Who
The Stone Roses
Support
Public Enemy
The Coral
Buzzcocks
Where
Manchester Etihad Stadium
When
17th June 2016
Price
£59.00
Who with
No-one
Position
Towards the front
Comments
I've lost track of how many comings this is, as it could be considered a continuation of the third coming, or even the fifth coming if the shows of 2012 and 2013 are counted as separate entities. Typically for The Stone Roses the comeback was being conducted at a glacial pace, but in such a way that the enthusiasm level of fans had remained sky high. Same as I'd done for the Manics in Swansea, I booked my hotel in Manchester within minutes of the dates being announced. Not being sure if I'd get tickets for Friday or Saturday I booked both nights, and the room was quite costly even that far in advance, but being slap bang in the centre and giving me an excuse for a long weekend in the city was much nicer than paying over the odds for somewhere miles out of town once the tickets had gone on sale. It was quite a scramble for tickets but I got the Friday night eventually, and noted that additional shows on Wednesday and Sunday were quickly announced. In fact seated tickets for the Wednesday were on sale right up until the week, so no-one had any excuses for not coming along in the end! With 60,000 fans a night it meant that the best part of a quarter of a million people would be seeing the Roses over the week, which is no less than the great band deserve. By my count this was the sixth time I'd seen Ian Brown, and I can't quite believe I saw him riding onstage in brown leather on a bicycle at V2001 as I watched from the front! Apart from hearing the hits on the train to Manchester I didn't find much time to listen to the songs, but I was very quick off the mark to enjoy the two new tunes. I was listening live in Cyprus to hear the debut of All For One, which has a perfect guitar solo and was unfairly maligned, and in my view only falls down due to the weak lyrics that can't fail to evoke the Dogtanian theme tune.

Much more undeniably brilliant was Beautiful Thing, which is difficult for even the most blinkered sceptic to dismiss. I have high hopes for the third album, and hope that All For One is its She Bangs The Drums, in that it is immediately catchy but is quite throwaway compared to the deeper tunes that will follow it. The support bill wasn't announced until near the show, but considering that there were no tickets to sell the line-up was a revelation, and I was absolutely delighted that I'd be attending the best night, in particular that I'd be watching The Coral who I'd missed way back in their early days performing with The Music, as The Music pulled out and I regretfully allowed myself to be talked out of attending the show. The band were also fresh in my mind as by the time I resolved to watch them on their latest tour I was surprised to see it had completely sold out, and to cross them off my list without having to make a special effort to watch them was a fantastic result. Public Enemy were the main support on all four nights, which would have been more exciting if I hadn't already seen them playing with The Prodigy six months earlier. Although I was happy to watch them again and hopeful I'd appreciate them more the second time, I did feel some frustration as it negated one of the key selling points in nudging me to see The Prodigy, taking an edge off what had already been a forgettable and disappointing concert. First on the bill was Buzzcocks, and that was absolutely wonderful as they are Manchester legends who I'd never fork out to see on their own, but I'd be delighted to cross them off my list playing to an enthusiastic home crowd. If I had a time machine and infinite cash on my hands I would still like to see The Smiths, Morrissey, The Hollies, Joy Division and The Charlatans, but nevertheless I was a step closer to seeing all of the Manchester greats in my lifetime.

The band played two warm-up gigs in Halifax and Carlisle, and I was a bit disappointed that they didn't venture closer to my area, but I only glimpsed the first night setlist before putting myself into media lockdown so that I wouldn't face any more spoilers before the big day, which would be two nights after the guys kicked off the run of stadium shows on the Wednesday. I was still intending to look for a job but had found myself occupied by watching The Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings trilogies, and also seeing England Vs Wales at Euro 2016 the night before. After we'd been robbed against Russia in the first game by their luck on the pitch and disgraceful behaviour off the field it was a good turnaround to score a last minute goal, as we'd thrashed them in terms of possession, play and shots on target and any other result would have been unfair. We both made it through the group stages, so ultimately everyone was happy and all was good. Or at least it was until we went out to Iceland! And somehow I'm told this was the first time England have ever come from behind at a major tournament, which is hard to believe as England always sell themselves as the team that can roar like lions. Hmmmm. This concert being on a Friday also meant less time for job hunting, and sadly after as I sorted out my photos and caught up with life, I was then caught completely off-guard by the result of the referendum that nobody expected, meaning I found myself so distracted that I barely had the time to write up these notes until the following weekend. As it was hot on the heels of visiting Swansea in fact the Etihad Stadium would be the third premiership ground I'd be visiting, after starting off my very slow voyage to travel to them all at Anfield in 2008. On the morning of the show I caught up with my TV again - which is now a losing battle with Family Guy, American Dad and The X-Files on every night - before packing and catching my train to Manchester without any issues.

