Johnny Marr - Live 2018.05.21 Festsaal Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany

I've been waiting for a chance to see Johnny Marr since his comeback in 2013. For some reason I've since forgotten, I missed my chance to see him at Fun Fun Fun Fest in 2013, which was the only time he played somewhere I was living. After the initial hesitation of having to deal with Ticketmaster, I gave in and bought a ticket.

Artist: Johnny Marr

Venue: Festsaal Kreuzberg

Location: Berlin, Germany

Date: 21 May 2018

Setlist:
01. The Tracers

02. Bigmouth Strikes Again [originally performed by The Smiths]

03. Jeopardy

04. Day In Day Out

05. New Dominions

06. Hi Hello

07. The Headmaster Ritual [originally performed by The Smiths]

08. Walk into the Sea

09. Getting Away with It [originally performed by Electronic with Neil Tennant]

10. Bug

11. Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me [originally performed by The Smiths]

12. Easy Money

13. Boys Get Straight

14. Rise

15. How Soon Is Now? [originally performed by The Smiths]

Encore:

16. Actor Attractor

17. Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want [originally performed by The Smiths]

18. New Town Velocity

19. There Is a Light That Never Goes Out [originally performed by The Smiths]

After years of collaborative projects, Johnny Marr's debut solo album Boomslang (2003; credited to Johnny Marr + the Healers) was lackluster and hasn't aged well. Marr tends to ignore it, perhaps deservedly so, and prefers to count his albums starting with The Messenger from 2013. It's a respectable album with a refreshing burst of energy and enthusiasm, even if the second half doesn't hold up to the first. This was followed quite rapidly by Playland (2014), which mostly followed in the same vein, albeit less successfully. Adrenalin Baby, a live album from 2015, was rather unexciting except for the Smiths songs, "Getting Away with It", and "I Fought the Law". Marr then took a break for a couple years. He hasn't yet released his new album, Call the Comet, but the two advance singles are telling: "The Tracers" picks up where Playland left off, and "Hi Hello" is a moodier number with a guitar line that quotes from "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out".

The concert was just about what I expected: a bunch of new songs, a few cuts from recent albums, and several classic Smiths renditions. The new songs were decent; a few were noticeably dancier, the singles were particularly strong, and a couple were a bit dull. It was a lot of new material, but it didn't wear me down. However, I was surprised that they only played three songs from previous albums. The Messenger had a number of songs that I would've gladly seen on the stage.

The Smiths songs (and "Getting Away with It") were the natural highlights. None of the choices were a surprise (except for maybe "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me"), but they were all executed with skill and taste. They played the songs fairly conventionally, with Marr singing with Morrissey's meter and melody, but without his flair and whimsy. In each case, the songs were slightly extended or rearranged to emphasize the instrumental guitar jams.

As always, most of Marr's instrumental breaks weren't necessarily what you would call a solo. He didn't bother with any wailing or shredding. He focused on melody, emotive phrases, atmosphere, crescendoing energy, and interplay with his bandmates. (These are the marks of a truly skilled guitarist!) Instead of aggression and pure showmanship, he worked with mood and texture. This has been less obvious in his solo work, but still present. When he plays the Smiths songs live, it's an impressive sight and sound to behold.

His backing band was solid, even if they mostly kept to the background. It's the same crew that appears to have been backing him since 2013: James Doviak on guitars, keyboards, and backing vocals; Iwan Gronow on bass and backing vocals; and Jack Mitchell on drums. The backing vocals were a nice touch, but they rarely tried anything as fanciful as harmony. Doviak's guitarwork was occasionally indistinguishable from Marr's, although he never took a solo. He mostly played the strummed or jangling patterns that underpin the songs, but he regularly committed the unnecessary sin of using an acoustic emulator with his electric guitar instead of just playing a proper acoustic guitar. The band used samples for some parts, although thankfully not for "How Soon Is Now?" (as far as I could tell!).

Marr's recent solo albums were hailed as returning to his classic style, despite that in reality they sound more similar to the Britpop and alt-rock that was inspired by The Smiths. There's less subtlety, less acoustic guitar, more dance-oriented drums and production, and a thicker layer of sound. The bass and drums, while not without their moments, lack the finesse and delicate interplay of Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce. Marr's vocal style is not particularly similar to Morrissey's, and he thankfully doesn't try to copy it. Lyrically, he clearly has ideas, although he doesn't always find the best means of expressing them.

