Tonight was the opening night of Shane Meadows’s The Stone Roses’s documentary ‘The Stone Roses: Made of Stone‘ which opened nationwide in select cities in the U.S. and Canada.
The movie starts out with Ian Brown walking along the barricades in the photo pit, high-fiving fans with outreached hands as the voice of Alfred Hitchock defines happiness. Brown stops for a moment in front of one young lad, takes his cell phone, points it at the audience, turns around, points it at the stage, then points the phone at himself. Cue their most famous song “I Wanna Be Adored” and chills run up and down your spine as the music plays. This was just the first of many spine tingling moments throughout the film. That shot of Ian Brown pointing the phone at himself was so iconic, powerful, and modern.
The documentary included images and amazing footage of the band as teens in Manchester to their recent 2012 reunion at Heaton Park, Manchester, UK.
The film takes you through so much that it’s too hard to keep track of, but that just means I’ll have to watch it again. I’m okay with that. =)
One of my favorite parts was during a free show at Parr Hall in Warrington, England. Fans were to show up with memorabilia to be eligible for a ticket. It was really heartbreaking to see the ones who showed up one person too late, being denied a ticket as capacity filled. You could see the look in their eyes of disappointment and numbness at the same time. There was however one lucky fan who was told to go in at the last minute. Guess the music gods were looking after him that night.
There was plenty of drama as well, with one played out during their Amsterdam show where drummer Reni decided to leave just before the encore of ‘I Am the Resurrection’.
My favorite scenes were the ones of the Ian, John, Mani, and Reni in their youth just hanging out and being dudes riding their scooters. Young Ian Brown in bleached blonde hair is…beautiful. But he would probably still be beautiful with a bag over his head. I mean come on…it’s Ian Brown. I also loved seeing them in their current state as playful blokes.
Expect a quick cameo as well from another Manc frontman who backstage was like an excited kid in a candy store, proclaiming The Stone Roses to be the best fucking band in the world. I won’t give it away…slide away.
This was such a great documentary and the music just brought you back to a particularly special moment in time. It was fun to see the whole baggy scene played out. I can’t even remember if I saw a pair of skinny jeans in the whole film.
There are a few more dates, so if you are a fan of The Stones Roses, Manchester, baggy, or just amazing music check out the movie:
http://madeofstonefilm.com/theatres/
And the look on the face of that fan who had his cell phone taken by Ian Brown…priceless.
The TEAR-N TAN Files 