I'd originally contemplated extending my trip up north to visit Preston, Blackburn and Lytham St Annes, but ultimately didn't feel I should spare the time or the money, as it was hardly like I was bored being at home anyway. Therefore I knew I'd only have to carry my backpack to the hotel and didn't mind carrying my laptop to make it a little easier to write up my notes afterwards. I knew a friend was going but didn't feel I knew them well enough to arrange a meet-up, and it would be nice to find someone in my local area who is enthusiastic about good music and could reliably join me without whining about the cost of gigs or wishing to stand at the back or just get drunk and keep losing our space. Surprisingly very few people fit that basic criteria! I reached Manchester Piccadilly to walk past a tout openly selling tickets before heading into town for a pub lunch, which was pricey but acceptable, then I found what claimed to be a Belgian bar on the map but walked over to find it looked to be an overcrowded trendy cafe, so I turned back and ventured to check into my hotel. Somehow I think I got sunburned in the few minutes that I was outside under the clouds, but I relaxed in my room and caught up with the internet, deciding to save all my sightseeing for the following full day. When I checked into the hotel I was asked why I was in Manchester, and judging by the number of old people in the hotel I struggled to comprehend why so many of them had booked this particular weekend in Manchester a full seven months beforehand, and wondered how hard it had been for all The Stone Roses fans to find a room somewhere in a city that only seems to have enough hotel beds to cope with the average midweek demand. I got changed then headed out after meticulously checking the weather forecast and confirming it unlikely to rain, only to find it pouring the moment I stepped outside! In retrospect I was happy enough to get a bit wet rather than sweat myself silly, but I should have taken my new bucket hat, as I'd wrongly anticipated that they'd be too cliched and may look a bit silly, as there'd been relatively few at Heaton Park even though the London Finsbury Park crowd had gone mad for them.

I'd intended to take my yellow 2013 Reni t-shirt but it hadn't dried in time, so I went with my official Heaton Park top, and was surprised not to see a single other punter wearing it amongst the wealth of fantastic band t-shirts on display. The route from the train station to the Etihad Stadium had been advertised as 25 minutes, and this may have been true if there'd been a single signpost from Piccadilly, but as it was I struggled to walk round the complex after being unable to get through it, before eventually finding the path and a handful of signs pointing the way. Guys were selling bucket hats and ponchos and touts were openly buying and selling tickets in front of the few policemen I saw, and there wasn't quite the big presence of helpers steering us toward the venue we'd been led to believe, which was frustrating as security before the concert to ensure no-one was robbed of their tickets should have been considered a priority. Gates had opened at 4:30pm and I arrived around 30 minutes later, finding the time had just slipped away. I'd purchased a small lemonade bottle and smuggled it in without fuss, even though the guy in front of me got a full body search. It was an appropriate beverage for the lemon-themed Roses and typically the admission rules were vague about if water was banned or not. The security guard was more concerned about my camera, and needed both me and his colleague to quote the rules to him that handheld cameras were explicitly permitted. I do wonder sometimes why they have rules when they're ambiguous, not even known to those enforcing them, sloppily enforced and sometimes nonsensical! But the main thing was that I got it in, although it was a small bottle and it took a great degree of self-control to ensure I didn't open it until deep into the Roses performance. I took a few photos outside the stadium and walked into the standing area, unusually not encountering any more ticket checks. Either the crowd were completely segregated or those with seated tickets were free to roam, as there was no wristbands. I didn't notice the higher tiers filling up, making me think the crowd had taken advantage to enter the standing areas. All the lower tier tickets were unreserved for standing fans, meaning that those with the same tickets as I had were given the very best of both worlds, but I had no doubt that I wanted to see the show from the front regardless of the high chances of pushing and piss-chucking.

