BELFAST ! Belfaaaast ! Belfaaaaaaast ! Get ready to swing with the king of the jungle, good people of Ireland, because Ian Brown, kung-fu master and funky rock'n'roll monkey extraordinaire is headed our way, for another instantly-sold-out gig at the illustrious Limelight. The last time the ex-Stone Roses singer played the double L was akin to a religious experience for many. In fact, the first night of his two gig stint in 1999 happened to coincide with Man Utd winning the European Cup, causing a Manchester (Madchester ?) orientated hysteria to grip the venue hours before Brownie even set foot on stage.
A lot has happened to his royal monkeyhood in the years since - not least his imprisonment for a nasty episode of 'air-rage') which he still adamantly denies ever happened). He also made some comments about homosexuality that were taken out of context in the NME, and subsequently used against him by his many haters. Luckily, on the musical side of things, two more quality albums came down the pipe, joining his inspired debut Unfinished Monkey Business in the CD collections of indie kids and groove aficionados everywhere.
2000's Golden Greats and 2001's Music Of The Spheres saw the logical evolution of the brown sound from sketchy DIY genius to full-blown studio experimentalism. Recent singles like Whispers and F.E.A.R. see Brownie exploring the deeper and darker side of his ever-funky style, with the aid of some expertly claustrophobic production. The charmingly rough edges displayed on early stuff like My Star and Corpses have been rounded, buffed and polished away thanks to three albums worth of experience, yet today's Music Of The Spheres material remains as soulful and individual as ever.
Ian plays either as a full-on five-piece band or as a stripped down, electronically-backed two-man show. This time around, he's touring the full band version, featuring John Squire's replacement from the Stone Roses, Aziz Ibrahim on guitar, and the excellently named ex-Fun-da-mental percussionist Inder Goldfinger on all manner of drums. Turban-wearing Inder has been playing with Ian since his earliest solo shows, and has become a firm favourite with the fans. If anyone can get a crowd moving it's Inder - not that Mr Brown needs much help in that department.
Even if he stopped releasing records altogether, his cache as an indie legend is such that people would flock to any opportunity just to meet their hero in person. However, so far Ian has gone a long way to proving that John Squire wasn't actually the most talented of the Stone Roses after all.
Everything he puts his name to has drive and purpose behind it, and regardless of any extra-curricular activities that might irritate or get him into trouble, the music stands up on his own merit. They've said it before and no doubt they'll be saying it until human cloning is finally perfected - there's only one Ian Brown - be thankful.
Ian Brown, with Melaton, The Limelight, Wednesday March 13. Tickets sold out !
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