The Sigla Blog

To the strain’s of Liverpudlian anthem, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, Manchester’s most famous son, clad in a smart black suit, strode purposefully to the Olympia’s centre stage. Moments before when the lights dipped, the crowd chanted Morrissey’s name and he obliged by kicking things off with a theatrical bow before launching into ‘First Of The Gang To Die’. ‘Still Ill’ followed, much to the delight of the sizeable crew of diehard Smiths fans in the audience. Backlit, with his signature quiff silhouetted, Morrissey owned every inch of the stage, snapping the microphone chord suggestively to the beat.

However, it was clear early on that the sound was a little off and if it was loud out front, where a delighted crowd didn’t seem to mind, the singer visibly winced at times, at one point asking the whole band to turn everything down. Between songs, his customary banter was cheeky and off the cuff. He told the crowd he was glad to be “back in your lap”, asked if anyone had seen the play Alone it Stands and, after the poor sound problems, if they “preferred The Point” as a venue. The sound issues only marginally took from the gig and Morrissey was as effortless as ever, his voice pitching between defiance and heartbreak when required. Jesse Tobias battled electrics problems with his guitar (which had to be replaced), but he still picked out riffs with style. While the set may have lacked some of the upbeat gems of his back catalogue (noticeably ‘Suedehead’), the new album material sounded brilliant live. In particular, a frantic version of ‘Life Is A Pigsty’, complete with a kettledrum, huge gong and flashing beacon lights. ‘To Me You Are A Work of Art’ was plaintive, heart-on-sleeve stuff and a rousing version of single ‘You Have Killed Me’ is sure to become a set staple. During ‘The Youngest Was The Most Loved’, he added a knowing, “believe meâ€? to the line, “there is no such thing as normalâ€? - and he had us convinced.

‘Trouble Loves Me’ from the often-overlooked Maladjusted was preceded by a few keyboards bars of ‘Molly Malone’, which was possibly lost on a what appeared to be a huge contingent of non-Irish fans in attendance. After ‘Irish Blood, English Heart’, he introduced his cover of Magazine’s ‘A Song From Under The Floor Boards’ by quizzing the audience about who Howard Devoto was. Three shirt changes included some momentary toplessness (and a frenzy among the section he threw shirt number two to) and Morrissey seemed relaxed but perturbed by the sound problems, which he apologised for at the encore. As usual, it was ‘Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me’, even though he has been known to do ‘Stop Me If You Think That You’ve Heard This One Before’. The band tossed out plectrums and setlists to the delighted crowd and an obligatory obligation followed. I’ve seen better Morrissey gigs, but none of last night’s faults were due to the singer, who has still got charisma and vim in abundance - and based on Ringleader of the Tormentors - years of great work to come.

Setlist:
First Of The Gang To Die - Still Ill - You Have Killed Me - The Youngest Was The Most Loved - Reader Meet Author - Let Me Kiss You . My Life Is A Succession Of People Saying Goodbye - Girlfriend In A Coma - I Will See You In Far-off Places - To Me You Are A Work Of Art . Life Is A Pigsty - Trouble Loves Me - How Soon Is Now? - Irish Blood, English Heart - A Song From Under The Floor Boards - I Just Want To See The Boy Happy - At Last I Am Born - Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me

Update: There are more pictures and reviews over at www.morrissey-solo.com/