On a hot and humid summer day in Philadelphia, hundreds of Oasis fans were lining up early to get a prime spot for the sold-out general admission show. That night’s show was at the Penn’s Landing Festival Pier which is an outdoor venue located right on the waterfront. Starting off the concert was English band Nic Armstrong and The Thieves comprised of Nic Armstrong (naturally), Jonny Aitken, Shane Lawlor and Glynn Wedgewood. The group was promoting their 2004 release The Greatest White Liar. Liam Gallagher of Oasis was spotted watching the group’s performance from backstage. During one of the songs, he provoked the chants of “Oasis” even more by popping up onstage. An interesting thing about Nic Armstrong and The Thieves is how low drummer Aitken sets up his drumkit. Throughout his group’s set, he often plays while standing. With that said, this group is energetic and tries moving around to all points of the stage. Unfortunately, they didn’t talk all that much so I don’t know the songs that were played.

Jet, the 4-piece from Australia known for their debut album Get Born was next. Strolling onto the stage around twilight, Nic & Chris Cester, Cameron Muncey and Mark Wilson walked around stage, savoring the reception they received from the pumped up Philly crowd. They kicked off their set with the single “Cold Hard B*tch.” They played all of their singles and had the crowd sing most of “Are You Gonna Be My Girl.” Their sound was right on.

Now, the group everyone was waiting for would finally appear. The guys from Oasis, Liam Gallagher, Noel Gallagher, Gem Archer and Andy Bell with help of drummer Zak Starkey and keyboardist Jay Darlington (former member of defunct group Kula Shaker) made their way onstage to the song “F*cking in the Bushes.” The performance was a mix of old and new. The only album not touched was 1997’s Be Here Now and maybe with good reason. It is said to be, by many critics, one of Oasis’ worst records. Songs ranged from classics like “Live Forever” and “Champagne Supernova” to selections from new release Don’t Believe The Truth. The show included much of what you may have heard about Oasis concerts, the most notable being Liam’s stage antics. Singing, he does not touch the mic or mic stand and will stare down the crowd, most oftenly through sunglasses. As per usual, Liam tended to stay center stage as flashbulbs popped and the crowd sang and cheered around him.

One difference from past performances was that the band seemed watered down. There was hardly a peep heard from Liam or Noel except for mocking the crowd (Noel commenting about an audience member “clapping like a pregnant bird) or dedicating songs (Liam dedicating “Rock N Roll Star” to the opening groups). Oasis did do an encore including “Songbird,” the crowd-pleasing “Wonderwall,” and the sing-along “Don’t Look Back In Anger.” The Who cover “My Generation” was as Liam put it “definitely the last song” and what a last song it was. The crowd left the Festival Pier with their ears ringing and images of their favorite band coming back into the limelight dancing in their heads.

Click here to check out our exclusive photos from the show