On August 28, 2009, Noel Gallagher quit Oasis after an argument with the band's lead singer (and his brother) Liam, ending the band's initial run.
On August 28, 2025, Noel and Liam walked onto the stage at Soldier Field for their first show in the U.S. of their current reunion tour. And as Liam is fond of saying, it was biblical.
There's no need to run over the details of the band's first run, but a snapshot: in the mid-‘90s their first two albums in particular produced multiple international hits with huge guitars, Liam's distinctive sneering bullhorn rawk 'n roll vocals countered by Noel's more soaring honeyed tenor, and a deep love of the Beatles and simple song structures that pack a universal wallop. And the brothers famously fought. A lot. And the press loved to exacerbate those issues, but I confess I never really bought into the "they really hate each other" thing. I know fame complicated things, but these two are brothers, and I never doubted they would eventually reunite.
The band opened this tour with a few U.K. shows, including an instantly legendary (and probably excellent for the U.K.’s tourism industry since I know an astounding number of people who ventured overseas for those shows) seven-night run at Wembley Stadium, and the band has been VERY good about setting a distinct number of steps and events around each show. So, by the time it got to Chicago, we knew exactly what we were in for: two hours of hits with a firmly established setlist, with Los Bros Gallagher evidently having a good time at every show so far.
With this tour, this predictability is a feature, and not a bug. Given the rapturous response to the return of Oasis, concert tickets for this tour are incredibly expensive, and for something people have waited this long to see, the reassurance that they would see the songs they wanted to see, unhindered by solo work or later-era Oasis tunes, is a bonus.*
So, what is there to tell you? As you can see from the below setlist, they covered all the hits. Everyone on stage seemed in good spirits, the mix was tremendous, and the visuals were Instagram-friendly and bold, making a run through one's various social feeds after any show a similar experience. The move away from everything awash in red or blue lights in favor of playful but simple visuals kept the focus on the band and their bond with the audience.**
To help orient you in my own tastes, so you can better re-frame my thoughts in relation to your own expectations, I will share that my personal highlights were the B-side anthem "Acquiesce" with its soaring refrain seemingly crafted around the onstage siblings, "Because we need each other / We believe in one another / And I know we're going to uncover / What's sleeping in our soul" and the borderline orch-pop of another legendary non-album single "Whatever." And a particularly emotional delivery of "Little By Little" by Noel showcased how the band can access emotional depth and turn it into a stadium anthem. Those moments might have made made me smile widest, but at not point of the set did I stop smiling.
Which brings us to "biblical." Any concert can be a person's church, but an Oasis show is a huge primal force whose waves of distortion and sing-along melodies transmogrify into a blanket that falls over the massed crowd, pulls them more tightly together, and unites tens of thousands into a single heartbeat and voice. This is the power of Oasis and the Gallagher brothers that first made them stars and then launched them into the realm of living legends.***
Oasis setlist
Soldier Field, Chicago, August 28, 2025
Hello
Acquiesce
Morning Glory
Some Might Say
Bring It On Down
Cigarettes & Alcohol
Fade Away
Supersonic
Roll With It
Talk Tonight
Half the World Away
Little by Little
D'You Know What I Mean?
Stand by Me
Cast No Shadow
Slide Away
Whatever
Live Forever
Rock 'n' Roll Star
Encore:
The Masterplan
Don't Look Back in Anger
Wonderwall
Champagne Supernova
*I can tell you I have never paid so much for a ticket to a show in my life before; the cost of seeing Oasis in my own city of Chicago last night exceeded the price I paid for plane tickets AND a ticket to see their former rivals (and now friendly contemporaries) Blur in London at Wembley Stadium a few years ago.
**The number of bucket hats and brand new tour merch people were wearing to the concert was stunning. Usually I endorse the “don’t wear the band’s shirt to their concert” rule but in this case, I found myself enjoying the sight. I must be getting soft in my old age.
***I know this phrase can get abused, but I assure you in this instance it is not hyperbole.
