Oasis Helps Itself

For a while during Oasis’ concert on Tuesday, it looked as if the high-profile English band was hitting the Universal Amphitheatre a year too late.

When the quintet was first scheduled to play the 6,000-seat venue in the fall of 1996, Oasis was on a triumphant career trajectory that, if things had gone right, might have enabled it to be headlining the 18,000-seat Forum by now.

Oasis, however, has lost a lot of momentum in this country since it canceled that 1996 appearance--in part because the bickering, outspoken image of brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher has left much of the U.S. rock audience suspicious of the band. The group’s latest album, “Be Here Now,” fell far short of the estimated 4 million sales of its predecessor.

So instead of a celebration of Oasis’ success, Tuesday’s Universal concert--the first of two nights there--felt more like a test of its relevancy.

And things didn’t look promising at the start of the show as the band, which is widely hailed as the most popular group in England since the Beatles, came out flat.

The opening song, “Be Here Now,” summarizes much of what is so engaging about Oasis: some of the loveliest melodies this side of Paul McCartney, and themes so uplifting at times that you can almost call them sunny.

“Wash your face in the morning sun,” Liam Gallagher sang, but neither his vocal nor the guitar-driven backing seemed truly involving. Similarly, “Stand by Me,” another song from “Be Here Now,” came across as merely workmanlike.

What was interesting in the early moments was the group’s manner. Where Liam Gallagher has frequently appeared arrogant and confrontational onstage, he seemed Tuesday to reach out to the audience. The manner added a warmth to the show that gradually spread through the music. More than on past tours, the band displayed its heart, not just its sometimes strident attitude.

The musical breakthrough came about a third of the way through the 90-minute set when guitarist Noel Gallagher took over for a brief solo acoustic set that included “Don’t Go Away,” a poignant song about holding onto what’s important in life.

Noel, the band’s songwriter, doesn’t have the vocal authority of his brother, but he injects the songs with a sense of personal testimony that is deeply affecting. The highlight was an especially tender and original interpretation of the Beatles’ “Help.” He focused on the insecurities and doubts in the lyric, and the song served as a compelling bridge to the uncertainty and struggle in some of Gallagher’s best songs.

The danger in doing such a celebrated song in the middle of a set is being unable to follow it with your own material, but Oasis had no trouble extending the spirit of “Help.”

When the rest of the band returned and Liam took over on vocals, the group went through a dazzling series of its own hits, including “Wonderwall” and “Champagne Supernova,” that served as a convincing demonstration that this is still a great band. With the right album next time, Oasis could well regain its early career momentum in the U.S. and still find its name on the Forum marquee.

Noel also did double duty Tuesday, playing bass on an extended number during the amiable but only mildly effective 45-minute set by opening act Cornershop (whose recent Hollywood Athletic Club date was reviewed at length in The Times).