Morrissey @ State Theatre
Morrissey clearly has little trouble drawing rabid devotion from his massive worldwide fan base. The problem in recent years has been middle of the road fans (like me) who still respect and honor the musical legend behind so many great songs, but have a hard time thinking of him as a relevant artist who is still making high quality music. I was buoyed by the fact that he was touring behind his great 2009 album Years of Refusal and thought that his show would be less of a nostalgia trip and more of a pertinent show that would be worth the $40 ticket. It ended up being a little of both.
At 8:30 on the dot, the curtain was raised and Morrissey and his backing band rambled onto the stage. They wasted little time getting the crowd moving as the tore into a great version of the Smiths classic “This Charming Man.” The band, which was dressed in matching jeans and short sleeved flannel shirts that made them look like carpenters, sounded great right from the start and played excellent the entire night. The Moz followed this blistering start with “Billy Budd” from his 1994 album Vauxhall and I and “Black Cloud,” the first of seven songs from Years of Refusal.
He followed this strong start with the three song set that ended up being the highlight of the evening. Starting out with another Smiths classic, this time “How Soon is Now,” which garnered a rapturous response from the sold out crowd. He followed this electrifying moment with one great song from each of his last two albums, You are the Quarry and Years of Refusal. First up was the brooding “Irish Blood/English Heart,” followed closely by my favorite track from his new disc, “When I Last Spoke to Carol.” Unfortunately for Moz’s fans that had waited nearly a decade since his last local shows, the first six songs of the set were never again matched in vitality and energy over the course of the 21 songs, 1.5 hour performance.
The next set of songs, “How can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel,” “I Keep Mine Hidden,” “Let Me Kiss You” and “Seasick, Yet Still Docked” saw the Moz lose the momentum that was built in the opening barrage. While the band still sounded sharp and Morrissey was still a great entertainer (the loudest cheer during this stretch was when the Moz ripped off his shirt), the show lost a step during this stretch that never really returned. The middle of the set was comprised heavily of material from Years of Refusal and his last release You are the Quarry, with the Smiths song “Death of a Disco Dancer” thrown in as a treat for the old fans. Not surprisingly, the highlights were some of the strongest songs from Years of Refusal, including “Something is Squeezing my Skull” and “I’m Throwing my Arms around Paris.” No matter how great the band, which featured two guitars, bass, keyboards and drums (with a big ass gong and bass drum), played on the songs, the crowd seemed a little lost and would come alive for certain songs, only to be lost again. It seemed Morrissey sensed this a little and become even more deprecating in his between song banter.
The band finally regained their footing on their last three songs, starting with the Smiths classic “Ask.” If I sound like a broken record about which songs sound best, maybe that should be a message to Morrissey. While his new record was great and his solo work has never been horrible, there seems to be a constant theme flowing through the night. Play a classic song from his glorious past… crowd goes wild. Play six straight songs from his solo work this decade… everyone but the crazies up front lose focus and start checking their cell phones. While I understand the fact that Morrissey doesn’t want to coast on his old work, at some point I hope he gives people a set of classics like “Ask,” with or without Marr and the gang.
Before the next song, “Life is a Pigsty” from his album Ringleader of the Tormentors, Morrissey mentioned it was dedicated to his friend Jill Smith who had passed away that day. The band followed this somber moment with “I’m Okay by Myself.” The song, which would be downtrodden by most artists’ standards, is an upbeat number in the gloomy world that the Moz lives in and sounded great live. When Morrissey finished the song and sauntered off stage, the crowd responded with a loud cheer in appreciation.
The band wasted little time coming back onstage for their one song encore. As they have done on the entire tour, the band closed out the show with a stirring take “The First of the Gang of the Die.” The mournful yet seemingly redemptive song from You are the Quarry had Morrissey and the band sounding great and ending the show on a high note. The last two thirds of the set may have lacked some of the excitement compared to the first, but a few anxious fans tried to make up for that lull during the final song. There are apparently different levels of Morrissey fanatics, with the top rung held for the types of people who feel the need to rush the stage in hopes of touching their hero. To the amusement of the crowd, the fans made it up to the NFL lineman-sized security guards before being unceremoniously thrown off the stage (and out of the arena). The Moz and the band took it in stride, and Morrissey left the stage to a huge applause near the end of the song, allowing his crack band to have one last moment in the spotlight before the show ended.
The show did little to clarify my internal argument about where Morrissey stands on the nostalgia-relevant spectrum. The first part of the set was invigorating and showed a powerful combination of great songs, Morrissey’s still-commanding voice and his amazing backing band. The rest of the show left me wanting more and ended up showing glimpses of greatness between some more mundane moments. As I said at the start, Morrissey’s fan base is solid and he could play pretty much anything and draw a crowd, but seeing the highlights of Monday’s set made me wish he would swallow his pride and play an entire show of highlights that would really bring the house down (with or without his shirt on).
I agree with your take on the show here, Josh. With that stellar start, most shows would inevitably hit a bit of a lull, and this one most assuredly did after the 6-7 song mark. As with any major artist with a massive back catalog to choose from, you can always find fault with the song choices, but at least he was touring behind a strong record-so hearing a bunch of tracks from that album was enjoyable. For the most part the set was filled with crowd-pleasers and jems from the past.
But you’re right, the backing band was quite exemplary, and allowed Moz to preen about the stage most of the night. I think at this point in his career, it becomes much more about the spectacle of seeing Morrissey than about his music even, and I feel fortunate to have finally seen him live. He is a born showman with an acerbic wit about him that provides for a fun and entertaining show, even if the music at times isn’t as interesting as the “performance.” Nice work, Josh.
I agree w/ what Erik T. said “it becomes much more about the spectacle of seeing Morrissey than about his music…” However, I’ve seen Moz 3x now I would have to say I think it’s always been about the spectacle of seeing Moz live. He’s such a great entertainer!
A very thoughtful and honest review, Josh. As a life-long Morrissey super dork, I’ll willingly put myself on the die-hard end of the fan spectrum (just short of rushing the stage – those dudes were large). That said, I’ve only seen him perform twice (this show and the one at The Quest in ’99 or 00′- I can’t remember), but in my book it was epic Moz, both musically and stylistically. He was clearly having a good time and the band seemed loose, which was markedly different from The Quest, where sound problems annoyed them through the entire set.
In my book, Morrissey is one of the few contemporary artist/entertainers who can create relevance throughout a career. His catalogue is enviable, and I agree that one of the highlights was the “How Soon is Now?” (1984) and “Irish Blood English Heart” (2004) combo. Twenty years apart!
btw, looks like you and Erik were very close to the stage. bastards.
To the highlights, I’ll add the bass guitar at the end of “I’m Okay by Myself”. Simple, sublime, powerful…I could’ve grooved on that for a while. I’m afraid that my overall review of the concert isn’t terribly objective as I felt (mind and body) like a 15-year-old for the first part of the set (I remember distinctly marching into Tower Records and buying “The Queen in Dead” in 1986). So, yeah, nostalgia was overwhelming. But the band was stellar, his new songs still move me, and god love him for removing not one, not two, but THREE shirts! Thanks, Josh (and everybody else), for your sharing your reflections here.