Alsager Town (NWCFL Premier Division)

Last Monday saw my favourite band The National roll into town. The Ohio-cum-New York City five-piece sold out two nights the Apollo almost as soon as tickets went on sale. A great achievement but their rise to fame didn’t happen over night.

I first saw them in 2005 at the much smaller Academy Three venue at Manchester University Students Union. Tipped off by a friend in the know, I soon connected with their moody, melodic but delicately layered brand of indie rock.

Singer Matt Berninger’s warm baritone and detailed,intelligent lyric writing style complimented the music side well. They were an interesting band. Three solid 8/10 albums followed that tour and with each Manchester date the venue got bigger.

One of life’s simple pleasures, in my view, is taking in agig on your own. No distracting small talk, no trips to the bar, just you and the band. As Mrs Mager doesn’t go out on a school night I was free to indulge and indulge I did.

The two hour set flew by as the lads ran through a good mix of songs from their six-album back catalogue. The sound was tight and the crowd interaction between songs was limited as the group tried to fit in as many numbers as possible.

Berninger was flanked on the frontline by identical twins Aaron and Bryce Dessner whose complimentary guitar work was fascinating to watch. While Aaron looked after the more structured rhythm side, Bryce was in charge of sound effects and solos. At one point he played the strings with a violin bow. Whatever works I suppose.

Backing them up were The National’s second set of brothers, Scott and Bryan Devendorf, on bass and drums respectively. The drums were always a driving feature of the band’s earlier albums, maybe most notably on 2007 offering Boxer. While they’ve calmed down a little on current album Trouble Will Find Me it was nice to see a few tracks from Boxer get an airing.

The highlight for me was when suited-up Berninger came into the crowd for a frenzied encore of old favourite Mr November. He was greeted with the kind of Mancunian adulation that is usually only reserved for the likes of Morrissey. Everyone wanted a hug.

His voice may be showing the smallest signs of wear and tear that a long year on the road can bring but overall he was on top form. Intense to the very end.

For the final song the guitars were unplugged and a mass audience sing-along was encouraged. 3,500 happy souls belted out 2010 track Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks with gusto. It was a marvellous end to a marvellous show.

Ashton Athletic (NWCFL Premier Division)

October saw the DVD release of Shane Meadows’ Stone Roses documentary Made of Stone. As well as celebrating the resurrection of one of Manchester’s finest musical exports, the project saw a coming together of my favourite band and one of my favourite filmmakers. A potentially heavenly combination.

Meadows, who shot to fame with the brilliant This is England, also has another couple of superbly gritty films under his belt in A Room For Romeo Brass and Dead Man’s Shoes. I can safely say this one isn’t in the same vein. What it is, is more of a love letter from an ardent music fan.

Made of Stone comprises three acts. The first being the free gig the Roses laid on for their fans in Warrington to mark their come back, the second being their problematic European tour that saw drummer Reni storm off the stage in Amsterdam and the third being that wonderful summer performance at Heaton Park a few weeks later in front of 75,000 elated fans.

Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown invited the filmmaker to cover the band’s press conference in which they announced their triumphant return. The film was born as a result. Despite Meadows being of an age to attend the Roses’ legendary 1990 show at Spike Island, he missed it due to having taken a bad acid trip the night before and subsequently lost his ticket.

The shot at redemption after years of the four-piece snubbing opportunities to reform comes across as a massive relief to the filmmaker as he is afforded access all areas for the duration of their tour. You can tell how much he loves the band as he switches off the cameras during the turbulent Amsterdam gig to avoid heightening tensions further.

The highlight for me is when Meadows gets to sit through a private rehearsal. The band’s beautiful number Waterfall is played out in its entirety and, in intimate surrounds, we get to see what’s truly at the heart of The Stone Roses: four excellent musicians. In 20 years they’ve not lost it.

Being too young to see them in the mid nineties, I too felt the buzz of the second chance that the Heaton Park show afforded us. It was an incredible night that was played out rather predictably in the north Manchester rain. Watching this documentary just over a year later felt like the perfect souvenir. Get it watched.