None of the new official £20 t-shirts I saw on offer both outside and inside the stadium appealed, so I decided to resist this time, and I sat down for a couple of minutes before noting I didn't want my legs to fall asleep, and that I was getting rather hungry. As I had so little to sustain me and had four bands to get through, and also as I like to reward venues who don't shaft me as I walk in, I resolved to grab a portion of chips and bottle of Coke for £3 each, internalising my frustration as the Coke bottle was emptied into a hugely impractical plastic cup. However, I consumed both as fast as I could, and £6 was a fair price to give me a boost that enhanced my focus and enjoyment, although I physically couldn't see any bins anywhere, so suspect the venue has given up all attempts to stop it all from ending up on the floor! The Buzzcocks then appeared onstage 5/10 minutes early so I made my way forwards, ready to enjoy the first of the treats on offer tonight. Visually they were a relatively conventional four-piece, with one guy in a red shirt. Their name was on the drum kit, the sidescreens were utilised and there were a few lights too, but nothing fancy. The tunes were solid, but it wasn't until the last few songs that things really picked up. I was pleasantly surprised to recognise What Do I Get?, which went down a storm despite some talking over it, and there was also mass recognition for a tune I'd never heard, although this could well have been the audience just being fired up by the general enthusiasm with which it was played. I shot a video of an unknown song which was chanty and enjoyable, but am still none the wiser what it was. Of course the highlight was Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've), as the crowd all knew it and started singing, and I shot a short and exceptionally shaky video to capture the moment. Next up were The Coral at 6:35pm, and I was surprised that I actually recognised all the songs, either from the Singles Collection I'd almost totally forgotten about then given a few spins beforehand, or a Steve Lamacq live session to promote the latest album. The guys appeared onstage with absolutely no gimmicks or fuss, just James Skelly with his bowler hat and giving me little else to talk about except the wonderful tunes. Perhaps sensibly they didn't make any reference to their Liverpudlian heritage, and although I was delighted to watch them, I did doubt how much I'd had gained from paying to see them specially. The crowd would have been more enthusiastic for sure, but how much value would it have added?

Jacqueline was a strong start and I shot my first video for Chasing The Tail Of A Dream, which is atmospheric and a good demonstration of my camera's super zoom. They unleashed Pass It On very early, which has always been my favourite but it received a muted reception, taking me by surprise when In The Morning and Dreaming Of You went down considerably better, including a loud chanting along to the instrumentation of In The Morning. The Coral's set was over before I even knew it, and very quickly the stage was updated for Public Enemy at 7:45pm. Certainly they were packing in the music tonight, with such short gaps between the acts I was barely aware of any moments of boredom. The DJ was wheeled onto the stage on a raised platform, and a Public Enemy banner was unfurled beneath him. Public Enemy started off low-key, but by the time I shot a video for Shut 'Em Down the sirens were blaring, fists in the air and all the members were onstage, including the two wonderful "dancers" in military uniforms doing the same very casual job of coordinating their occasional movements, including push ups at one point. A shout-out was made to Prince and Muhammad Ali, the two most famous black celebrities who'd sadly passed away so far in 2016, and it was only after dropping the Ali tribute that Flavor Flav suddenly revealed he had his trademark clock necklace hidden beneath his t-shirt, and in fact I only then realised it was him as he seemed far more low-key this time without a hoverboard. Although there was some goading for crowd participation, the band weren't quite as obnoxious as they'd been last time, perhaps sensing that as a stadium crowd that getting us all involved was a harder prospect, or even they may have learned this lesson the hard way the first night. The crowd was quite enthusiastic for the pointing and suchlike, but without the relentless pressure to participate the set had a much freer vibe. The same as last time, there was a short DJ set which featured Seven National Army and Smells Like Teen Spirit, and a few people went mental but again I felt it was opportunistic to play two such overheard tunes they had had no hand in writing to generate a cheap crowd reaction. And it was exactly the same two songs as last time!

