Maybe I just wanna fly. Wanna live, I don’t wanna die.

Oasis

August 1st. This time in London. On the eve of my second time seeing Oasis. Anyone could think that the excitement was less this time; however, the city had been in charge of building the excitement again, turning itself into an Oasis theme park, a bit different than at Manchester, but still, wherever you look, you could spot a fan judging by the bucket hat, the t-shirt, the mod jackets and even haircuts. We are here, and we are making ourselves feel.

August 2nd. The day has come again. A relatively sunny one, for UK standards, it’s basically the ideal day for a concert. We couldn’t contain our excitement, so after lunch, we headed to the FanPark, an initiative designed to host all the fans going to Wembley, offering drinks, food, and music to get the spirits up.

You could see families enjoying the vibe; people of all ages expectrum singing along to probably the same songs we were about to listen to live. The feeling was one of a big family reunion; somehow, that was it. “It feels like a wedding, everyone’s enjoying and happy for a single reason”, Jvan mentioned very aptly.

It was my first time entering Wembley, the mythical location chosen to receive this set of concerts. The stairs up to the stadium, full of people, seemed like a massive wave breaking on the side of the stadium. The moment we set foot on the stands to go down into the field, our minds were blown. I was full of emotions, it almost got me and made me drop the first tears. Cast had started their set, welcoming us with their Britpop energy.

Richard Ashcroft followed as planned, the crowd was more than ready and expectant, singing along to each and every song. The electrifying feeling was already there. I remember Lucky Man being so thunderous it gave me goosebumps. As before, Richard closed his set with the amazing Bittersweet Symphony, dedicated to Sir Bobby Moore, the legendary captain of the England national football team, whose statue is standing outside the stadium.

Now, the time we were all waiting for. The sound level meter on the screens is displayed, and everyone went crazy. “It is the time! It’s happening!” I remember Jvan screaming in my face; he, a massive Blur fan, couldn’t hold the excitement. Definitely, Oasis won the Britpop wars.

By now, I already knew the setlist had remained unchanged, as perfect as it is, with its focus on the “Holy Trinity” of Oasis albums: Definitely Maybe (1994), (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (1995), and Be Here Now (1997). Plus the wink to Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (2000) when coming on the stage, and in the middle of the set with a couple songs from The Masterplan (1998), and Heathen Chemistry (2002), one song from each album.

That little piece of knowledge didn’t change the experience, as my emotions were again to the top of my lungs and skin. The now traditional Poznan, while the band plays Cigarettes & Alcohol, led to a big hug and jump circle in my area. We were all best friends and family. This organic and simple camaraderie is really hard to live outside this moment. It’s like living a dream.

Fade Away came after some words by Liam dedicating it to all the first-time comers, and particularly the young ones, recognizing the generational effect they have had. During Noel’s lead singing part of the set, not forgetting their roots and people, Noel dedicated Half the World Away to the Mancunians, a nice gesture from him, as even if the Wembley shows could fit more people than Heaton Park, they would never forget their own.

The moment Whatever came, I was so immersed in living the experience that I barely noticed the time passing. I took a second to look around. The night had already reached us, and all I could see were heads outlined by the massive screens of the stage. A person on the shoulders of someone, hands gesturing the passionate sing-along of thousands.

Live Forever, dedicated to “all the people that aren’t here, but are here”, got me straight to the heart. I was experiencing this moment in history for the second time and still couldn’t believe I was here. I was thinking to myself, some people weren’t with me physically, either due to geographical or existential plane circumstances. But somehow, they were here, with me, in my thoughts and heart.

Again, after the encore, one of my favorite moments was Don’t Look Back in Anger, I guess I will dream of this time for all my life. The voices of 90K people enclosed in a stadium, bursting their lungs and voices out to the lyrics, could be felt going through your body and making every cell of your skin crawl. Fantastic experience.

As I was standing far from the stage, I could see the visuals and especially the fireworks that closed the show. In a few words, simply magical. It brought me back to a simple time in life when, as a kid, one gets amazed by a bunch of sparkling and colourful lights.

August 3rd. Sunday (Morning Glory). I –need a little time to wake up– from this Britpop dream. One can still see the Oasis waves of people even at the airport. Exhausted but pleased faces all around the place. Complicit smiles across waiting rooms and gates. We know we have had the time of our lives. We know there is something out there, a Rock ‘n’ Roll band that unites us. As I said before, the world is a better place with Oasis in it.

Special thanks to Diego, the hero who got this night’s tickets. A passionate soul and a great company at any concert.
And shoutout to Jvan for joining us in this madness, and for not hesitate for a second to do it.