This Is History (Apocalypse Sound AS 165)
Knebworth Park, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK August 11, 1996
The Whiskey A-Go-Go, Los Angeles, CA September 29, 1994
Knebworth concert: Intro/The Swamp Song, Columbia, Acquiesce, Supersonic, Hello, Some Might Say, Roll With It, Slide Away, Morning Glory, Round Are Way/Up In The Sky, Cigarette &Alcohol, Whatever/ Octopus’s Garden, Cast No Shadow, Wonderwall, The Masterplan, Don’t Look Back In Anger, My Big Mouth, It’s Gettin better (Man!), Live Forever, Champagne Supernova, I Am The Walrus.
The Oasis Knebworth concert was the biggest of it’s kind at the time, and Oasis had moved way beyond their “best band in the UK” status. The crowd was so large, that it was reported how the band be done playing, but the crowd in the back was still hearing the music.
This DVD is professionally shot and opens with a video of the band in rehersal somewhere, which the crowd is also watching on the projection screens and can be heard cheering as each member is focused on individually. We are treated to the Gallagher brothers sitting on a couch picking at their bellybuttons. The cheering crowd adds to the building atmosphere of excitement. The video then segues it’s way into Oasis walking out onto the stage where Liam says into the mic, “This is history” to which the huge crowd yells back in obvious agreement. Then the band goes right into The Swamp Song. The camera work really never just focuses on the band for any length of time and is constantly changing and moving around. This is for the crowd, who can look at the stage themselves, but adds a little something more for the crowd to observe. Just watching this as a video however, it can get annoying and some may find this to be dizzying. The video quality is a little grainy, but hardly unwatchable. The audio however, is outstanding quality.
A bit of a weird moment happens after Supersonic. A roadie/drum tech comes on stage to fix a cymbal, he steps up on the drum stand, Liam sees this, walks over and takes a sniff of his rear end for the whole venue to see. What the?
During Round Are Way/Up Ito The Sky, there is a skip in the video at the 45:00 mark, and a split second flash of a brick wall.. The band is joined onstage by an uncredited harp player. The acoustic set consists of Whatever/Octopus’s Garden, Cast No Shadow, Wonderwall and The Master Plan. All the songs also feature a harp section and a string section. Close to the end of My Big Mouth, there is a cut, and then the DVD itself pauses for about 1 second. It’s Gettin Better (Man!) starts out as a video of a man riding a scooter, being seen in a rear view mirror. It then cuts back to the band, and then ends with the same scooter riding man in a little heavier traffic. At the 1:28:00 of this song, there is a skip in both the audio and video, and then a minor blip in the audio at 1:29:00.
John Squire from The Stone Roses joins the band onstage, and takes over lead guitar on both Champagne Supernova and I Am The Walrus, and really lays down some great leads. The band really seem to feed off him for are really the type of extended jams the band plays. After Champagne Supernova the camera follows Liam who jumps down to shake the hands of fans in the from of the stage. Interviews later in years, Noel would admit that this was to much to soon for the band.
The flaws mentioned are minor. This is an excellent DVD documenting a momentous occasion for the band and rock and roll in general. Gone is the depressing flannel clad grunge rockers, and progressive rock is here to stay. Oasis is a tight band that’s all about playing their songs for the hundreds of thousands of their fans in the crowd that night. It’s an incredible sight to see the minyans all for one band. There is the slight air of tension on stage, but that’s what makes most rock bands great, that’s rock and roll.
The Whiskey A-Go-Go. Los Angeles, CA 9/29/94
Intro, Rock n’ Roll Star, Columbia, Fade Away, Dygsy’s Dinner, Live Forever, Up In The Sky, Slide Away, Cigarettes & Alcohol, Married With Children, Supersonic, I Am The Walrus.
oasis is introduced by the legendary Rodney Bingenheimer, “Rodney on the ROQ”, from KROQ, Pasadena. They open with rock n’ Roll Star, the audio cuts out for about 30 seconds, which I believe is the recording, then half way through have to stop playing due to some technical problems with their equipment. Liam calmly tells the crowd that they’ll start this one over, and patiently waits for the crew to fix whatever it was that failed, with stage crew scurrying about. When whatever broke is fixed, they start again and play a smokin version of the song. Liam stayed calm and cool the whole time. The picture starts off from a balcony facing the stage and appears to be a home made video. It’s a little blurry, and grainy.
It focuses on the band as a whole, but occassionaly zooms in on Liam for a few seconds, then zooms back out. However, starting with Fade Away, the camera is suddenly on stage, facing the back of the band, moves around the stage while the band is playing from one side to the other, Liam sings into the camera a bit, and then moves back to where it started. From Live Forever on, the camera angle is back up in the balcony. After Columbia, a fan crowd surfing winds up on stage, he’s push off by a roadie. After the song, Liam calmly asks the crowd to have fun crowd surfing, but don’t go on the stage, which they follow. All the songs are played short, loud and hungry.
This is a progressive pop band with a real edge. The audio is just a bit high, but that’s not bad, it is an excellent audio source. The Whiskey is not that big, and the PA’s are loud. Overall, this is a brilliant companion piece because it shows a tight energetic and hungry band with great poise, and yet still some minor insecurities. In less than two years, they went from clubs to Knebworth. They look a lot younger at the Whiskey as well. Overall, the Whiskey section is excellent, both audio and video wise. Recommended for any fan.
