Oasis turns on the voltage Brit-rock rulers rattle the walls at Air Canada Centre And praise openers Arctic Monkeys as `breath of fresh air' Mar. 21, 2006. 06:10 AM VIT WAGNER Allowing for the eternal advantage enjoyed by the headliner over the opener, the Britpup heirs-apparent held their own against the reigning kings of Britpop during a thunderous display of rock 'n' roll dynamism at a sold-out Air Canada Centre last night. And, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the kids even earned some kudos from their elders in the process. Oasis, ever reluctant to relinquish their grasp on the crown, even when that grasp has sometimes seemed more tenuous than real, has seldom had anything but a disparaging word for upstarts — particularly serious contenders like Coldplay, who arrive for ACC sets of their own Wednesday and Thursday. But Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys, rock's darlings du jour, even merited a testimonial from their uncharacteristically gracious hosts. "We're going to dedicate this to a breath of fresh air, the Arctic Monkeys," enthused singer Liam Gallagher before the band launched into "Rock 'n' Roll Star" from the 1994 Oasis debut, Definitely Maybe. It could be that those footsteps have become a little less audible since a revamped Oasis started touring on last year's Don't Believe the Truth, its best album since Liam and guitarist/brother Noel were still sparring in the tabloids with former nemesis Damon Albarn of Blur. Bolstered by the addition of second guitarist Gem Archer, bassist Andy Bell and drummer Zak Starkey, Oasis launched its current North American odyssey with a brilliant set last July at the Molson Amphitheatre. Eight months later, far from showing signs of weariness, the Mancunians still look to be very near the top of their game. And when Oasis is on, most pretenders can only hope to approximate the band's capacity for arena-rattling rock. Sure, it doesn't hurt to have fist-pumpers like "(What's the Story) Morning Glory," "Cigarettes and Alcohol," "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova" in your arsenal. But it's a testament to the group's obvious rejuvenation that newer offerings "Turn up the Sun" and "Lyla" seldom suffer by comparison. Nor, for that matter, did the Arctic Monkeys, who hardly seemed daunted by the prospect of setting the stage by warming up a smaller crowd of early but clearly enthusiastic arrivees. "Be gentle. Be gentle," singer-guitarist Alex Turner pleaded impishly. The quartet — the oldest of whom is 20 — was anything but gentle, igniting a 35-minute, 10-song set with a blistering rip through "The View from the Afternoon," the opening track on its hot-selling debut, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. The similarities between the bands ended with the high voltage each brought to the occasion. Unlike Oasis, whose anthemic catalogue has been built on easily digestible platitudes, the Arctic Monkeys favour detailed narratives in which anticipation is often balanced by disappointment. More like the Kinks, by way of the Jam. More, ahem, like Blur, than Oasis. The storyline from "I Bet you Look Good on the Dancefloor," for instance, vacillates between seduction and indifference, while larding in allusions to everything from Shakespeare to Duran Duran. Any temptation to find fault with a young band so earnestly hyped by the British press, which hardly seems capable of going a fortnight without touting some Next Big Thing, was dispelled by the quality of the songs and the economical assurance of the presentation. The Arctic Monkeys get top billing when they perform a club set tonight at the Phoenix Concert Theatre, the kind of relatively intimate venue the band is accustomed to playing. But if graduating to arenas on a full-time basis is in their future, these newcomers appear more than ready for that too. Toronto Star http://www.thestar.com/ --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 220.136.39.36