Stones Roses

So, it’s like this. One late night we decide to see The Stone Roses on their reunion tour. I was very excited when it was announced they’d reunited last year (or was it the year before?), and now they were at the Riverside Stage in Brisbane. A short trip on the bus, a short walk across the bridge and we were there. Early, of course. A quick snack and then some DJing by Zane Lowe, which was in patches okay, but pretty ordinary compared to someone like Greg Gillis, aka Girl Talk. Too much scratching, like a flea-blown dog. Then a half hour of rubbish music on a loop, when will they start? And then all the drinks lined up on the stage, several times, with careful attention to those for the bass guitar (Mani) and Ian Brown. I am convinced Mani is slightly OCD, two of everything, in pairs, labels to the front. And then they were out there! First song: I Wanna Be Adored. Tingles down the spine and all that. There was a slight contretemps when Ian was upset with the mixers, deservedly so because we couldn’t hear the bass, and at several points he made cryptic gestures to someone, somewhere, perhaps ordering an egg salad with cornichons and Jarlsberg and a piece of black rye sourdough, but hold the Branston pickle. For the most part he, Ian, was muffled and looked pretty bored really. John Squire on the other hand was awesome, especially in lots of extended versions of their songs, brilliant solos, and I heard someone close-by comment that he was only showing off. And the power to him for it; great stuff. Mani provided a solid bass, and Reni on the drums was very good, animated, energetic and entertaining. They played almost all of their big songs, with “Bye Bye Badman” being a noticeable exception. Still, all up, a great experience. And as we meandered across the Goodwill Bridge home, to the tunes of their final song, I was enlivened. I need to see more live music. Buzzcocks in April methinks!