Stone Roses, Etihad Stadium, gig review: They’re back - and this homecoming show was concrete evidence of the fact

Innocently braggadocious frontman Ian Brown steps across the stage wearing opening track ‘I Wanna Be Adored’ like an entrance theme

The Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown during the band's homecoming gig at Etihad Stadium (Rex)

The benefit of performing to legions of fans 22 years after releasing your thought-to-be-final sophomore record is that your setlist is pretty much a guaranteed win. Unlike acts such as Radiohead or Bruce Springsteen – who both continued to showcase a willingness to pluck out any old song from extensive back catalogues at recent sell-out UK shows – The Stone Roses need only play both their records in full (give or take a few tracks) to satisfy patient fans.

Yet the euphoric response to "All For One", the northern quartet's first single in more than two decades that was released last month, suggests The Stone Roses can simply do no wrong. Well, in the eyes of the 50,000-strong crowd assembled in Manchester's Etihad Stadium, anyway. The camaraderie on this rainy Wednesday evening seeps through the venue, consuming the crowd akin to a hypnotic trance lulling you into a sense that everyone around you is your old school friend.

The innocently braggadocious Ian Brown steps across the stage wearing opening track "I Wanna Be Adored" like an entrance theme. Beholding a poker face, and pelting comments to the faceless audience: "You alright, love?", his eyes flit from fan to fan as if inspecting their respective excitement. Brown is loving it just as much as they are – not that his face would openly show it, of course. His vocals – unsurprising to some – are another matter, falling short of giving classic tracks "Waterfall" and "She Bangs the Drums" the heft one would hope for.

Fortunately, alongside guitarist John Squire, bassist Mani and bucket-hat clad drummer Alan "Reni" Wren, the Madchester purveyors pull it back with their exceptionally tight deployment of "Fools Gold" which possesses the crowd's dance moves stadium-wide.

Still, it's the unexpected tracks that supercede the familiars: the somnolent hues of "Where Angels Play", the choppy baseline of "(Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister" and the ostentatious swagger of "Love Spreads." It's the unexpectedly disarming renditions of "Made Of Stone" and "This Is the One," however – the latter dedicated to a present David Beckham – that sprint out of the wings to steal the entire show.

This is a band doing it their own way on their own terms exemplified by the assigned supporting lineup (an amalgam of genres including rising indie stars Blossoms, reggae artist Chronixx and hip-hop act Public Enemy) who all tended to the waiting fans for more than three hours before The Stone Roses even made it on stage.

While the debate will rage on over the four piece's contribution to music's wider scene, this first of four sell-out stadium shows sees Brown and co stride back onto the stage rewarding their fans' two-decade resilience with a paean that won't be easily forgotten. The Stone Roses are back – and this homecoming show was concrete evidence of the fact.