Both Morrissey and Marr initially declined to play Smiths songs after the breakup of the band, and both also seemed to consciously move into other styles. Morrissey slowly let Smiths songs back into his repertoire in the mid-90s and 00s, but Marr waited until 2013 to play them again. While Morrissey has had his ups and downs over the years, Marr has kept a steady pace, albeit less prominently. His years of consistent hard work may be paying off. In light of Morrissey's worsening public stature and meager recent albums, Marr seems to have become the proper heir to the Smiths crown at present.

[Making use of the disco ball for "Getting Away with It".]

Scores:

The concert: B+

The Messenger: B

Playland: C+

Adrenalin Baby: C

Morrissey / The Courteeners - Live 2009.04.08 The Pageant, St. Louis, Missouri

When I heard Morrissey was coming to town again, I knew I couldn't say no. This time I actually went with a friend and happened to meet up with a couple more at the show. Coincidentally, the last time I saw Moz perform, I wrote my first review for this blog.

Artist: Morrissey
Venue: The Pageant
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Date: 8 April 2009
Opening Act: The Courteeners

Setlist:
01. This Charming Man
02. Billy Budd
03. Black Cloud
04. How Soon Is Now?
05. Irish Blood, English Heart
06. When I Last Spoke to Carol
07. How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?
08. I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
09. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others
10. Something Is Squeezing My Skull
11. Seasick, Yet Still Docked
12. The Loop
13. The World Is Full of Crashing Bores
14. Death of a Disco Dancer
15. Best Friend on the Payroll
16. I Keep Mine Hidden
17. Sorry Doesn't Help
18. Ask
19. Let Me Kiss You
20. I'm OK by Myself

Encore:
21. First of the Gang to Die

The night opened up with the Courteeners, a five-piece alternative band from Manchester. They played ten songs in about 35 minutes. They sounded somewhat Britpoppy, but with more of a post-80s feel. These guys were obviously fans of the Smiths, and they said as much on stage. I wasn't blown away, but they were friendly and made decent music. They fit the bill as an opener for Morrissey, and I liked that they seemed like a young band that might otherwise belong in smaller venues.

After they left the stage, just like Morrissey's last tour, music videos and other clips were projected onto a big screen covering the stage. This time the video featured plenty of Shocking Blue songs and a live television performance of the New York Dolls, a documented love of Morrissey's. The screen fell a few minutes before 9:00pm to reveal a background filled with a massive, buff sailor. After the intro music ran for a minute or two, the band hit the stage and burst into the classic Smiths single "This Charming Man".

Morrissey split his set fairly evenly between tracks from his new album, Years of Refusal, songs from his solid 2004 comeback album, You Are the Quarry, and old Smiths songs, with a few older songs from his solo career thrown in. The choice of his songs is quite interesting in terms of what was and wasn't represented. Among the Smiths songs he played, three were charting singles, two are slightly obscure but great album tracks, and "I Keep Mine Hidden" is notable as the last recorded Smiths song, found only on the b-side of "Girlfriend in a Coma" (and the extremely belatedly-released "Sweet and Tender Hooligan" single). The solo tracks were rather curiously focused; Morrissey nearly completely overlooked his entire early career (no "Suedehead" or "Everyday Is Like Sunday"!?) in favor of five or six songs each from two of his latest albums. Nothing from his first three albums was included, only one song from the next three was present, and nothing from his relatively recent 2006 album, Ringleader of the Tormentors was to be heard. Did he suddenly turn his back on that album? It may not be as good as the new album or You Are the Quarry, but it certainly wasn't bad.

Regardless, I can't complain with what he did deliver. The band rocked out in top form, except for a few guitar problems (e.g., lead guitarist Jesse Tobias had one of his strings break during "Ask", so he couldn't do the lovely lead parts at the end of the song). Morrissey sung perfectly, but he just didn't seem quite as spirited as he could be. He was in a good mood; he still talked some in his normal coy manner and received plenty of gifts from the audience (including what appeared to be vinyl copies of the first two Smiths albums), but he said at one point, "We had a great time in Kansas City, you may be jealous," and said that even though he liked St. Louis, he liked KC better. He certainly wasn't having as good of a time as last time he was here, although, to be fair, that was his birthday.

Standouts included "How Soon Is Now?", done as a shortened version but with an extended guitar and kettle drum outro, "Death of a Disco Dancer", also featuring a great outro with rhythm guitarist Boz Boorer on clarinet and ending on something of an instrumental freakout, and "First of the Gang to Die", which concluded in a big collective bow by the band. "Seasick, Yet Still Docked" was new to me but sounded fantastic. It was just about the only slower, less rocking song of the night, and it featured acoustic double bass and guitar. The instrumental was particularly beautiful. The only real low point was "I Keep Mine Hidden". It's cool for Morrissey to pull out such an obscurity, but it just isn't a good song, and considering how many amazing Smiths songs there are to choose from, why pick one of the weakest ones?

