The Twenty 20 cricket on Friday night at Edgebaston was superb entertainment, loads of noise and action washed down with plenty of lager. Okay it’s cricket for people that don’t know about the sport, like me, but hugely enjoyable all the same. It was nice also to see so many dads there with their kids.
On Saturday we drove up to the Lake District and camped at a wicked site in Crowden outside Manchester. A few cans of the newly discovered Strongbow, then to the City of Manchester stadium for the Oasis gig. First of all, what a magnificent space, we must have spent the first hour or so wandering around gazing at the sheer scale and beauty of it. A fantastic curving roof held up from the outside to offer full visibility, light blue seats throughout and internal floodlights. I remember going to Wembley as a kid and being sorely disappointed with its shabby concrete exterior and poor visibility, by comparison this place is definitely part of a new generation.
For one reason or another I’ve never been to a stadium gig before and it’s never really appealed to me either. However I wasn’t disappointed here, the closed design of the building and steep sides provided for a fairly intimate space that sounded really good.
The Coral appeared on stage to huge applause as a well respected band with plenty of great songs, the prefect warm up to the consistently good and much loved Oasis. The trouble with the barriers down the front gave Liam and Noel the perfect opportunity to indulge as the comedy duo – utterly hilarious, and it was good to hear their voices again too. Their performance and sound was as good as it’s ever been and this occasion probably the best I’ve ever seen them. Blinding from start to finish – surrounded by funny people in the stands, stumbling around sloping lager and having a great time.
Life is made of times like these, bring on Saturday and the same again at Milton Keynes.