The great wait is over: we have seen Oasis

Cardiff (Wales)There are days when your mouth gets heated, and that was one of them. "Kid, if these morons come back, we'll go no matter what," we said, looking into each other's eyes. Then, we solemnized the moment by clasping hands. More than ten years had passed since that promise when the first rumors began that the Gallagher brothers were considering making peace and that Oasis would return to the stage. "It's all smoke and mirrors, Canals. Don't pay attention. We'll never see them," they said. But the conversations between the two always ended the same: "If these morons come back, we'll go no matter what."

And the time had come. On August 27, 2024 (almost exactly sixteen years after their split), the sun rose and Oasis announced their return: "The guns have fallen silent... the great wait is over," the statement read. It was the end of 16 years of arguments, fights, and differing artistic visions sweetened by the bad company of cocaine and the endless battle of egos.

The call was instantaneous. "Whatever" was "whatever" because a promise is a promise. Seventeen concerts between the UK and Ireland. Mobile phones (Oriol). We dived into the mire of virtual queues, registrations, validation codes, and the heist of dynamic pricing to beat the shit out of each other (virtual, eh, in this world everything is virtual now) with fans. It was all the same to us. Manchester, Edinburgh, London, Dublin; it was absolutely all the same to us. Manchester and 25,000 from Cardiff." "Go ahead, 100,000 in London is my best position."

The August heatwave was pressing down, people were splashing around in the pool, and we were all queuing up online, swearing to drop a few pounds on a promise. 1980s Via Aribau.

After three hours of swearing left and right, the topic started to move on. "Xavi, I'm five hundred miles from Manchester," I said, crossing my fingers that the Wi-Fi wouldn't fail or that I'd get a "sold out" accompanied by a closed fist and a firm middle finger in the air. But no. "Kid, I'm going to Manchester." And when, finally, you have the promised land before you and your credit card is about to give out, the seven plagues of Egypt fall upon you and the ticket sales system only allows... the last one? Come on, man, no way! Virtual queue. In. Almost four hours after staring at screens, the magic phrase arrived: "Xavi, we're going to Cardiff." There were fourteen million applications for the one million four hundred thousand tickets on sale and we got two.

'Wonderwall' in full swing

Ten months later, on Saturday 5th July we landed in Bristol, train in Cardiff, walk through the centre, some combs with Wonderwall at the top of our lungs (we'll take the exact number to our graves) and headed to the Principality Stadium to see this pair of morons play their band. Because let's face it, they're morons. But they're our favorite morons, and we forgive them. For both of us, Oasis represents the explosion of a vital moment, the soundtrack to the transition from adolescence to adulthood; those years when you have the world to consume, a ton of dreams to fulfill, and a very large bottle of lilies in your hand. Over time, they fade away, and you realize that life isn't the bed of roses you had imagined, but music is one of those things that makes the journey more pleasant. Arriving in 2025 with more wrinkles on our faces, a whiter roof, and a presbyopia that I can't even imagine, we're not ashamed of our 90s selves. And Saturday night was like going back. Liam Gallagher, Noel Gallagher, Paul Bonehead Arthurs, Gem Archer, Joey Waronker, Andy Bell, and the 74,000 people who accompanied us made it a great time. The atmosphere was incredible before, during, and after the concert (we're light years away from experiencing it like those people).

Twenty-four hours we'll remember forever. On Sunday, we landed in Barcelona, hoarse, exhausted, and with a terrible hangover, but immensely happy to have kept a promise that lasted more than ten years. Because promises must be kept. "However" and "wherever." The long wait is over. We've seen Oasis.

[Oriol Canals is the head of new business at ARA and the author of novels such as "No dormiràs." Xavier Linares is the financial and corporate director of ARA.]