IN THE light of recent reports, perhaps the greatest achievement of the reformed Happy Mondays is they are not awful - though this is through being tight and proficient, words rarely associated with the Mondays's live performances.

There is a restraint running through their set that even stems to a subdued Bez - but a run-through of selected Mondays and Black Grape hits, and a cover of Sympathy For The Devil, are good enough in a way to show up the headliners for the one-dimensional outfit they are.

Before Oasis reach the stage, the atmosphere of boorishness verging on violence is oppressive. Their demeanour, however, is largely business-like, and, as a consequence, this has to go down as one of their better Scottish performances.

There is little family feuding, and there is no doubt that the enforced line-up changes have made Oasis a more potent live band. It does not, however, make their lumpen pub-rock (think Dr Feelgood with indie credibility) any more palatable.

The run-through of singles is interrupted only for the better when Noel takes the lead on Acquiese, and a cover of Neil Young's Hey Hey My My (Into the Black), and for the worse on the few occasions when they tackle any track from their two most recent albums.

Ironically, just as Oasis have got it together on a basic level as a live band (it still lacks much in the way of performance and the stage set consists of some artless projections), Noel Gallagher's muse appears to have deserted him. For Oasis, the past sounds way better than either the present or future.