I’m a huge Smiths fan. A British music journalist once said: “I feel sorry for any new band, because no matter how good they are, they’ll never be The Smiths”, and I think he was right. Unfortunately but the time I discovered The Smiths they had split. (During their heyday they were the sole preserve of the ‘cool kids’ at my school – of which I certainly wasn’t one…) Morrissey is the next best thing (Johnny Marr wasting his talent in Electronic – although his contribution to The The’s Mind Bomb was a highlight), and although he went through a weak period when the point of a song seemed to be the title not the tune (witness You’re the One for me Fatty and Don’t Make Fun of Daddy’s Voice) he’s been enjoing a veritable return to form of late, with his last two studio albums garnering well-deserved critical acclaim, even from the notoriously-fickle Biritish press. So when I heard he was playing my favorite venue here in Brussels, I ordered a ticket regardless of date and price.
The band of young hired hands he’s pulled together for the tour, led by the long-standing Boz Boorer, were impressive, although it did take three of them to replicate Johnny Marr’s guitar-work on How Soon Is Now? The keyboard player (and sample-splicer) also turned an adept hand to the trombone and trumpet, plus doubling up on guitar where Boz allowed him to. This virtuosity, coupled with a drummer who boasted the biggest gong this side of the Rank man and a bass drum that would put a marching band to shame, meant that the band didn’t need to compromise or pare-down the recorded versions (as often seems to be the case), but could turn in a solid rendition of just about any recorded song (although I could have done without Boz Boorer’s unnecessary guitar showboating…).
Despite this being the last concert of a 70-day European tour. Morrissey’s voice was holding up well, handling every song, yelp, and yodel with aplomb. Naturally, the show drew largely from his most recent albums, the most exciting moments being a terrific Life is a Pigsty and a thunderous I Will See You In Faraway Places from the recent Ringleader of the Tormentors, and Irish Blood, English Heart and First of the Gang to Die from the previous You Are The Quarry.
The biggest cheers, however, were saved for a handful of Smiths’ songs, which included Panic, Girlfriend in a Coma, Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before, and a rapturous How Soon Is Now? Morrissey has obvioulsy come to terms with his own history (or at least recognized the genius of his own back-catalog and stopped omitting it from his live shows just to spite the other ex-Smiths), slotting the Smiths songs inbetweeen his own songs without a whiff of selfconsciousness. Given that he easily has enough quality tunes in his own repertoire to fill several solo shows, this gesture of largesse was much appreciated by his ever-loyal fans.
Morrissey moved to Italy prior to recording his last album, a move that had no small influence on the album, in whose lyrics he finally admitted his love and lust for another (man). The move to Italy also seems to have a bit of an impact on his waistline as well, with the man obviously being no stranger to the pasta bowl. He’s not what I’d call fat, but he’s also not exactly the well-defined figure he used to be. Over an hour and a half, he managed to sweat his way through four shirts (two of which were dispatched into the audience), taking the opportrunity of every change to flash his expansive torso to the crowd.
And then, after an hour and a half, it was all over. True, Morrissey may not be The Smiths, but he’s the closest we’re ever likely to get now, and I’m a happier man for having seen even just a quarter of The Smiths.
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