As a friend said: "he still can't sing for toffee!" It's true. Ian Brown never could sing and without the wonders achieved by the record studio, the live experience can be somewhat grating, were it not for the fact that he sings some of the most iconic tunes from the soundtrack of my life. The fact that he is one of the more legendary frontmen of British Rock is all the more surprising given his tuneless vocals, and a tad inspiring too. (We shouldn't let small things like lack of talent get in the way of our quest for greatness!) With all the psychodelic guitar riffs, mesmeric drum beats and anthemic refrains - Ian Brown's true greatness stood out in the moment he simpy spoke the name of his band, in his accent laced with thick Manc angst: "The Stone Roses." It is perhaps this moment I'll remember the most.
Last time I saw them at the Brixton academy, it was a similar experience. He coudn't sing and no performance can satiate your expectations of a band that was that pivotal. They aren't the greatest live act, having not had nearly as much time on the road as most bands of their stature - spending most of their recording career in legal meetings instead of backstage.
Fact is, seeing The Stone Roses is rare. The Stone Roses spent more time in lawyer's offices than recording studios after they tried to extracate themselves from one recording contract into another. By the time their second album, The Second Coming, came out Nirvana, Oasis and Blur had totally eaten their lunch and despite another awesome album, The Stone Roses were has-beens. I've hated record companies ever since. In-fighting on the road to support The Second Coming saw first Reni the drummer and then John Squire - the artistic powerhouse of the band - both quit and the band came apart at the seams. Until now.
So despite the ordinary nature of some of this performance at The Hordern Pavillion last wednesday night, the rarity of the experience makes up for any quality poverty. These four guys revolutionised British Music and its a treat to be in the room with them to pay tribute for that. Their contribution to music remains entirely seminal.
After 18 years on the planet, the first time I heard "I am the resurrection" it was like ear muffs had been removed. Finally this was music I could get really passionate about! Their "crossover" drum beat - between House music and Indie Rock - changed British music for ever. Their psychodelic guitar riffs put me in touch with Jimmy Hendrix. John Squire's crazy-art album covers sent me in search of Jackson Pollack.
But it was as much about Brown's Manchunian attitude as about the music. He personified the Madchester scene that also spawned bands like The Chalatans, The Happy Mondays, The Inspiral Carpets and so on. He brough that irreverent attutude with him to Sydney. Early on he started to tease those in seats to the side of the venue: "busy day eh?" he said, "yeah, you take the weight off". Later he teased them even more, "your dancing is never gonna get better if you don't practice. Practice makes perfect ya know!"
While the first half was a fairly lame performance, described by others as merely "kareoke" and more a trip down memory lane than anything; following a psychadelic trance-out to Fool's Gold the event really took off and all of us - band and crowd - rediscovered their origins. For them as much as us, The Stone Roses has been Resurrected. The band all hugged each other after the set, which given the schism is amazing itself, and lovely to see.
The playlist was sound. Not enough Second Coming for my liking, but they made up for it by playing classics like Sally Cinamon and even Mersey Paradise. Naturally they finished on "I am The Resurrection" and while there was no encore, everyone left happy. For those that had never seen them, they had. For those that had seen them before, like me, they had been lucky enough to see them again. Will we see them one more time I wonder?
