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 Saturday, April 8th 2006
Club Nirvana, Wigan
Cover bands tend to get a lot of stick. Touring local pubs and knocking
out the umpteenth cover of Green Day’s “Basketcase” or ‘Skynyrd’s “Sweet
Home Alabama”, gaining applause for the simple task of copying somebody
else’s work. Which is why your sceptical reviewer is a little disturbed
as The Stone Roses Experience, basically a glorified covers band, take
to Nirvana’s stage.
Sure, we look set to have a fun evening of early-90s classics, yet as
the lead singer walks out into the bright-lights, bathing in the
adulation that flows from this sold-out crowd, he looks genuinely moved,
as though all these people are here to see him. News for ya, buddy –
they’re not.
This lairy lot are here for some of the best indie-anthems ever written,
and to this end, The Stone Roses Experience deliver. Opening up with old
favourite “I Wanna Be Adored”, the band rock the audience with a stream
of classics; “Fool’s Gold”, “Waterfall”, “Tell Me”, all present,
correct, and lapped up by Wigan’s faithful.
There’s little down that these Scottish boys are talented, and as they
return for an encore of “She Bangs The Drum” and “I Am The Resurrection”
[The latter being dragged out for as long as possible with some
psychedelic riffary], they deserve all the applause for this alone.
Yet something doesn’t feel quite right here. Yeah, there’s the argument
that this is a chance for those who didn’t catch Ian Brown and his
Mancunian musos the first time around to sample the atmosphere of an
authentic Stone Roses gig. Though in all honesty, this seems about as
authentic as Coronation Street. The boys continue to lap up the cheers
from the crowd, yet seem blissfully unaware that, at the end of the day,
these are not cheers for them, but for the songs their bashing out.
Tonight is fun, no doubt about that, but it all seems a bit… pointless.
Indeed, Lupine’s resident DJ could have just as easily put on a ‘Best of
Stone Roses’ CD, and the crowd would have enjoyed it just as much.
Probably would’ve also been a lot cheaper than the £10-a-ticket job to
watch a cover band.
Recommended Links:
www.myspace.com/thestonerosesexperience
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