If he comes to your area . . . I highly recommend this show. Watching him play guitar live and coaxing those distinctive Johnny Marr textures out of the thing is worth it alone--but he's also a great singer. Lots of solo stuff, with some transcendent Smiths takes thrown in: "Headmaster Ritual," "Bigmouth...," obligatory "How Soon Is Now," "Please, Please...," and "There Is a Light" as the last encore song. He also did an extended rock-band version of Electronic's "Getting Away with It."
The songs from the new album were OK live--tracks from the Messenger were much better, particularly "New Town Velocity." He has a really tight band of youngsters that holds things down and provides him a ballast to just be Johnny Marr on guitar--the playing was extraordinary, such textures, colors, and balls. Much better than the Morrissey show I saw in 2012 in a much larger venue.
He also played "I Fought the Law"--who knew he was such a Bobby Fuller Four fan? (Har, har.)
Somewhere in LA, Morrissey must have looked into the mirror, fighting back hot angry tears, and spluttered: "He can sing too?!"
Post Edited (11-19-14 10:44)
