When rumours abound first circulated of a Stone Roses reunion in 2009 the band’s virtuoso guitarist John Squire issued a statement via a self-styled artistic installation which read “I have no desire whatsoever to desecrate the grave of seminal Manchester pop group The Stone Roses.”
Fast forward two years and a complete U-turn sees the baggy legends bury a number of hatchets which so bitterly plagued the aftermath of their initial demise. After a string of successful reunion dates last year which was enough to ward off the cynics who dismissed their unlikely return as a nostalgia-fuelled pay day, their return to Glasgow Green marks a second coming for what was once the site of their legendary 1990 gig. Rather than trying to recapture their 90s heyday, instead this is a merely an attempt to continue and build on a legacy which fell short of expectations first time around.
This momentous occasion for the 50,000 strong crowd was clearly a carefully orchestrated event that was to serve as a reminder that the Roses are anything but a spent force. Dundee’s favourite indie popsters The View kick off proceedings and are met with a vibrant and energetic crowd gleefully singing in unison to the likes of ‘Same Jeans’ and ‘Wasted Little DJs’.
During intermittent bursts of rain Jake Bugg braves the unpredictable Glasgow weather to showcase his rousing brand of rockabilly on tracks such as ‘Lightning Bolt’ and ‘Trouble Town’.
Primal Scream are then led by a focused and self-assured Bobby Gillespie whose suave and effortless presence brings a bit of panache and an air of nonchalance to classics such as ‘Loaded’ and ‘Moving On Up’. While the band are still hot on the heels of their recent Screamadelica anniversary tour their new album More Light also features heavily here in a career spanning set that is the perfect introduction before the headliners.
As The Supremes track ‘Stoned Love’ rings out across the Green a wildly inebriated crowd brace themselves for the ominous tones of Mani’s intro riff on ‘I Wanna Be Adored’. As the band take to the stage with a youthful exuberance that defies their approach into midlife, their collective consciousness shines through on the synergy of the fluid rhythm section that is Mani and Reni. This allows the perfect opportunity for guitarist John Squire to add his own melodic flourishes when flexing his muscles on tracks such as ‘She Bangs The Drums’ and the Led Zep-influenced ‘Love Spreads’ while Ian Brown leads the crowd in a two-hour singalong session in what is a life-affirming moment for many. “The best band in the world in the second best city in the world” quips a clearly overwhelmed Mani. As the pounding snare of ‘I Am The Resurrection’ kicks in there is a sense of solidarity and tribal atmosphere amongst the crowd which brings the evening to a climactic conclusion. With the promise of new material on the horizon let’s just hope the Roses can make another valuable contribution to the current indie landscape after reminding us in a live setting just how important their music still is to so many people.