back-to-back feast of Slide Away, Whatever, Live Forever and Rock’n’Roll Star. With the main set drawing to a close, Liam was keen to shout out his mother’s hometown of Charlestown, Co Mayo. “Anyone in from Charlestown?” the rockstar demanded. Following a clamour of affirmation, he replied, “Well there’s only five f**kin’ people living there, it can’t be all of you!” Blinded by the lights that accompanied Rock’n’Roll Star, we stood in a trance, breathless and beyond satisfied as the duo left the stage. But that was not the end. Thankfully, it did not take 16 years for the brothers to return to the stage this time, instead returning to their positions after only a few moments’ teasing.

As if the last two hours had not been enough, Oasis gifted us with a sensational encore in Don't Look Back in Anger, Wonderwall and Champagne Supernova. Having done all in their power to rupture the eardrums of all in attendance, Noel and Liam Gallagher took a bow, bid us farewell with a wave and faded away. As the image of a setting sun lit up the screens, we sat in stupefied silence. It was clear the entire audience was struggling to comprehend what they had just witnessed. This was more than just another concert. This was a moment in music history. This was a cultural event. This was Oasis Live ’25. May they live forever.