I was surprised that the encore only consisted of one song – I wondered if Morrissey was snubbing us after a good night in Kansas City, but apparently that's the norm for this tour. Really, the whole band performed quite well, and the songs rocked. It was a lot of fun, but I do wish Moz had put just a bit more energy into it all.

Scores:
The Courteeners: B-
Morrissey: B+

P.S. This time he only took his shirt off and threw it to the audience once. (Last time it was twice.)

An Essay About Packaging

For a bit of a change, I'm going to write a little essay here. I'd like to say a few words about something about music that I think is important: packaging. Packaging and liner notes, and printed lyrics, and little associated essays, and photographs. Good liner notes, that's what I like. Some well done cover art goes a long way, and I like reading lyrics along with the album. Notes, credits, photos, and so on are not entirely necessary but awfully nice when present.

For me, a big part of buying albums is getting the packaging. This is why I don't like buying digital albums (or just copying or illegally downloading music). I really like to be able to hold the artwork and look at it thoroughly. I like to get to know albums I buy, and it's hard without packaging.

I hate buying CDs from the early 90s that just have no packaging. You get the regular old jewel case, the CD, and the tiniest liner notes possible: just a single sheet, folded once. Maybe it contains lyrics to one song and the credits. I mention the early 90s, but really it started in the 80s when CDs first came out, and when albums were being issued on CD for the first time, often the record company just shrunk the 12" vinyl artwork and crammed it into the 5" CD case.

Some of the worst examples are a few of the Cure's albums, like Boys Don't Cry (1980) (actually an American compilation basically consisting of their first real album, Three Imaginary Boys (1979) and their first three singles), Devo's Duty Now for the Future (1978) (containing literally nothing on the sleeve but a catalog listing from the record company), Moby's self-titled debut (1992), or Electronic's self-titled debut (1991). (I should note that many of the Cure's later albums have much better liner notes, like Disintegration (1989) and Wish (1992).)

[The Cure – Boys Don't Cry (1980). Not much more here than the bland, non-band-approved art.]

[The Cure – Disintegration (1989). A major improvement – interesting, plus lyrics and more art inside.]

Plenty of albums, new and old, just don't have much packaging. Sometimes that's fine. That defined New Order, for example. Actually, any band whose album covers were designed by the Factory artist Peter Saville (namely, Joy Division, New Order, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Ultravox, and a handful of others) is nearly guaranteed to have been given a great design. New Order in particular was known to have a sort of mystique, and the lack of descriptive liner notes was part of that. It's still a bit bothersome, but their style was so good that it's hard to complain. Some artists and bands get away with less and it's not so bad (Neil Young's Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969) has such a great cover but limited liner notes), but sometimes it feels like some bands just don't care.

[New Order – Power, Corruption, and Lies (1983). This is the original cover by Saville; later CD reissues added the band name and title. A great cover picture.]

[Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures (1979). Another of my favorite Saville covers. Some of the inside art available only on the vinyl version inspired an oil painting I did in high school.]

[OMD – Dazzle Ships (1983). Another Saville work. The vinyl version has a unique design with small holes designed to let the different colors of the inner sleeve come through while pulling the inner sleeve out. A great design.]

[Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969). Simple, but I love that shot so much, and the way it was printed made it grainy in a sort of good way.]

Some bands just get it right. I apologize for my incessant talk of the Smashing Pumpkins, but it happens a lot, and I'm going to mention them again. Their liner notes are superb. Gish was weak, but all four subsequent commercial albums (and the outtakes collection Pisces Iscariot and the b-sides box set The Aeroplane Flies High) all have great liner notes. The albums all have full lyrics, plentiful artwork, photography, full credits, sometimes special notes from the band... it's good stuff. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness even had two booklets (but it was a double album) – one for lyrics with little clip art-ish (only better) drawings, and one for weirdo collages and the actual credits.

[From the sleeve of The Smashing Pumpkins' Adore (1998). This has always been one of my favorite shots; I painted my own version. The sleeve is thick due to several pages of photos and complete lyrics in different fonts and arrangements.]

The Smiths always had good liner notes too – full lyrics and pictures from any number of Morrissey's favorite movies, TV shows, or whatever. Radiohead have been masters of album art for years now. They may or may not print their lyrics, but the interesting arrays of artworks are never disappointing. They make each album and EP really feel like an item of value.

[The Smiths – "This Charming Man" single (1983). Morrissey always found interesting shots of his favorite actors and models, and this was always one of my favorites.]

