Stone Roses Finsbury Park June the 8th 2013
Alongside the Stone Roses, where Miles Kane, PiL and Johnny Marr
Saturday the 8th of June 2013 is one day that will go down in the memory of every Stone Roses fan young and old as that weekend was the weekend the Roses returned to London to play two sell out gigs in Finsbury Park North London.
Upon arrival you could sense this was the start of something spectacular, the local pub was full to the brim of people young and old from all over the UK, awaiting to see one of the most influential bands of the 20th century and beyond. As you walked around the park you can sense the anticipation, people are enjoying the early summer sun with a few drinks in preparation for what was to come.
As the opening time arrived a sea of people began moving towards entrance one of many inside Finsbury Park, and as the gates opened and the the first glimpses of the stage came into view people rushed to the front of the viewing area where Miles Kane's equipment had already been set up and I went to the very front to have a look at the stage and as I am a huge fan of Miles Kane it was great to see his guitar already set up and primed.
(i do not own this picture, all credit to who took it)
As the park filled up a sea bucket hats of all colours appeared in front of me which of course is one of the iconic things about the Stone Roses and in particular Reni, who made the bucket hat famous amongst Roses fans. And then music began to play over the tannoy, which suggested that first support act Miles Kane was ready to go! and then the first cheers of the day erupt as Miles struts out on to the stage looking as sharp as ever in white trousers with a black stripe down the side wearing a black turtle neck sweatshirt, "Hello Finsbury Park" he shouts before picking up his guitar and beginning his set with Give Up off his latest album which gets the crowd jumping. There where obviously many Miles Kane fans in the crowd but I was surprised at the amount of people who didn't seem bothered that Miles was there, I know they weren't there to see him but his performance deserved more than that. He knows how to work the crowd regardless, and he regularly interacts with the audience "Its great to be here alongside Johnny Marr, PiL and the Roses" he says after his third song Better Than Yet he also says "What a Fuckin beautiful Day" which gets a big cheer from the crowd as he begins his classic Rearrange which gets the crowd belatedly moving and jumping! All in all it was a brilliant set from Miles which has left me wanting to see him again and he was second the the Roses in terms of performance!
Favourite tracks - Rearrange, Give up, Don't Forget Who you Are, Taking Over, Inhaler.
As Miles Kane waved goodbye to the Finsbury Park crowd there was a buzz about the place people where pumped up, and as the roadies changed the set design from Miles Kane to Johnny Marr this only added to the excitement. As I am a huge fan of the Smiths I was entruiged to know if Johnny Marr would play any songs from The Smiths, and I was not disappointed. He began his set with a song from his first solo album (The Messenger) then he kick started his set with Stop Me If you think you've heard this one before a classic Smiths song which was really brilliant not only for me personally but for most people in the crowd. After this song Johnny made a joke over the mic saying "Check Us Out" in reference to The Smiths which got a laugh from the crowd he didn't say an awful lot in between songs unlike Miles Kane which might be because it's his first solo venture. As he progressed through his set it became clear that he is one of the best guitarists around, you may already know that but seeing him do it live was amazing which is amplified by Noel Gallagher saying that " no one can play what he plays" in reference to Johnny Marr. He the proceeded to play three more Smith's songs which was fantastic! and again he joked after playing Bigmouth Strikes Again saying "thats a good one that is". As Johnny's set came to an end I was left feeling amazed and disappointed at the same time because it was great to see one of my idols perform live and play some songs by my favourite band but I felt Johnny Marr was lacking one thing in particular, Morrissey. It was Morrissey who in my opinion made the Smiths great although I enjoyed the performance it lacked Morrissey's vocals.
And again as the atmosphere began to build again after Johnny Marr's set you could see some people moving towards the bar as PiL were on next and not many people were expecting a good performance and to be honest neither was I, but I was prepared to wait it out in the spot where I was in order to get a good view of the Stone Roses and when PiL walked out on to the stage there was a ripple of excitement nowhere near the amount of the previous two acts but it was great to see one of the icons of British music John Lydon in the flesh, the performance however, didn't match the excitement of seeing him. The went through their set with little response from the crowd which led John Lydon to say "Well you lot are a bit fucking laid back" which got some jeers from the crowd. There was some movement when PiL played public image and this is not a love song, but other than that I think the crowd just wanted to see the roses!
After John Lydon and co staggered off the stage, the attention immediately turned to the two big screens at the side of the stage, then out of nowhere, Made Of Stone rings out over the tannoy which arguably got the biggest cheer of the day and people began to sing along, this was only being played to advertise Made Of Stone the documentary depicting the career of the Stone Roses directed by Shane Meadows, and if the crowd were that excited over one song not being played I could not have imagined what would happen when the Roses started playing.
(Image belongs to the telegraph i do not own it)
The sun had set, and the clouds had rolled in, darkness was slowly descending over Finsbury park then with immense anticipation and excitement at the side of the stage you could see John Squire and Reni, the one of the biggest cheers I have ever heard erupted as The Stone Roses walked out led by Mani on to the stage, Ian Brown says over the mic "Hello Everyone At The back" and applauds said people which was a nice gesture and then the iconic bassline of "I wanna be Adored" kicked in and the place began to shake and jump furiously and everyone single one of the 40,000 people started singing "I don't have to sell my soul" as The Roses set began in fantastic fashion. The sheer ecstasy continued through the whole night with everyone singing in unison it was a sight and sound that I will never forget. As the night moved in, the lights on the stage became biblical, and lit up the night sky with multicoloured flashes there was a light show that accompanied Fools Gold which was extended by 6 minutes so it lasted 15 minutes, and it was 15 minutes of guitar playing brilliance form John Squire, he's an extremely underrated guitarist, I said earlier about Johnny Marr, and I think John Squire is just as good! The set was finished with I am the resurrection which is one of if not the best album closing track ever Reni started the song with some fantastic drum fills then again the powerful bass line kicked in. I would say that Ian, Reni, Mani and John are extremely underrated musicians, when you say name the 5 best bassists, drummers, guitarists and singers they never get mentioned which is a big shame there light shined very brightly but only for a short time. To summarise the Stone Roses set I would say it was a masterclass in live performances and abosloutely fantastic to hear 40,000 people singing along with you to one of your favourite songs ever written.
Highlight for me - 10 Storey lovesong and I am the Resurrection
Highlight for me - 10 Storey lovesong and I am the Resurrection
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