Oasis Lacks Freshness Of Its Recent Glory Years

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Oasis and Cornershop Saturday night at Mercer Arena, Seattle.

Bring on the next British supergroup!

Oasis was fun while it lasted, but the Brit-rock superstar band - which never quite made it in the States - sounded tired and mechanical Saturday night at Mercer Arena, like a band whose time had passed.

Lead guitarist Noel Gallagher told the crowd he was feeling miserable with the flu, and that may have contributed to the lackluster show. But it wasn't just the performance that fell flat, it was the songs themselves.

Oasis' steady-rolling rhythms, glib, easy rhymes and positive messages sounded bright and refreshing when the band emerged four years ago, following the generally dark songs of the grunge era. But at Saturday's concert the same songs that sounded so fresh then came off as dated and forced. The band seemed bored with them, even while the near-capacity audience bounced and moshed and crowd-surfed, seemingly having a great time.

Saturday's performance was in stark contrast to Oasis' first show here at the same venue two years ago, when the band seemed upbeat and energized and delivered the songs with pride and care. Morose lead singer Liam Gallagher even smiled a few times back then, adding to the celebratory, partylike atmosphere both onstage and off.

This time he could have phoned in his performance. Although he has a great rock voice, with a hard edge that makes his vocals soar over the instruments, he never became involved in what he was singing. He just recited the songs by rote, going through the motions. When he wasn't singing, he squatted or sat on one of the small stage monitors and blankly stared at the crowd only a few feet away.

Oasis' two lasting contributions to rock history, the near perfectly crafted, Beatlesque singles "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova," were among the casualties. Those two expansive, uplifting songs, which still sound great on the radio or on the recordings, sounded sluggish and deflated.

Backed by two extra keyboardists, the five-member Oasis played a 90-minute set, including one encore. Noel Gallagher had a three-song solo spot in the middle of the show. "I'm not feeling too well," he said. "This could go horribly wrong." But he sounded fine, especially on a slow, pleading version of the Beatles' "Help!"

Other highlights included "Supersonic," Oasis' first single, whose be-true-to-yourself theme still rang true; "Don't Look Back in Anger," Noel's big lead vocal, which retained its original aching energy; and "Live Forever," because its theme of invulnerability seemed so suited to the young, happy crowd.

Cornershop, the fascinating new band that opened the show, sounded much more interesting, vital and original. The East-meets-West rock group, whose Anglo and Sikh members come from the teeming immigrant communities of London, combines British and American pop traditions with the intense polyrhythms of Indian music, creating a world-music rock sound that's irresistibly rhythmic and exotic.