[Radiohead – Kid A (2000). This art was mind-blowingly arty and thus great.]

I don't remember exactly when bands first started releasing CDs in packaging other than jewel cases, but that can often be interesting. It's more popular with reissues these days, but Neil Young's Mirror Ball (1995) has a cardboard-ish slip sleeve sort of thing, and it's not bad. I like the nontraditional slip sleeves in that it's at least something different. It helps.

[Neil Young with Pearl Jam – Mirror Ball (1995). A great cover that doesn't even include words.]

Vinyl in general is an entirely separate story. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and the New Order albums had the same limited packaging when first released on vinyl, but the artwork was bigger. Some albums on vinyl merely have the cardboard-ish outer sleeve and nothing (maybe a bland white sleeve) on the inside, and that's sad. Some would fold open or have elaborate inner sleeves, or just something extra, like John Lennon & Yoko Ono's Wedding Album (1969), which came with photos, articles, drawings, and a copy of the couple's marriage certificate. Genius. Part of my problem with vinyl may be that I'm a music collector of the 21st century and thus the vinyl I buy is always used – so pieces may be missing. However, my father's collection seems to indicate that this is only rarely the case.

[John Lennon & Yoko Ono – Wedding Album (1969). Whoever took this photo had a Japanese edition with all the inserts, which are displayed here.]

Most 60s and 70s material, when first put to CD, seems to be a bit simple – maybe some lyrics or photos or a little write-up. Think of every Beatles or Doors album, or even the Violent Femme's self-titled debut (1983). These aren't too bad, just uncreative and plain.

The best thing is when albums are reissued, usually with remastered sound and bonus tracks. Not only do I love bonus tracks, but these reissues usually have full lyrics and little essays and period photos. I adore these reissues. Echo & the Bunnymen's reissues are notable for all the above, plus an extra paper outer sleeve, but no lyrics (which is even weirder considering the original CDs had printed lyrics). The Cure's reissues (and the reissue of the side project The Glove's Blue Sunshine (1983, reissued 2006)) are fantastic: a whole second disc of bonus tracks, lyrics, photos everywhere, little essays and notes. Wonderful. The Byrds' reissues lack lyrics but have song-by-song notes. Not every band gets it right, though: Psychedelic Furs and Siouxsie & the Banshees reissues are disappointing for the lack of much of anything but a few bonus tracks and notes.

[Echo & the Bunnymen – Ocean Rain (1984). I love this album and its cover. The packaging of the reissue helps, but lyrics would've been great.]

[The Glove – Blue Sunshine (1983). In case the name of the band wasn't clear, the cover makes it clear that this is a Yellow Submarine reference. The reissue keeps the design up throughout the entire lavish liner notes booklet.]

I know I may sound like a hypocrite for questioning the Smashing Pumpkins' $22, 76-page booklet version of Zeitgeist, but my version has a dozen or so pages anyway, and I didn't want to pay around ten cents a page for photography that wasn't even that great. I don't like overpaying, but I like a bit of effort to be put into something. If an artist can spend so much time making the music, how hard could it be to put together a package to make it physically pleasing in addition to the auditory enjoyment?

I could mention many more bands and reissues, but I figure that's enough. Feel free to make suggestions for notable good or bad packaging that I failed to cover.

Morrissey / Kristeen Young - Live 2007.05.22 The Pageant, St. Louis, Missouri

[Note (2014.06.05): Welcome to the first post of my blog! I originally had attempted a brief introduction, but I recommend reading the About page for a more current and complete perspective.]

Artist: Morrissey
Venue: The Pageant
City: St. Louis, Missouri
Date: 22 May 2007
Opening Act: Kristeen Young

Main Set:
01. Unhappy Birthday (tease)
02. The Queen Is Dead
03. The First of the Gang to Die
04. The Youngest Was the Most Loved
05. In the Future When All's Well
06. You Have Killed Me
07. Disappointed
08. Panic
09. Let Me Kiss You
10. I Just Want to See the Boy Happy
11. National Front Disco
12. I Will See You in Far-Off Places
13. All You Need Is Me
14. Girlfriend in a Coma
15. Everyday Is Like Sunday
16. The Boy with the Thorn in His Side
17. Irish Blood, English Heart
18. At Last I Am Born
19. I've Changed My Plea to Guilty
20. Life Is a Pigsty → Piano solo
21. How Soon Is Now?

