Morrissey at the Paramount

Photo by Fabio Lovino

Silvie and I were back at the Paramount just a few weeks after the Pixies show, this time to see that charming man Moz hold court before an adoring crowd. Ticket prices were a might steep and so we were in the third mezzanine, but dead center and in the first row of our section. We arrived early and blew off the opening act to people-watch. Lots of youngsters and oldsters, and of course the fake Morrissey dude who fooled me the last time Moz was in town (you really do have to look twice, but what's his angle, I wonder?).

Morrissey took the stage with his uniformed band (Think 50's street-gang-movie denim and black Ts, and cropped hair) and tore through 20 tunes, mixing in a few Smiths tunes with many recent songs and B-sides. I have not listened to enough of those recent releases to be very familiar with them, but was pleased to hear two of my favorite Smiths tunes ("Cemetary Gates" and "Ask"). Another Smiths tune, "How Soon is Now?", was sensory overload, as the heavy vibrato of the guitar was aped by strobe lights and punctuated by the drummer bashing on a gong and a ridiculously large drum atop his kit. The band was muscular, and played mostly in a pounding rock fashion. Even when the stand-up bass and accordian were trotted out, the sound was still heavy. I think Morrissey's (and definitely Marr's) tunes lose a bit of their appeal when rendered in such a less-than-subtle manner. Still, the show was worth staying up on a work night. Morrissey changed shirts twice, showed off his gym-honed physique, and was in pretty good voice throughout.

Inevitably, the more crazed of the faithful began mounting the stage, rushing at their hero in attempts to embrace or kiss him, or at the least to touch the hem of his garment. Seriously, why do people still do this? Aren't we all grown-ups now, and has the novelty not worn off? Tiresome, really.

The setlist was:

This Charming Man
Black Cloud
When Last I Spoke to Carol
Is It Really So Strange?
Ganglord
I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
Ask
Irish Blood, English Heart
One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell
Death at One's Elbow
Because of My Poor Education
Cemetary Gates
The World is Full of Crashing Bores
Why Don't You Find Out for Yourself
Teenage Dad on His Estate
How Soon is Now?
The Loop
Don't Make Fun of Daddy's Voice
I'm OK by Myself

Encore: Something is Squeezing My Skull