The set finished the same as last time with the rousing Harder Than You Think, after the clever introduction that doing this for 30 years was harder than we think! This was definitely the highlight for many, and I shot another short video. Flav was wearing a t-shirt saying "racism is not over but I'm over racism", which is a nice sentiment, but wearing it perhaps disproves his point. Also he made a speech at the end about racism and division, and got the crowd to say "fuck racism", which is good sentiment and it was pleasing to see no-one going against it. Activism is one approach, but I much prefer it if an act who aren't white and male could just be absolutely fantastic, not have to bang on about being different, even in the context of unity, and in turn the critics should show them the same respect of talking about their music and talent rather than their differences. Nothing builds bridges quite like positive role models who are different but aren't defined by it, and can create love by just being brilliant. There were one or two flares set off and quite a positive reaction to Public Enemy, and I must say that the atmosphere wasn't as charged with twattishness as it has sometimes been at Stone Roses gigs. In particular rather than the ground being covered with drug paraphernalia and some people off their heads like had been the case at Heaton Park, the worst behaviour was some idiots defying the smoking ban and reminding me of how yucky a habit it is, and although there was some pint chucking and quite heavy moshing to come, most of it was good-natured. Whether the thanks go to good stewarding and organisation, positive personal growth by the fans or the good luck of my experience on the night is hard to say! Bizarrely many condom balloons were being chucked around the front, and at one point I was hit with something that could have been a stone, but as it didn't hurt I doubted it was. I managed to make the witty remark to my neighbour that hopefully a rose was to follow the stone, and also spent some time trying to get on Facebook, but the internet had gone down amid the weight of all the people inside the stadium. I'd tried to post a status with a lemon symbol but it didn't come out quite as expected, then vanished when I tried modifying it.

This time sadly there was no Stoned Love to herald the arrival of the band. We did get to hear You Got The Love and a version of I Was Made To Love Her that differed from The Beach Boys one, and I'm not even sure what the actual intro tape was. A slightly refined version of the lemons logo was on the drum kit and the set-up was the same very simple one for just the four band members, and The Stone Roses took to the stage to a hysterical reception a little bit after 9pm. They'd probably had been lynched if they opened with anything else, or so overwhelmed by the crowd singing it we wouldn't have noticed at all, but obviously they opened with I Wanna Be Adored. It was almost as electrifying as at Heaton Park, as we completely drowned out Ian Brown, and I am still none the wiser as to whether he was singing well or not, as we were so loud in our own participation. So many people were standing on each others shoulders at first I couldn't see a thing, and a good few flares were set off. Ian openly called out for fans to stop setting them off as they were choking the band onstage, and it's disappointing that some fans were so intent on setting them off that they ignored the very heroes they'd come along to see. Fucktards. Mani looked the same as usual whereas Reni and John were hairier and more bearded than ever before. In a nice touch to emphasise how much of their brilliance was generated by their individual talents gelling together, cameras were often focused on each member, with their four images projected onto four screens above the stage. Very nice. Next up was Elephant Stone, which I didn't recognise at first, but again it was the single version. I shot my first short and shaky video and captured the multitude of blue lemons on the massive back screens, along with the many fists in the air. By comparing setlists I can see that all of the songs from Halifax and Carlisle had been included in the main set, and the overall length of the set increased by four songs compared to either of the warm-ups.

Despite my attempt at blocking out media after seeing the first setlist, I had heard the wonderful news that Sally Cinnamon and Mersey Paradise had been reintroduced in Carlisle, which rectified the two worst omissions from the first setlist and gave tonight a fighting chance to equal the wonder of Heaton Park. And wonderfully they were now played back-to-back. Sally Cinnamon is a beloved crowd favourite and I shot a short video of the wonderful moment when Ian sang the best line in pop history. Unfortunately there was no cherryade for me tonight! Mersey Paradise was sadly slowed down, whereas my recollection from Heaton Park was that it was sped up. By now I'd gone camera mad and shot my third video, capturing Ian Brown singing beneath the screen on the left side of the stage. He was dressed in a white top and with the word A4 randomly marked on his jacket. Although the treatment of the song took an edge off it and not everyone recognised it, for a lot of people it clearly evoked amazing memories of the original comeback. My camera stayed out for (Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister, which was played to a backdrop of yellow lemons and someone twirling a bucket hat in their hands in front of me, and again it was slowed down. Perhaps a contender for the highlight of the night was Bye Bye Badman, which somehow was even better than at Heaton Park and made me wonder how it could ever have been dropped from the set. Despite being a b-side the reception was thunderous, and it clearly connected with the crowd astonishingly well. I was also pleasantly surprised to hear Where Angels Play, which I'd been very sorry had been dropped in 2013 but could have lived without it. It has an extended ending that segued into Shoot You Down, and I was astonished and delighted that The Roses had stormed through all of the tunes I'd doubted they'd play, as I fully expected the hits would follow and it took the pressure off and allowed me to enjoy whatever followed.

