Search

The Stone Roses- Etihad Stadium Show Resurrected

Libby Beacham
Feb 13, 2017
3 min read

Yes it was last year that I was witness to the Manchester lads, but The Stone Roses are still touring and there was no chance of me breezing over the greatest opportunity I will ever have in my lifetime. It is not often that you get to see your favourite band live, especially for me as my favourite band was active during the 80s through 90s and ended their successes feeling sore after many arguments. However, they reunited in 2009 to release a remastered version of their greatest hits on their 20th Anniversary, began touring in 2011 and were the stars of a documentary called The Stone Roses: Maid of Stone by the great Shane Meadows (it's lit, check it out). Then finally, the band announced two gigs at the Etihad Stadium in their hometown and I managed to bag tickets to see them on 17 June.

The gig was on a football pitch, which is always my favourite type of gig as it's open air and you get to watch the sky turn and all of the lights around the stadium encourage a sense of togetherness (dusk is the best time for an outdoor music sesh). The crowd was a sea of bucket hats and parka coats, not to mention the mod haircut sported by all male attendees but it showed that everyone was there for the music and not for the bragging rights. I was sporting my I Am The Resurrection t-shirt so I felt as cool as Ian Brown's cameo in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and even though my packet of wine gums had been confiscated, I had a beer in my hand so I felt equipped enough for the gig to begin.

The supporting acts were almost as legendary as the main act, with Buzzcocks (Ever Fallen In Love), The Coral (In the Morning) and Public Enemy (harder than you think), so everyone had their eyes glued to the stage for the entire shabang. The bands paved the way for the four-piece band to kick off their set and the atmosphere was pumped with all ready to sing along with joints in their mouths. The Stone Roses played all their classics, 'I Wanna Be Adored', 'I Am The Resurrection', 'Waterfall', 'Made Of Stone' (my all time favourite) and 'She Bangs The Drums'. They also played their newest releases, 'Beautiful Thing' and 'All For One', which was met with huge cheers and a condom balloon flying through the air.

The Stone Roses performing Made Of Stone (1995)

The greatest song Brown, Squire, Reni and Mani played however and surprisingly so, was 'This Is The One'. It's not the most popular song and certainly not the one that made the career for The Stone Roses, yet in that moment everyone sang together in harmony with their arms raised to the sky and it felt like a community. All differences, personal problems and outside distractions were forgotten and the stadium banded together in that shared moment with their beloved rock stars. It shows the impact music can have on those who consume it like sweet nectar and certainly those who love such bands so much that they have ink on their bodies in dedication of their icons (lemon tattoo on the ribs for those who get the reference).

The chemistry between the band on stage was phenomenal and the crowd could tell that past grievances were dead and buried between the lads. There was none of the Reni storming off the stage dramas that were seen at previous performances and instead, the band seemed to be enjoying both their time together and the reaction of the stadium in front of them. The gig was finished with a firework display in the rain and it felt like a romantic movie scene with the love affair between the fans and the music rather than some attractive couple such as Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling. All in all, the stage that night was where the angels play (little pun there for you Stone Roses fans) and it shows that rock is like a bottle of whiskey, it gets better with age.