Stone the flamin’ Roses: They’re back
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The Stone Roses have reunited after 15 years to tour Australia for the first time. Picture: Future Music
WITH the Britrock Barmy Army in full muster, there was a visceral force of will-wishing greatness from the reunited Stone Roses concert in Sydney last night.
Their blind faith was rewarded, after a shakily subdued start, with a gig which fulfilled all the nostalgic expectations attached to a time when music felt new.
Older, greyer, balder the fans may be but when these four seemingly ageless lads kicked into gear halfway through their Future Music Festival side show, the roof lifted off the Hordern Pavilion and we were time capsuled back to some dodgy rave in a muddy field circa 1990.
It took Fool’s Gold to galvanise frontman Ian Brown and his merry music men into rock stars with the requisite swagger and conductor hypnotism which takes a show from a mere replay of songs to an experience worthy of our collective memory.
Strangers became fellow travellers joined in a hot sticky mess of bouncing crowd karaoke as the Roses slammed through the second half of "hits".
This is, after all, a band whose legend was born with one perfect debut album which dozens of post millennial try hards have tried to replicate.
As we swelled in song to Waterfall, Don’t Stop, Made Of Stone, This Is The One, Love Spreads, She Bangs The Drum and I Am The Resurrection, all that mattered was the now. Not the has been.
Brown gave his triceps a workout brandishing his vertical tambourines as crowd conductor wands while his bandmates played a tightly grooved set which included plenty of jam moments.
There were several stretched out jams to fill in a show of limited repertoire yet they managed to successfully straddle the line between indulgence and integrity.
This was a concert which rewarded the true believers who had snapped up the tickets in 15 minutes.
Whether the kids get it at Future Music Festival on Saturday is their problem.
Stone Roses play Festival Hall in Melbourne today, the Future Music Festival at Randwick Racecourse on Saturday and Flemington Racecourse on Sunday.
