The Be Here Now Tour was a concert tour by English rock band Oasis in support of their third album Be Here Now. The tour, which spanned the UK, Europe, North America, Asia, Oceania, and Latin America, included 85 shows over a period of several months in 1997 and 1998. The tour started on 14 June 1997 in support of U2 at the KROQ Weenie Roast in Irvine, California, United States, and ended on 25 March 1998 at the Sports Palace in Mexico City, Mexico. With most shows being played during the autumn and winter months, a majority of the concerts were staged at indoor arenas and halls, in contrast to the larger outdoor venues typically featured on Oasis' summer tours.

Be Here Now Tour
Tour by Oasis
Location
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • North America
  • Oceania
  • South America
Associated albumBe Here Now
Start date14 June 1997
End date25 March 1998
Legs9
No. of shows82[1]
Oasis concert chronology

Many performances were audio recorded by either broadcast media or concert attendees and have since been made available on various file-sharing outlets and fan web sites. A handful of performances were also carried by various television outlets throughout the world, including the 14 December concert at the G-Mex in Manchester, England.

Fueled partly by worldwide stardom and drug use, the tour and corresponding album became "infamous" for the amount of excess and spectacle they provided. Accordingly, they marked the end of the cocaine era for Noel Gallagher.[2] He would later say about the craziness and wild year on tour: "I kid you not, there was a sound guy who quit because there was too much 'food'...and I thought 'sure it's not the fucking coke you've been taking'".[citation needed]

As the tour came to an end, the album's reception had changed from rave and outstandingly positive to less-than satisfied and below average reviews with many critics restating that it was weak in comparison to the group's first two records. They did, however, manage to maintain a large cult following in many countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Russia, Italy, Spain, South Korea and Japan where their public persona would strengthen even more over the subsequent decade. This is the band's last world tour with the rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs, and bassist Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan, as both of them left the band in 1999.

Stage setup

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Oasis had a unique album-themed stage set up for the tour, featuring props and set pieces for the first time in their career. At various points on the tour, stage items included a Rolls-Royce rigged with stage lights, an oversized telephone box, and other items from the Be Here Now album cover.[3]

At the start of many performances, a man outfitted with a tailor suit and top hat would appear onstage to excite the crowd, beckoning them to scream and clap, while the opening piano loop for the song "Be Here Now" began playing over the concert PA. The band then entered onto the stage through a large door in the prop telephone box, which doubled as an entryway to backstage. As the tour progressed, different shows featured varying types and numbers of set pieces, though the "Be Here Now" introduction remained a constant through the duration of performances.

Set list

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This set list is representative of the performance on 14 December 1997 at GMEX Arena in Manchester. It does not represent the set list at all concerts for the duration of the tour.

  1. "Be Here Now"
  2. "Stay Young"
  3. "Stand by Me"
  4. "Supersonic"
  5. "Some Might Say"
  6. "Roll with It"
  7. "D'You Know What I Mean?"
  8. "Don't Look Back in Anger"
  9. "Don't Go Away
  10. "Wonderwall"
  11. "Live Forever"
  12. "It's Gettin' Better (Man!!)"
  13. "All Around The World"
  14. "Fade In-Out"
  15. "Champagne Supernova"
  16. "Cigarettes & Alcohol"
  17. "Acquiesce"

Other songs performed:

  1. "Morning Glory"
  2. "Cast No Shadow"
  3. "Magic Pie"
  4. "My Big Mouth"
  5. "The Girl In A Dirty Shirt"
  6. "Shakermaker"
  7. "Heroes"
  8. "Whatever"
  9. "To Be Someone"
  10. "Talk Tonight"
  11. "Half the World Away"
  12. "Slide Away"
  13. "Help!"
  14. "Setting Sun"
  15. "I Am the Walrus"

