NEWS
EVENTS
The Stone Roses Comeback Tour
Indie | Wednesday 15th August 2012 | Osh
It was official, the Stone Roses were back, and after already impressing on their opening night, Roses fever in and around the city had become contagious. One would be mistaken for believing he had just entered the Avalon fields at Glastonbury rather than a public park on the outskirts of Manchester, with the vibe being so relaxed and friendly.
Liam Gallagher was seen from afar patrolling along the stage looking at people like they owed him money as per usual with his Beatles tribute band. Glimmers of genius were few and far between from the Oasis front man, but a raucous cheer and a sea of beer cups being raised into the air as a sign of approval met the Manc legends sour grin when the crowd were treated to the irresistible opening riff to ‘Rock and Roll Star’.
The summer of love feeling from 88-89 was in full swing as the sun started to set over an eager crowd. Many grew anxious at long beer queues and in some instances the poor fellas and sheilas serving the lukewarm Fosters were overrun from the lager thirsty proletariat.
Nothing could dampen the spirit of what was to come though, as four men who have meant so much to the likes of teenagers who have raided their parent’s record collection, people of their late 20’s 30’s who lived through acid house and the frenzied atmosphere of the late 80’s – early 90’s and those that are getting that little bit older, clinging on to the rebellious and hedonistic attitude they saw from punk and the mod/two tone revivals.
All of these people would have been pleasantly surprised then to hear John Squire delicately pluck each string on his bass which finally resonated in Ian Brown echoing those famous lyrics, “I don’t need to sell my soul, he’s already in me”.
All premature worries of Brown sounding shit, the band rowing like cat and dog again and the arena not cutting it were firmly put to bed as the band had clearly been confined to the practice room. Squire and Mani were tight, Reni’s head and hat bobbed away like the good ol’ days and Brown’s voice was impeccable.
The gig moved on with classics such as (song for my) ‘Sugar Spin Sister’, ‘Shoot You Down’ and Bye Bye Badman’. ‘Fool’s Gold’ brought the next biggest cheer of the night and the largest array of baggy clothed dancing. ‘Waterfall’ and ‘Made of Stone’ were obvious crowd pleasers as was ‘This is the One’ of which a sea of hands and fingers saluted the ‘one’.
‘I am the Resurrection’ was a fitting tribute to the bands comeback, a 16 minute long finale that had people visibly getting emotional. Those who watched closely could see it from the Roses too as Brown’s grin gleamed as much as his leather jacket in the pulsating lights. Looking in awe of what the band have been missing for 20 years, a crowd kneeling before them in utter admiration, it seems the Roses won’t be going anywhere fast (the money’s not all that bad either).
Fireworks and the tender tone of Bob Marley and ‘redemption Song’ put an end to what 220,000 adoring fans will have as an undeniably unforgettable night, it truly was an ‘I was there moment’, so just to rub it in.. I was there.
By Maxwell Stott
