We flew down from Toronto for this one and waited in line long enough to end up second row at Madison Square Garden. The Stone Roses at MSG was always going to be special, but being that close made it feel even more unreal.
I keep thinking about these photos differently now after losing Mani. There is one frame of him where the whites are blown out and he almost looks angelic. Is it technically perfect? No. But I love the moment, and honestly, that matters more to me. Especially when we lose people who were important to us.
The Stone Roses have always had that rare kind of pull. Ian Brown, John Squire, Mani, and Reni made music that felt loose and effortless on the surface, but underneath it all was this huge emotional engine. You could feel that in the room. The songs were bigger than nostalgia, bigger than the reunion, bigger than everyone trying to capture it on their phones. For one night in New York, it just felt alive.
The Madison Square Garden setlist opened with “I Wanna Be Adored” and moved through “Elephant Stone,” “Sally Cinnamon,” “Mersey Paradise,” “(Song for My) Sugar Spun Sister,” “Bye Bye Badman,” “Shoot You Down,” “Begging You,” “Waterfall,” “Don’t Stop,” “Elizabeth My Dear,” “Fools Gold,” “All for One,” “Love Spreads,” “Made of Stone,” “She Bangs the Drums,” “Breaking Into Heaven,” “This Is the One,” and “I Am the Resurrection.”
These are not perfect photos. They are something better to me. They are proof that we went, we waited, we got close, and for a little while, we were right there.
RIP Mani.
This post includes a small preview from the full Stone Roses New York gallery. Explore the complete Stone Roses gallery from Madison Square Garden, with select photos available as prints.
Setlist reference:
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-stone-roses/2016/madison-square-garden-new-york-ny-2bff9cb2.html
For special requests, licensing, or other questions, please contact Lisa.
