Alan Wren hasn't set foot on stage since June 2 1990. Then, "Reni" was an outstanding drummer in the era's outstanding band, the Stone Roses. With Reni's propulsive, jazz-influenced rhythms forming the cornerstone of immortal songs such as I Am the Resurrection, he played himself into the nation's hearts and history books by his early 20s. However, it all went badly wrong. Reni's last public appearances were in the courtroom, during an attempt to unravel the shambles of the Roses' business deals.
When the band came back, in 1995, Reni mysteriously abandoned the drum stool days before the tour. Rumours have had him variously bloating to 28 stone, and growing a floor-length beard after modelling himself on John the Baptist. But on stage at the Cockpit, he looks almost exactly as he did before. A little darker around the eyes, maybe, but the scrawny hair and mischievous grin are unmistakable. He is greeted like a prophet. And the first words the prophet utters to his flock for more than a decade are: "You wot?"
Grown men gasp as Reni tackles his instrument: a bass guitar. "Get on the fucking drums," someone shouts. The band then launch into a driven, gloriously funky instrumental, the staccato percussive rhythms unmistakably Reni-sounding, even if they are played by someone else. Reni puts down the bass and hearts flutter. Then he picks up a guitar instead and begins an hour-long process of making hearts sink.
Although it's good to have Reni back and clearly enjoying himself, it's a great pity that this world-class percussionist is not behind a drum stool. By determinedly and competently (but nothing more) playing guitar, he is, perhaps, making some personal point - that a former Stone Rose can attract a sizeable audience fronting a pedestrian, jamming band whose members look like medical students.
The few lyrics that one can make out seem to attack the nature of celebrity, and certainly the Rub's chugging, dated material seems highly unlikely to trouble Hear'Say. As the guitar solos seem to be getting longer, the Rub leave the stage to general confusion. A solitary soul cries: "Reni!" Some shake their heads, but an awful lot more line up with their Roses albums at the dressing room door.
• At Manchester University (0161-832 1111), March 20; Birmingham Academy (0870 9032222), March 21; then touring.
