Mad Fer Mexico: Oasis reunion brings chaos, reverie to fans in CDMX

by

Oasis performed one of two sold-out concerts in Mexico City on Saturday night at the Estadio GNP Seguros, despite heavy rainfall.

Tents selling unofficial tour merchandise lined the entrance, offering fans a dry place to escape the rain. The sound of squelching socks and sneakers filled the air as people looked over the fake souvenirs featuring the famously moody faces of the Gallagher brothers.

For 200 pesos, you could get a T-shirt with Noel and Liam Gallagher as fighting cats, or characters from “Peanuts” and “The Simpsons.”

A rainstorm wasn’t perfect for an outdoor concert – no one could see my special Bohemian FC x Oasis jersey under my rain jacket – but it felt right for a band known for singing about rain. Still, for Mexican Oasis fans who had waited years for this reunion, it was a completely joyful experience.

I spotted a father and son, Santiago and Omar Zepeda, outside the stadium gates, and you could just *feel* their excitement. Both were rocking bucket hats, and honestly, the energy between them was infectious. They clearly knew this was a big day – something special they were experiencing together, spanning generations, it seemed.

Santiago, who traveled from Guadalajara with his 14-year-old son, shared a special connection to the concert. He remembered attending his first show at the Palacio de Deportes in 1998 with his father – to see Oasis. ‘At one point, I even considered going without tickets, trusting we’d find a way in,’ he said. ‘It feels amazing to be sharing this experience with my son, just like my dad shared it with me 27 years ago.’

Last August, the famously feuding Gallagher brothers, from Manchester, announced they had ended their decades-long dispute. This announcement came on the 30th anniversary of the release of their hugely successful first album, “Definitely Maybe.”

After a long anticipation, the band has reunited and announced tour dates. When tickets went on sale, especially for the two shows in Mexico City, fans were overjoyed and immediately overwhelmed the Ticketmaster website – it was complete chaos online.

Music

The popular British rock band kicked off a two-night performance at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Saturday.

Esteban Ricardo Sainz Coronado, 24, and Sara Pedraza, 25, felt anxious while waiting in the online queue for Ticketmaster. The couple had traveled from Monterrey, Nuevo León, hoping to attend what Coronado described as a significant cultural event-more than just a concert, but a chance to reconnect with others and celebrate a shared history.

Pedraza spent three hours in Ticketmaster’s online waiting room, nearly making her late for school and risking losing her chance to buy tickets because she kept getting disconnected. “I just kept trying, and after a lot of attempts, I finally got through,” she said. “It was a huge relief.”

Similar to the experiences of fans seeing Coronado and Sainz, this Oasis reunion tour is the first chance for many millions of people to see the band perform live – they were either too young or hadn’t even been born when Oasis was most popular. For dedicated, longtime fans, it was a welcome opportunity to reconnect with the band and share the experience with fellow enthusiasts.

British bands have been popular in Mexico’s alternative music scene for years, with fans of all ages still enthusiastically attending their concerts. Groups like Primal Scream, Blur, Pulp, Morrissey, and The Smiths have built a strong and devoted following, a phenomenon that’s been documented in various media. Many Mexicans feel a deep connection to British music, going back to the days of The Beatles. Oasis, in particular, would have been incredibly popular, easily selling out multiple shows throughout the country.

When the Gallagher brothers of Oasis split up in 2009 after a bitter falling out, it seemed unlikely they’d ever perform their hit song, “Wonderwall,” together in a stadium again. Their constant public arguments after the breakup dashed fans’ hopes for a reunion, leaving them feeling like the band’s time was over. In Mexico, fans were so desperate to avoid another split that they even prayed to La Virgen de Guadalupe for the famously feuding brothers to stay together, right up until showtime.

“We just want to see a peaceful event,” said Hector Garduño, who traveled from Querétaro with his partner, Sofia Carrera. “As long as everyone gets along, we’ll be happy.”

Thankfully, the tour has been going incredibly well. The weather finally improved on Saturday, and the stadium was packed for two and a half hours of Oasis’ biggest hits. Before the Mexico City show, everyone was talking about how it would measure up to the massive crowd at the Rose Bowl show in Pasadena the weekend before.

Garduño believes the Mexican audience is incredibly passionate. He predicts they’ll be deeply moved by the music, reacting with excitement, jumping, and even tears. He thinks the performers will be amazed by the enthusiastic response.

Voices

Essay: Why British post-punk matters to U.S. Latinidad

Since its release last year, Richard T. Rodríguez’s book, ‘A Kiss across the Ocean: Transatlantic Intimacies of British Post-Punk and US Latinidad,’ has allowed him to connect with other fans of the music it explores.

Mauri Barranco, attending the event with her close friend, shared that she believes artists are drawn to Mexico because they feel able to express themselves fully and connect with the culture.

I spoke with Alberto Folch, representing Mexico City, and he clearly thrives on connecting with the crowd. He sees audience participation not as a distraction, but as a direct challenge – a chance to really *show* what Mexican energy is all about. He told me, with a huge grin, that tonight, they weren’t just performers, they were full-on rock stars, ready to explode with passion.

The crowd of 65,000 fans was ecstatic, cheering and singing with incredible energy. Liam Gallagher connected with the local audience, even wearing a traditional Mexican sombrero during performances of “Wonderwall” and the final song, “Champagne Supernova.” The band sounded fantastic – arguably better than ever, with incredibly polished vocals and musicianship. Maybe stepping back from the wild rock and roll lifestyle has helped them now that they’re older. The sound quality was also excellent, filling the stadium clearly thanks to L-Acoustics, who provided the sound system for the tour. Throughout the weekend, I kept hearing fans enthusiastically praise the sound, with many exclaiming “the sound, dude!”

We bounced up and down with the rest of the energetic crowd after the band left the stage, joining arms to perform a traditional fan dance called the Poznań – a move we’d seen Manchester City supporters do. During the song “Cigarettes & Alcohol,” everyone screamed along to the words, and the excitement was so high that beer was flying through the air.

I’ve rarely felt such pure joy, even when covered in spilled beer – and it seemed like everyone around me felt the same, yelling happily in Spanish. Behind me, three men were openly crying during “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” and when Noel Gallagher sang “Talk Tonight,” the entire stadium lit up with the glow of cell phone screens.

The rain didn’t fall again, but even if it had, it would have still felt like the sun.

Read More

2025-09-17 03:31