Encore:
22. Happy Birthday
23. Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
24. You're Gonna Need Someone on Your Side

I was still in Vienna when I heard of this concert and bought my ticket. Ridiculous as it may have been to buy my ticket so early and while abroad, it was a sold-out show, so I think it was for the better. Kristeen Young, a St. Louis native (and graduate of Webster University, the school I attend) was the opening act. She played her keyboard (except for a few songs which were pre-programmed) and sang, accompanied only by a drummer. She performed fairly well and was received well by most of the audience. After her performance, several assorted video clips were projected. I found some, such as an "East of Eden" wardrobe display and a German TV appearance of the New York Dolls, telling of Morrissey's character, but others were less interesting.

Finally, the band hit the stage, entirely dressed in white except for the suited Morrissey. The one-time Smiths singer was in great form, and as Kristeen Young insinuated, the day must have been his birthday, because he came out singing the first verse of "Unhappy Birthday" a capella. The band quickly launched into "The Queen Is Dead", which, like just about every time the band played a Smiths or older Morrissey song, elicited copious boisterous applause. Morrissey continued his longtime tradition of shaking audience members' hands at different points in songs and making short but witty comments between songs, such as warning the audience that "this is what 48 looks like". However, he has kept up his appearance well and knows this, as he twice tore off his shirt and threw it to the audience. He also took several birthday cards, presents, and posters that audience members reached out to him. Someone in the audience brought some balloons in, but every time one made it to the stage, a crew member would run out and take it.

The setlist was truly great. My memory of the order of latter half is a bit foggy, but I'm pretty sure I have the songs right. There were just a couple I didn't recognize, including the apparently newly-written "All You Need Is Me". Just like the rest of the audience, I completely ate up the older songs he played, as these are some of the songs I've grown up upon – I mean, I've not only learned how to play all the old songs, but I've performed some of them live myself ("Girlfriend in a Coma" and "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side", specifically)! Morrissey did a good job of mixing Smiths songs with his own older material and still performing songs from his latest two comeback albums.

Several songs merit special note. "The First of the Gang to Die" featured a different bridge with the keyboardist playing a horn solo. "Disappointed" garnered especially loud audience response following the "this is the last song I shall ever sing" line, which Morrissey then replied with "yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" (whereas in the studio version he sings "no, I've changed my mind again" and a fake audience track boos). "I Will See You in Far-Off Places" had some crazy effects or samples going on, because at several points there was a seriously extreme low-pitch boom that shook my entire body. A couple songs ended in the drummer (who I believe was Matt Walker, famous from just about everything, but as far as I'm concerned, working with Billy Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins) hitting a huge gong, deafening the entire venue, and a few other songs featured him banging a huge kettle drum which also shook my entire body. "Life Is a Pigsty" started with longtime guitarist and music-writer Boz Boorer pouring water into some glasses and tapping them throughout the first half of the song, then trading the glasses for his guitar, at which point the song built up considerably, ending in some heavy drum crashes and then a protracted keyboard solo. Somehow at just the moment the keyboardist finished his bit, one of the guitarists tore into the wonderfully effects-laden riff of "How Soon Is Now?" The last repetition of the chorus of the song was cut, providing a premature finish, but then the drummer went a bit wild and the guitarist kept repeating the F# chord that the song is built off of. This went on for a few minutes and then the band left the stage.

It was quite clear that there would be an encore; this was no guessing matter. Sure enough, the band walked back after a quite short pause and the instrumentalists began playing "Happy Birthday", which the audience happily sang as Morrissey pretended to be annoyed and uninterested in listening. Then the band jumped into "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want", repeating the first verse to add some length to the normally terse song, and finishing with a trumpet doubling the tremolo guitar notes of the ending instrumental. The band finished on "You're Gonna Need Someone on Your Side", which was unfamiliar to me, and the song ended quite dramatically with continual deafening gong crashes.

The audience was clearly completely enthralled by the entire performance. Morrissey has built up quite a fanbase and somehow they never stop coming back for more. The setlist was a good compromise between recent singles and fan favorites, although one could complain that not many recent album tracks or obscurities were played (and by not many I mean two: the album track "Life Is a Pigsty" and the unreleased "All You Need Is Me"). I was hoping for a cover in the vein of Patti Smith's "Redondo Beach", which he performed in 2004 and I consider a good choice for him to do, but alas, Morrissey stuck to what he knew best. I suppose that's fine. I really can't complain, though – it was a thoroughly enjoyable show, and I had a great time. Morrissey's still a great performer, even at 48.

[Retrospective Scores:
Morrissey: A
Kristeen Young: B]

[Edit 2009.04.04: Check out the page for this show on the fansite Passions Just Like Mine for more information. Since my memory was questionable in accuracy, I revised my setlist based on theirs.]