The first complete curveball was Begging You, which starts strongly and featured fantastic red lights, as I shot a short video to capture the surprise. It's good but does sadly tail away, although as we'd been treated well so far and it was nice to hear something unexpected I was happy. At around this point I worked out I wanted to hear 10 more songs, and would also have been thrilled to listen to The Hardest Thing In The World and One Love to fill in the few different songs I'd yet to hear. Sadly I didn't get those two, but we did get to enjoy 9 out of the 10, with Ten Storey Love Song being the disappointing gap, and a bit more on Beautiful Thing later, but that was sort-of played. It was tragic to leave out the strongest moment (or joint strongest with Love Spreads) of The Second Coming, but we did get to hear three songs from the album, so it wasn't like it was overlooked. In particular the setlist was the same over all four nights, which may be dull for the band but ensures no-one grumbles, and all 11 songs from the classic debut were included. I shot my sixth video for Waterfall and seventh for Don't Stop, which both featured the same light scheme. People were standing on each others shoulders and I twirled round to view the crowd chaos, and the transition between the songs was excellent. Playing a song backwards is the neatest trick in their book, but by now The Stone Roses had done it enough times to make it sound effortless. Elizabeth My Dear was introduced as a singalong, but one that I ignored, although Ian spared us the divisive lecture about his political views, perhaps realising that the public mood is very much against him, and that with a comeback single like All For One that saying something that would split opinion too much wasn't consistent with his own lyrics. But it was definitely the low-point, as many others remained quiet, whether due to political belief or indifference to the short song.

Next up was Fools Gold, and it was good to hear a more measured reaction of medium-level interest, hopefully because the weight of classics that had preceded it had gone down so wonderfully. I shot another video that captured people singing the loop, but for the most part everyone chilled out, enjoyed the lasers, and noted that Reni had now changed into a bucket hat to complement his yellow t-shirt. During All For One someone actually chucked a lemon in my direction, and another fool was rude enough to throw something at Ian Brown. I did say the twat count was lower, but it was not entirely zero! I shot my longest video during the tune, as the screens were filled with images of the single artwork, and I captured the already-classic guitar solo, but my hands went mad and shaky the moment that John Squire launched into it, whether I intended them to or not. Next up was Love Spreads, which is great but looking back it made me realise that John Squire kept his head down so much that I can't think of any comment to make besides the short observations above about his guitar solo and facial hair. Quiet but brilliant! Often I gradually fall back from the crowd as a gig goes on, but this time I'd somehow drifted to the centre and the heat of the moshpit, and it reached fever pitch for Made Of Stone. This song has always gone down ludicrously well, but never quite like this. I found myself unpleasantly pushed up against a hairy topless guy, and somehow people still standing on shoulders despite the chaos, and frustratingly lines of people pushing even further forward. I've been quite dismissive about She Bangs The Drums above, and it's never been a great favourite of mine, but the intensity of the moshpit and my glasses steaming up as it also began to rain became so insane that I had no choice but to take them off, then hold onto them for dear life, while also trying to stop anything from falling out of my pockets. After this carnage, Breaking Into Heaven was a blessed relief purely because we needed a breather. I shot a vid of a long guitar solo and Ian Brown tossing something into the crowd, and I can't say my opinion of the tune improved at all, but it was certainly a better breather than Standing Here or Something's Burning - two weak moments that thankfully had been dropped and weren't missed at all. I was fearing Something's Burning was becoming The Stone Roses equivalent of Run!, Christian, Run!

