A bucket-list reunion for many music fans, Oasis is back together and touring in 2025. The English rock band's string of concerts in the United Kingdom and Ireland span July and August, and quickly sold out to hordes of eager fans. (Don't worry; the band aims to play outside of Europe later in 2025, according to a news release — let's keep our fingers crossed for a Cleveland stop.)
But, hey, take a moment to go down memory lane in Northeast Ohio's concert history.
Before playing a couple of shows at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, and before playing E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall in Akron, and the Lakewood Civic Auditorium, and even The Odeon in Cleveland, the band hit one of the region's small long-running indie venues in Cleveland Heights — just two years after it opened.
Grog Shop owner Kathy Blackman was working doors on the Tuesday night concert, which took place at the venue's old location, at 1765 Coventry Road. (The venue later moved to its current location, 2785 Euclid Heights Blvd.) The Oasis show took place less than two months after the band put out its debut album Definitely Maybe.
“They were very big in England, but they were still sort of unknown in Cleveland. I remember telling people to come. We hadn’t sold that many tickets,” Blackman says. “We were just sort of trying to get anybody in to check them out.”
RELATED: These Women-Owned Venues Lead Cleveland's Arts Scene
Bandleaders Liam and Noel Gallagher brought along their entourage: mainly, buddies from overseas, Blackman remembers. “It wasn’t like a typical road crew. It was a bunch of guys, very young,” Blackman says. “They were, like, impossible to understand, really thick accents, but they were a lot of fun, and they just wanted to have a good time.”
At the old Grog Shop location, the doors were located next to the stage, meaning that Blackman had a perfect spot to take in the show.
“They were great. Like, the best British rock around,” Blackman says. “It was around when we had a bunch of British bands; I remember Supergrass played right around that same time too. I loved them too. They were even crazier.”
The Gallagher brothers, who for years famously feuded and fought (leading to Oasis’ breakup in 2009) were rocking out at the small venue for about 150 people, and were “lovely” backstage, Blackman says.
“You would hear all the drama about them. I did not get that impression at all,” Blackman says. “It was just good rock and roll.”
The band’s night at the venue later reached legendary status; Blackman says the Grog Shop still has Oasis’ signed photo on its wall of fame, with other promotional photos of bands that played at the venue over its many years.
(Photo courtesy Kathy Blackman)
However, one other artist stands out when Blackman thinks of famous bands that have hit the Grog’s stage:
“For many, many years, people would always ask, ‘What’s the biggest band that ever played there?’ And for years I said Oasis — until Bruno Mars played here. So they got usurped.”
Check out the setlist of the show below:
1. “Rock 'n' Roll Star”
2. “Columbia”
3. “Fade Away”
4. “Digsy's Dinner”
5. “Shakermaker”
6. “Live Forever”
7. “Bring It On Down”
8. “Up in the Sky”
9. “Slide Away”
10. “Cigarettes & Alcohol”
11. “Married With Children”
12. “Supersonic”
14. “I Am the Walrus (The Beatles cover)”
(Lead photo courtesy Simon Emmett)
For more updates about Cleveland, sign up for our Cleveland Magazine Daily newsletter, delivered to your inbox six times a week.
Cleveland Magazine is also available in print, publishing 12 times a year with immersive features, helpful guides and beautiful photography and design.
