It’s twenty minutes til showtime and Co-Op Live reeks of lager. While the recently-opened arena has already hosted a slew of global superstars, hometown hero Liam Gallagher is the only person truly worthy of christening the new venue. And on the eve of the last weekend in June, the fans are doing so in proper Mancunian style, baptising the shiny floor with overspilling pints as they howl and holler in anticipation of the night ahead.
Back in May, Liam Gallagher joked that if the venue, which has had more than its share of teething issues, wasn't ready in time, he'd perform in a local Lidl. As fun as that would have been, health and safety may have had some issues. At the Co-Op, a clock slowly counts back the years to 1994, the year of the release of Oasis’ classic debut album, Definitely Maybe. With each year that passes, the rowdy rumble of the room slowly raises, a sea of bucket hats bobbing and swaying in time with Stone Roses tracks blasting over the PA. Everyone is thoroughly ready to let loose, eager to swing into the evening’s festivities.
As the opening of Rock ‘n’ Roll Star kicks in, the arena transforms: in an instant, the room is akin to a raucous festival field. Pints are flung, and a pit opens up as soon as Gallagher makes his way onstage. Fans clamber atop shoulders, waving a UK flag with the Oasis logo stitched into the centre. Every voice howls the words back like it’s the true national anthem, and in a way, it is: this is Manchester, and Gallagher is the people’s king.
It’s all so overwhelmingly joyful, that it almost brings a tear to your eye, but there’s no time to be soppy. By the time Columbia follows, Gallagher has his maracas in hand, his backing singers swaying in time to the anthem. Oasis' former frontman is in his usual attire, fully committed to the parka despite the sweltering heat in the venue. Every moment he is onstage, he’s sickeningly cool, hands held behind his back as he croons into the mic nonchalantly, chewing gum never disrupting that iconic Northern drawl.