The set then powered towards the finale thanks to This Is The One, and somehow the moshpit had now calmed down as our efforts turned to putting our fingers in the air. By now I was drinking my lemonade which I'd rationed very effectively, and I shot an 11th brief video. There is a simple majesty to the song, and Ian Brown with his hand in the air and the basic blue lighting perfectly captured it. I did get back from the show a little frustrated to have shot so many videos and most of them so short, but that's the compromise to not be a twat filming entire songs with a phone above your head! An incredible drum solo preceded I Am The Resurrection, taking me a little by surprise as I was expecting it to be an elaborate intro to Beautiful Thing. There was no fannying about at all with chit chat or introducing the band tonight! Ian in fact didn't sing the first half of the chorus, but many probably didn't register this as he didn't need to. I shot a fairly long video, but by doing so broke my own rule of never cutting off the song before the end. Sadly I didn't think of this on the night! The backing video footage was similar to last time, and the enthusiasm for the outro was as immense as ever. The band linked arms and sidestepped across the stage to allow as many fans as possible to capture the definitive image of a Roses gig. I had an attempt, but it was blurred, and my short video was also shaky, and the hands in the air made a clear view incredibly hard to get. It wasn't what I expected, but Beautiful Thing had only just been released and certainly did sound like a tough song to play live, so using it as an outro track was a fantastic choice, and put a spring into our step as we walked out. The show finished around 10:45pm and I went out through the tunnel to the left of the stage, with the fans unusually chanting England and Three Lions rather than the fantastic Roses songs they'd just heard. I know England's dismal exit from Euro 2016 was at that point yet to come, but really?

I undertook the long walk back into Manchester following the huge crowd, and the police had cleverly minimised traffic on the road to allow us to move quickly. I purchased a £10 t-shirt with the Adidas logo changed to Adored and a mention of Spike Island, then shortly afterwards found the £5 t-shirts, annoying me as I'd broken my rule of insisting on buying only bootleg tops at £5 prices, and realising that despite almost 20 years of inflation it was still possible to do this! I heard that there were fireworks on the Wednesday and in fact saw fireworks on the Saturday from town, but I never registered any this time around. My ears were whistling a lot and I took a shortcut down Canal Street back to my hotel, being hassled to go into a club, which is especially annoying when you've just returned from a sweaty gig and have had possible urine thrown at you for several hours. The desire to go out after a concert is something I have never grasped, and I wanted to at the very least have a shower. I wandered into the Spar near my hotel and got some £1 chicken bites, then cleaned myself up and got online to upload a couple of photos. I chose to stay up very late to draft these notes before I forgot things and to help get the task out the way, setting a later alarm but planning lots of sightseeing the next day. I ended up visiting Whitworth Gallery, Central Library, the Town Hall and the Imperial War Museum at Salford Quays, before meeting up with a friend who had made it hard to get together as his phone was resolutely off, but we managed it in the end. This was a hugely successful weekend, and as perfect a concert as could be, although perhaps not as monumental as Heaton Park. The third album proper couldn't come soon enough.
Setlist (Buzzcocks)
Boredom
I Don't Mind
Autonomy
Why She's A Girl From The Chainstore
Love You More
Promises
You Say You Don't Love Me
What Do I Get?
Orgasm Addict
Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)
Harmony In My Head
Setlist (The Coral)
Jacqueline
Chasing The Tail Of A Dream
Pass It On
Miss Fortune
In The Morning
1000 Years
Goodbye
Dreaming Of You
Setlist (Public Enemy)
Rebel Without A Pause
Shut 'Em Down
Night Of The Living Baseheads
Welcome To The Terrordome
Black Is Back
911 Is A Joke
Show 'Em Whatcha Got
Bring The Noise
Don't Believe The Hype
Can't Truss It
He Got Game
Man Plans God Laughs
Fight The Power
DJ Lord Solo
Harder Than You Think
Setlist (The Stone Roses)
I Wanna Be Adored
Elephant Stone
Sally Cinnamon
Mersey Paradise
(Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister
Bye Bye Badman
Where Angels Play
Shoot You Down
Begging You
Waterfall
Don't Stop
Elizabeth My Dear
Fools Gold
All For One
Love Spreads
Made Of Stone
She Bangs The Drums
Breaking Into Heaven
This Is The One
I Am The Resurrection
Beautiful Thing

Mark: 9.5/10