Familiar to Millions [Video] - Oasis

The video version of Oasis' live album Familiar to Millions, although it lacks one song (a cover of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter"), is preferable to the audio version because it gives a sense of the scope of the concert (drawn from two shows at Wembley Stadium in July 2000) the band performed. The vast audience, said to number 70,000, is a big part of the show, necessarily. Oasis is not a showy band on-stage, much preferring the "stand there and play" approach to performing, with relatively little movement. Nor are they visually enticing, with their preference for ordinary street clothing. Lead singer Liam Gallagher does sport octagonal sunglasses, but otherwise, he is decked out in a denim jacket buttoned over a hooded shirt (with the hood down the back), and baggy carpenter pants. And the rest of the band is equally casual in its dress. (This may pass for neo-mod styling in Britain, but in the U.S. it would suggest that the group shopped exclusively at the Gap, not exactly the height of fashion.) The elaborate visual display that includes a large video screen behind the band and two side screens adds considerably to the show, for example displaying New York street scenes during the opening number, "Go Let It Out." (The instrumental "F***in' in the Bushes" is a recording that just gets the band on-stage.) But what makes the concert is the enthusiasm of the audience, much of which is visible during the early sections of the concert. Oasis can do no wrong as far as they are concerned, and they sing along lustily, taking over the choruses of "Wonderwall" and "Don't Look Back in Anger." Such older songs work much better than material from the band's most recent studio album, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. Familiar to Millions is a triumphant performance before a giant crowd, a peak in Oasis' career. (The concert proper is followed by a good 20-minute "making of" documentary featuring interviews with both Liam Gallagher and his brother, guitarist/singer Noel Gallagher, as well as various tour personnel.) ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide