Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger

Screened at Regal Cinemas IMAX, Rancho Mirage, California

"It takes a lot of caring to not give a fuck." - Liam Gallagher, 2025 Seeing Oasis in 2025 was a more emotional experience than I had anticipated, and honestly I think that reaction was similar for many who went. It was my 6th time seeing them, as far back as 1995, and it was clear how life experiences and the passing of time had taken hold for most in attendance, including for the band. To experience those songs again, in a whole new setting, didn't just transport everyone back to the care-free times of their youth, but breathed new life into their timeless songs. So much so that the audience, much of which came from the current generation, was taking it all in like we had 30 years ago. Our youth, back from the dead. It was emotional in the sweetest, happiest way. The first time I saw Oasis was not at the Met Café in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1994. The show was $6. There were still tix available day of, and that venue was SMALL. I drove there. I parked a few blocks away. But I was a college student with little money, and though I had wasted gas money to get there, I couldn't justify the $6. We are truly stupid when we are young. But they came back to that little state the following year, and I will never, ever forget that moment at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, with my girlfriend (or soon-to be; time is fuzzy in the brain these days), when we were standing right at the side of the stage (it was open on both sides, surrounded by the audience), and during one of Noel's solos, Liam sat for a moment on the drum riser, looked over, and we waved to him. He did a funny wave back, and from that moment on he had us FOREVER. We would see them again at the The Orpheum in Boston later that year, where we were even closer, with seats front row center, on the aisle. No idea how we snagged those seats, but Liam was right there. We had to strain our necks to see his face. We could have untied his shoes.

Going to their reunion tour, which this documentary covers, felt like everyone there had similar experiences in one way or another, and they were all there to share that love and camaraderie with one another. And that is the focus of this film. The one thing about Oasis that I believe can't be argued, is over their entire existence, they have always stayed true to themselves. Through the good and the bad, they seem to be the same people now as they were when the band started in 1991. The same working class lads from Manchester, 30 years on. More humble than you'd think. Seemingly more relatable than you'd expect. And that's part of the pull for many. A universal feeling, seen and understood by generations, that we're them on stage, and they are us in the audience.

At the shows, seeing people of all ages, understanding each other through these songs and personalities, was almost life-affirming. In this film, to connect these same feelings with audiences from all over the globe, from Cardiff to Chicago, São Paulo to Seoul, and everywhere in between, was the perfect approach for this documentary. Interviews with the band are few and short. Instead, the stars of the show are the music and the shows, and the connection they bring between the band and their legions of fans and supporters. While touched upon, the details of their hiatus are not the focus here. This is not tabloid. It's about not looking book in anger, and instead taking the details that are now well in the past, to learn from and use to move forward. For Oasis fans, this is a no-brainer. See it in the theater if you can. YOU will laugh. YOU will cry. You WILL sing along. If you're not a fan, you'll experience the same. Long live Oasis.