Tour dates

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Date City Country Venue Capacity Notes
United States
14 June 1997[a] Irvine United States Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre 16,085 / 16,085[4]
18 June 1997 Oakland Oakland Coliseum 66,990 / 85,000 Supporting U2
19 June 1997
Europe
8 September 1997 Oslo Norway Spektrum
9 September 1997 Stockholm Sweden Ericsson Globe
10 September 1997 Copenhagen Denmark Forum Copenhagen
13 September 1997 Exeter England Westpoint Arena 8,000 / 8,000 Sold Out
14 September 1997 8,000 / 8,000[5]
16 September 1997 Newcastle Metro Radio Arena 10,500 / 10,500[6] Sold Out
17 September 1997 10,500 / 10,500
19 September 1997 Aberdeen Scotland Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre 8,500 / 8,500 Sold Out
20 September 1997 8,500 / 8,500
22 September 1997 Sheffield England Hallam FM Arena 12,000 / 12,000 Sold Out
23 September 1997 12,000 / 12,000
25 September 1997 London Earls Court Exhibition Centre 20,000 / 20,000 Sold Out
26 September 1997 20,000 / 20,000
27 September 1997 20,000 / 20,000
29 September 1997 Birmingham National Indoor Arena
30 September 1997
North America
4 October 1997 New York City United States Saturday Night Live
7 October 1997 Hammerstein Ballroom 3,700 / 3,700[7] Sold Out
8 October 1997 3,700 / 3,700
Europe
3 November 1997 Lille France Zénith de Lille
8 November 1997 Zaragoza Spain Pabellon Principe Felipe
10 November 1997 Madrid Palacio de Deportes de La Comunidad
11 November 1997 Barcelona Palau dels Esports
13 November 1997 Geneva Switzerland SEG Geneva Arena
15 November 1997 Casalecchio di Reno - Bologna Italy Palasport
16 November 1997 Milan Forum di Assago
17 November 1997
19 November 1997 Munich Germany Olympiahalle
21 November 1997 Prague Czech Republic Sportovní hala
22 November 1997 Berlin Germany Deutschlandhalle
24 November 1997 Hanover Messehalle
25 November 1997 Frankfurt Festhalle
27 November 1997 Hertogenbosch Netherlands Brabanthallen
28 November 1997 Oberhausen Germany König Pilsener Arena
3 December 1997 Dublin Ireland The Point Depot
4 December 1997[b]
5 December 1997[c]
7 December 1997[d] Glasgow Scotland Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre 10,000 / 10,000[8] Sold Out
8 December 1997 10,000 / 10,000
10 December 1997 Cardiff Wales Cardiff International Arena
11 December 1997
13 December 1997 Manchester England GMEX Arena 10,000 / 10,000± Sold Out
14 December 1997 10,000 / 10,000±
16 December 1997 London Wembley Arena 12,500 / 12,500 Sold Out
17 December 1997 12,500 / 12,500
18 December 1997 12,500 / 12,500
North America
8 January 1998[e] Camden, New Jersey United States Sony E-Center
9 January 1998 Fairfax Patriot Center
10 January 1998 Pittsburgh A.J. Palumbo Center
12 January 1998 East Rutherford Continental Airlines Arena
15 January 1998 Toronto Canada Maple Leaf Gardens
17 January 1998 Rosemont United States Rosemont Horizon
18 January 1998 Minneapolis Northrop Auditorium
21 January 1998 Burbank The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
23 January 1998 Vancouver Canada General Motors Place
24 January 1998 Seattle United States Seattle Center Arena
26 January 1998 San Francisco Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
27 January 1998 Los Angeles Universal Amphitheatre
28 January 1998
31 January 1998 Dallas Bronco Bowl Auditorium
1 February 1998 Houston Theatre at Bayou Place
5 February 1998 West Palm Beach West Palm Beach Auditorium
6 February 1998 Orlando UCF Arena
8 February 1998 Atlanta Fox Theatre
Asia
18 February 1998 Tokyo Japan Nippon Budokan
19 February 1998
20 February 1998
22 February 1998 Hong Kong China HKCEC Hall 3
Oceania
26 February 1998 Perth Australia Perth Entertainment Centre
28 February 1998 Adelaide Adelaide Entertainment Centre
1 March 1998 Melbourne Centre Court
3 March 1998 Sydney Sydney Entertainment Centre
4 March 1998
6 March 1998 Brisbane Brisbane Entertainment Centre
9 March 1998 Auckland New Zealand Carter Holt Pavilion
10 March 1998[f] Wellington Queens Wharf Events Centre
South America
14 March 1998 Santiago Chile San Carlos de Apoquindo Stadium 15,000±
17 March 1998 Buenos Aires Argentina Luna Park
18 March 1998
20 March 1998 Rio de Janeiro Brazil Metropolitan
21 March 1998 São Paulo Polo de Arte e Cultura de Anhembi 30,000±
North America
24 March 1998 Mexico City Mexico Palacio de los Deportes 20,000 / 20,000[9] Sold Out
25 March 1998 20,000 / 20,000

Cancellations and rescheduled shows

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Date City Country Venue Reason
4 November 1997 Paris France Bercy Truck driver strike[10]
6 November 1997 Angers Parc des Expositions
7 November 1997 Bordeaux Patinoire
14 January 1998 Montreal Canada Molson Centre Ice storm[11]

Notes

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  1. ^ The 14 June 1997 concert in Irvine was a part of KROQ Weenie Roast.
  2. ^ Noel took over vocals after Liam got a sore throat.
  3. ^ Noel took over vocals after Liam got a sore throat.
  4. ^ The band walked off stage after Wonderwall due to Paul Arthurs getting hit by a bottle.
  5. ^ Concert ended after Fade In-Out due to Liam's voice almost giving out.
  6. ^ Concert ended after Champagne Supernova due to Liam's drunken antics.

References

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  1. ^ "The Official Oasis Website | Oasis be Here Now reissue".
  2. ^ "Interview: Noel Gallagher talks Oasis past and present". TheGuardian.com. 6 December 2008.
  3. ^ "Noel Gallagher: "Be Here Now Tour Was F**king Unbelievable"". Radio X. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  4. ^ "A permanent amphitheater at Irvine's Great Park would look like this". Orange County Register. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  5. ^ "On This Day In Oasis History..." Latest Oasis, Liam And Noel Gallagher News STOPCRYINGYOURHEARTOUT.COM. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  6. ^ Morton, David (16 September 2022). "Oasis at Newcastle Arena 25 years ago - the band and fans in photographs". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  7. ^ "News Flash: Oasis To Bite The Big Apple". MTV. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Oasis storm off in Glasgow after bottle thrown". HeraldScotland. 8 December 1997. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  9. ^ "La primera visita de Oasis a México en 1998" (in Spanish). 29 May 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Drivers' Strike Forces Oasis Cancellations". Chicago Tribune. 4 November 1997.
  11. ^ "Megadeth, Oasis Get Charitable in Midst of Ice Storm". MTV. Archived from the original on 23 June 2023.