Oasis is back.
The Manchester-born Britpop group last touched down in Los Angeles in 2008, when the venue they performed at as part of their Dig Out Your Soul tour was called the Staples Center. It was in the midst of winter — if you can even call it that in L.A. — and the arena was packed.
“Who’d have thought Oasis, the Britpop holdover that seemingly couldn’t be more out of vogue, could fill Staples Center?” the Orange County Register wrote about the evening. “For that matter, who’d have thought a band with such a fractious history and spotty track record would still be together at this point, let alone still visiting the States?”
Perhaps it was a jinx, but a little more than eight months later, the Gallagher brothers would call it quits on August 22, 2009, at the V Festival in Weston Park, England.
Some other details from that time? Barack Obama was inaugurated as president of the United States. The country was, simultaneously, dealing with an economic crisis then-titled the Great Recession. Bitcoin was invented under the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto — it was worth an eye-watering $0.
Needless to say, it’s been quite some time since Oasis graced the States.
But on Saturday and Sunday, they’ll return in style to play back-to-back sold-out shows at the Rose Bowl as part of their reunion tour.
The tour, after a 16-year hiatus, is expected to fetch them around $1.1 billion, according to the Guardian. It’s a remarkable amount that says a lot about the group’s enduring popularity — and they’re probably happy to put issues to bed for now, and even more so when the checks clear.
If you were lucky enough to snag tickets for either of the shows — or shelled out on resale — there are some crucial details to note before making the trek out to Pasadena.
In a water supernova in the sky
Labor Day weekend proved to be one of this year’s hottest in L.A., and it boasted a heat advisory to show for it. As the week drags on, expected high temperatures will slowly dwindle, but don’t shrug at the anticipated 89 degrees on Saturday and Sunday.
As most Angelenos will know, the further you move inland, the more the sun feels like someone’s shoved a magnifying glass in front of it. Don’t underestimate this claim.
Make sure you hydrate before, during and after the show. The Rose Bowl offers water fountains alongside its concourse and permits factory-sealed water bottles (two per person) and empty, reusable bottles up to 32 ounces.
Worst-case scenario, you can purchase water at the venue, though likely at exorbitant prices. Still, it beats an ambulance ride.
Can I ride with you in your BMW? No, just take the Metro
You saw this one coming.
There are a couple of contributing factors to why you should take the Metro to Pasadena and the subsequent shuttle ride to the Rose Bowl. For starters, any rideshare option may seem easy enough on the way there, but quickly turns into a game of “Where’s Waldo?” when pick-up comes around.
This event includes a mandated Old Town Pasadena pick-up and drop-off for rideshare. Still, consider this: According to the UCLA Bruins’ official site, the venue can hold up to roughly 92,000 fans. Think about waiting around the mandated Old Town pick-up area with even a fraction of those attendees — after this sold-out show — before you call in that Uber or Lyft.
Second point: Parking is $75 at the gate.
The Metro site offers a quick guide to getting there via public transportation, as does the Rose Bowl’s official instructions on getting to the show. There’s even a special, dedicated express shuttle system on the day, which begins at 2:30 p.m.
That runs from Old Town’s Parsons Engineering Complex (100 West Walnut St.) to the Rose Bowl.
My (soles) slide away, but don’t look back in anger
The Rose Bowl is an old stadium, constructed in 1921 and undergoing multiple renovations over the years in light of major sporting events. Its most recent is planned over the course of the next three or so years as the 2028 Olympic Games arrive in Los Angeles.
The venue, while deceptively flat, is still steep, and that doesn’t pair well with alcohol in the system or on the ground.
The Times of London previously reported that Oasis fans set a new record at Wembley Stadium by drinking 250,000 pints, averaging about three drinks per attendee. Last year’s Coldplay gigs saw 120,000 pints sold, and 40,000 for Taylor Swift.
The Rose Bowl is not Wembley, but there will be drinks involved and probably more than usual. You don’t garner fame as a rock n’ roll outfit with songs titled “Cigarettes and Alcohol” and “Champagne Supernova” without attracting a strong drinking culture.
And — without instilling unreasonable fear — an Oasis fan fell to their death at one of those Wembley reunion shows. The father of the 45-year-old man was widely critical of the venue’s alcohol management.
“All I know is there was beer everywhere, it’s slippery, he slipped apparently, we do not know the rest of it,” he said. “There’s questions about the barriers.”
At the very least, such an environment certainly increases the risk of a tumble and subsequent injury.
Stand by me (but not in line)
It’s fair to say that the city and the Rose Bowl have done their best to prepare for the onslaught of Oasis fans due to swarm Los Angeles this week. However, it can be impossible to check off all boxes. One aspect will always remain an anomaly: merchandise booths.
You can bet that lines will be packed — regardless of how many are set up — before, during and after the show. Thankfully, you can grab Oasis merch before attending the show.
On Aug. 20, fans began to gather outside the W Hotel for band’s a peek at the band’s debut North American Oasis Live ’25 pop-up shop. Inside, a treasure trove awaited: Exclusive merch hung on the walls, bins with posters lined the floors, and bucket hats were stacked on shelves.
Visits require a reservation, but the availability is OK … for now. The shop closes its doors Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but will reopen Monday and Tuesday for post-concert indulgence.
Stop crying your heart out: Just buy the tickets
Tickets for all shows across the North American leg of Oasis’ reunion tour sold out within an hour, antiMusic reports. This is no surprise, as the band’s UK and Ireland dates sold out within 10 hours, mostly due to various technical issues and long queue times.
Now, the only way to get tickets is through resellers, which feels scummy at the very least. If you’re looking to get incredible seats where Noel and Liam may appear bigger than ants, you’ll probably have to pay around $480 per ticket for GA.
However, you can get tickets a bit farther away for around $250 to $300 each, which isn’t the worst when you consider the price of nosebleeds for other artists. It beats standing outside with your grandpa and asking passerbys if they’re willing to part with theirs.
Seriously, it’s Oasis. Who can say if they’ll stay together for longer than this tour, given their rocky history?
Resale tickets reside with the usual suspects: SeatGeek, Ticketmaster and StubHub.
The post (What’s the Story): Everything you need to know ahead of this week’s Oasis shows appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
