a lovely summer's evening in the park with Ian Brown

I noticed a flyer for this some time ago and being a Stone Roses fan, as well as having been to a few nights at the Warehouse Project, I thought I would give it a shot. The night was part of 2 events, the other being the Parklife Festival the next day, based in Platt Fields Park in Manchester and just a 20 minute walk from my house. Both events promised exceptional value for money and at less than £30 a ticket for each day I had high expectations.

Like many others I made my way to the park after work getting there around 5.30pm which was only an hour after the gates opened. Once in I was pleasantly surprised to find that as well as the main stage there were 2 other stages for the night. I had been expecting something along the lines of a big gig outside so the feature of a couple of DJ areas was a bonus. The arena was the central area of what was to be the next days Parklife Festival, with a row of Heras fencing tantalisingly separating the areas for that event.

The Main Stage was impressive with a big screen to the left to ensure that no one missed any action. Opposite was the Second Stage tent, which turned out to house the 'Hacienda' night, and further around was the DJ Stage tent. There where plenty of food stalls with virtually every taste catered for, from your standard burger to pizza to oriental food, and in addition there where 3 bars.

With the organisers making a point of value for money I was a little disappointed at the prices in the arena. These were at the more expensive end of the festival scale with burgers around £4 and the drinks just as bad. The selection of drinks available was limited with a pint of Carlsberg at £3.50 and a bottle of Brothers £3.80, with even a small coffee costing me £3. Whilst such prices are not prohibitively expensive they did take the edge off a little bit, but to be fair there where a couple of easily available water points to be found.

So drink in hand it was time to commence the proceedings. With 3 stages on offer I was guaranteed to find something to keep me occupied. I did not venture into the DJ Stage all night and I had no intention of doing so even though Mr Scruff was headlining. It was a lovely summer's evening with many people sat around in groups taking in the relaxed festival atmosphere. On the Main Stage was the end of the set by The Whip but I had missed most of it due to chatting to folk around. I did poke my head into the Second Stage but if I am honest I am cynical of 'Hacienda' nights, the reason been missing the '90's due to work and having a family. Finding a good spot in front of the Main Stage I firmly rooted myself in for the night, and glad of it I was. Next on stage was Bad Lieutenant and if I was a teenage girl I would have screamed my head off. I did not realise that they were playing, and made a mental note to check the line up in future, but their set made the entire evening for me as I am a huge New Order fan.

Bernard Sumner was let down at times by poor sound engineering but he was ready to prompt the crew in a friendly way. They played a really varied set with something to please everyone and this was shown in the final three songs. 'Out of Control', from the Bernard's collaboration with the Chemical Brothers, was closely followed by 'Temptation' from New Order, leading to the encore of 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' by Joy Division. There just seemed to be something special listening to the set in a park in Manchester and it did add to the really relaxed atmosphere.

With only 3 hours left of the evening I made the mistake of moving away for a drink. The atmosphere in the arena was relaxed and friendly, with the crowd being mainly 30 and 40 year olds for a '90's night, but plenty of young folk. I got chatting with 2 young ladies who mentioned that "it was like a mini Glastonbury", this was not because of what was on offer but because of the crowd assembled. For around 15,000 folk it was laid back, although some credit has to be given to the friendly and helpful security. I did have a bizarre situation of having my bottle of drink squeezed to see if it was glass, which was more comical than offensive. As I moved to the bar I became entrenched in a small group that had only wanted to see Ian Brown. Sitting in a quite corner of the arena we all chatted for a couple of hours, unfortunately missing the sets by the Scratch Perverts, and UNKLE although we could hear them in the background.

So it was time for the main event and Ian Brown. I have never seen the Stone Roses live or Ian Brown, but I have a personal attachment having received a copy of 'The Stone Roses' during the first Gulf War. For me this was something I was looking forward to for years and after hearing Bad Lieutenant I was quite euphoric when I heard the opening to 'I Wanna Be Adored' sound out. After that things went downhill quickly. Disappointing is a word that can not describe Ian Brown's performance. I am hoping the word 'crap' gets through the editorial. He was out of tune, and out of timing with the backing band but most of all I thought he was having some sort of fit with his dancing. He looked totally bored at times and that rubbed itself on to me as I looked around for either a way out or a noose to end my pain.

I spotted the Second Stage hosted by the 'Hacienda' and with an hour left of the night decided to give it a go. Now I will eat humble pie here, the set was by Graeme Park, and Peter Hook and fantastic is too small a word to describe it. When I first went in there were only around a hundred folk but by the end it was a thousand or so. I was a little put aback that some ravers' decided to piss up the inside of the tent but that was not going to stop me dancing. The set went on for at least 30 minutes past their set finish time and then we where pushed back into Ian Brown. I spoke briefly to 2 fervent fans behind me and they pointed out that his gigs usually are pants, but wait for the encore. His encore came on but I had had enough and I was out of the exit.

It took me over 3 hours to walk the 20 minutes home. 15,000 people hitting the streets all at once usually worries me but the atmosphere was electric and friendly. The police were present and friendly but not in the obvious numbers one would expect in Manchester. I have mentioned earlier that it did feel like a 'real' festival and it did, I was able to chat with people on the way home and got invited to a few parties along the way. A few grumbles aside, this was a fantastic event, as well as a good location, and I hope that similar will be organised next year.

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