THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 7, 1995 TAG: 9503070457
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Music review
SOURCE: BY RICKEY WRIGHT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
``Tonight I'm a rock 'n' roll star.''
A decades-old Stones riff attached to that even more aged declaration opened Oasis' set Sunday night at the Abyss in Virginia Beach. Despite the bravado, and that of practically every song that followed, singer Liam Gallagher could hardly have seemed less full of himself.
Whether engaging in self-aggrandizement, blurting a Dylan-like bit of whimsy (``Supersonic'') or noting that his only staples are ``Cigarettes & Alcohol,'' Gallagher delivered the lyrics written by his guitarist brother Noel in a fashion much like a boy called upon to recite the day's lesson. Rather than strutting the stage like Jagger, Liam chose to gaze at the ceiling and hold his arms behind his back.
No matter. Oasis, possessors of a No. 1 album (``Definitely Maybe'') in England, are said to be spearheads of a new British Invasion. Based on the record and a musically fierce show at the Abyss, the group deserves its success. This is rock acutely aware of its origins in T. Rex and John Lennon but never so self-conscious that its riffs don't induce the wish to crash a car and the certainty that you could walk right away from the debris. ``Live Forever'' - the reassuring message of the group's current U.S. hit - indeed.
Liam Gallagher did allow a bit of a shimmy to creep into his movements but only for a couple of moments, notably on ``Shakermaker.'' He cleverly alluded to the song's celebrated melodic resemblance to the early '70s Coke-jingle-turned-Top-40-single ``I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing'': ``I'd like to buy the world a draught and keep it company.''
The famous sibling rivalry between Liam and Noel threatened to rear its head only once, when the latter broke away from the set list to crunch the opening chords of ``Cigarettes & Alcohol.'' Liam stared at his brother peevedly until the drummer kicked up the expected ``Live Forever.''
By the time Oasis did break into a glorious ``Cigarettes'' near show's end, they'd long since proven that the hype was worth believing. And while the finale of ``I Am the Walrus'' was more a happy tip of the hat to the band's maximum hero than a promise of equal greatness, there was no denying that it rocked. Ear candy Oasis may be, but that was certainly enough in Virginia Beach on Sunday night.
Providence, R.I.'s, Velvet Crush, bolstered by an unannounced Tommy Keene on guitar, opened with its own brand of updated power pop. Hopefully, a few listeners were encouraged to go out and buy their recent ``Teenage Symphonies to God'' disc. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
STEVE DOUBLE/Epic Records
Oasis is made up of, from left, Paul ``Bonehead'' Arthurs, Tony
McCarroll, Noel Gallagher, Liam Gallagher and Paul McGuigan.
by CNB