Tag Archives: live music

Oasis Live ’25

the mindlab, ,

I saw Oasis this past weekend in Toronto1. The sound was okay and the band was great. It was amazing to hear Supersonic live again.

After doing a little bit of historical research, I determined it was my 5th time seeing Oasis. The first time was in 1995 at Hammerjacks, a small Baltimore venue that was torn down in 1997 to build a parking lot. I realize now that the Hammerjacks ’95 show was 1) the first show in the US for that album and 2) was a mere 8 days after the album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? was released. We saw them later on that same tour at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia. By the end of the tour they were playing arenas and even played a few shows with an audience of 125,000 people.

The 2025 ticket was a little more expensive than that first time ($12!!!).

I distinctly remember ‘arguing’ with a friend freshman year of college. His premise was simple: Oasis was a shit band with shit lyrics. He was wrong then just as he is wrong now. The lyrics may not be the deepest, Liam does not have a ton of stage presence, and the music definitely echoes other artists. All that misses the point. Oasis was always about the music, the sum total of it. Just like the show. The band was there to play music, and that’s exactly what they did.

  1. Rogers Stadium is weird. It’s a temporary venue built that seats approximately 50,000 people in the middle of a runway of a decommissioned airport. The Wikipedia article on it has this to say, “Rogers Stadium was built as far as possible from nearby subway stations.” ↩

Mr. Quintron and Miss Pussycat & The Black Lips – 3.14.08, Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA

Comixxx Review, , , , ,

Mr. Quintron & Miss Pussycat

Mr. Quintron and Miss Pussycat & The Black Lips – 3.14.08, Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA

I’ve been a Quintron fan for a long time. While Quintron has always sounded great on albums, nothing compares to the live Quintron experience. Mr. Quintron’s self-constructed Drum Buddy1 and his operation of it while simultaneously playing the organ and percussion, was a feat unto itself to watch.

The crowd at Johnny Brenda’s unfortunately may not have felt so. Miss Pussycat would suggest as much, comparing Johnny Brenda’s to the Olive Garden. Mr. Quintron would end the set by saying, “I know I seem like an asshole, or a comedian, but I’m not. We love this, and we love that sound.”2 In the early 90s when Mr. Quintron first appeared on the scene, it might have been difficult to hear a similar statement as one that was sincere. Over a decade later, and with countless albums behind him, all exploring a similar swamp funk sonic, it is impossible not to believe the man or see him as anything but a visionary. While the fans may not have recognized this, Quintron played like a prophet, his sheer energy doing the impossible of upstaging The Black Lips performance.

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