Morrissey LIVE - at Alexandra Palace
The iconic Morrissey lyric, 'The More You Ignore Me The Closer I Get', taken from his album 'Vauxhall and I' does seem to have an element of self fulfilling prophecy associated with it; not that any successful attempts at ignoring Morrissey have actually been made, but should we try to ignore him? He will keep popping up here and there, when we least expect it.
The last time I saw Morrissey was back in June 2011, at Queens Hall Dunoon, in Scotland.
It was a good show, though even at the time, it did not strike me as being of the most memorable kind it could or should have been. That was before he received his pre-stage cancer diagnosis. Following his treatments, he told the media how his team of doctors had warned against performing live. But he decided to ignore medical advice and continued to make music and perform live. To perform is in his blood, it keeps him alive and he was always set to continue.
Trouble Loves Me, he likes to declare. Morrissey has a passion for demonstrating his playful nature and there has been controversy surrounding him and his persona. No, there has always been a lot of controversy around the two, certainly throughout the time he has been in the public eye. But annoyingly, entire populations seem to neglect and continually go on about is how he suddenly became controversial, in his older days. Hand over heart, tonight’s show is a complex affair displaying the love for Morrissey, the artistic quality of his work versus the controversy over his persona as much as his past, the two will always be there, dramatically opposing each other.
Commencing the show with an Elvis Presley cover of You’ll Be Gone does well at sharing his musical fixations and works as an intro before maneuvering into 'I Started Something I couldn’t Finish', the old 'Strangeways Here We Come' classic delivered as a strong, heavily guitar peddled version, adding new vibrancy. Never one for missing out on an opportunity to bring in the acute, obligatory Morrissey ingredient of wit, he changes the lyric to ‘I grabbed you by the Heinz Baked Beans.’
Just before 'Glamourous Glue' he demonstrates his distance to social media saying ‘I have never had a Twitter account and I have never tweeted’. An official Morrissey Twitter account does, of course, exist but that seems irrelevant to even mention, he is not someone we would expect to sit around tweeting all day. 'Who Will Protect Us From The Police?' is next on tonight’s running order. Energy levels can and probably should be higher, but the musical quality of his performance makes up for it. Morrissey’s voice sounds better than ever. It has a forceful round tone to it and he has come a long way with proper breathing in the right places. His ability to express pure emotion and thought is superior to anything else out there and it makes tonight special. Come to think of it, there probably is not much more you would want or need from a Morrissey show.
Going on to cover 'Back On The Chain Gang' by The Pretenders works exceptionally well and does give the song a new life and spark. 'Spent The Day In Bed' invigorates the crowds, making them sing along before chanting
Morrissey, Morrissey, Morrissey.
Now, that is more closely aligned to how I had imagined a Morrissey show a la 2018.
The singer announces ‘it would be good to bring back a good and honest debate’, such announcement works effectively and gets audiences in the moods for 'World Piece is None Of Your Business' and the iconic 'Viva Hate' track 'Everyday Is Like Sunday', during which Morrissey demonstrates his acquired Spanish language skills by shouting Quando, Quando, Quando? This happens shortly before completing his set with 'Jacky’s Only Happy When She’s Up On Stage'.
He then reappears on stage and reassures us by declaring ‘don’t think I don’t appreciate it because I do’ and so there is time for an encore in the shape of 'Irish Blood, English Heart'. Morrissey continues to have a lot to offer. Musically, he is strong, his lyrics are unmatched and he remains to be a man of substance. If only emphasis would be on his musical ability and lyrical craft rather than his range of political utterings, whether he is being sincere or he is playing with us all. I for one, continue to view his political statements as numerous attempts to wind us all up big time. He demands a reaction and we ought to give him one instead of getting angry or upset. Most of the time, his game plan works effectively and this will only encourage him to continue down that same path.
Secretly, I have to say, this is what I would like him to do. I don’t want him to change.
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