S
Some Totally Random Moz Fan
Guest
This is a review of the Seattle Paramout Show in the Settle P.I. - and sadly, it is not a good one ;^(
cheers,
Jay
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http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/84009_morrisq.shtml
MUSIC REVIEW
MORRISSEY
WHEN: Thursday night
WHERE: Paramount Theatre
Review: A disappointing night with Morrissey
Saturday, August 24, 2002
By BILL WHITE
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER
A mediocre set list and terrible sound conspired to make Morrissey's Paramount appearance a lackluster event.
Touring with neither management nor a label seemed to be raking hard on the former Smiths lyricist and vocalist. Dressed in black and resembling a cross between Terence Stamp and Quentin Tarantino, the 43-year-old pop star was in poor form for Thursday night's concert.
Ten minutes elapsed between the time the lights went down and the band appeared on the stage. The interim was filled with Nico's caterwauling, an obscure poem and the sounds of trains and screaming. Whether this was meant to heighten the anticipation of the crowd or simply aggravate it was not clear.
As the band tore into a barely comprehensible rendition of "I Want the One I Can't Have," one wondered if the horrible sound might be Morrissey's gift to his fans of an approximation of a night in a shoddy Manchester club.
Most of the songs were from "Bona Drag" and "Viva Hate," Morrissey's first two solo efforts after the Smiths' breakup in 1987. His echoing voice failed to dominate the band's attempt to execute the complex arrangement of "Jack the Ripper."
Some high-end was finally added to the vocals in the second part of the 75-minute concert, and the overactive band members calmed down enough to provide decent support on "Sister, I'm a Poet" and "Everyday Is Like Sunday."
With the exception of four new, unrecorded songs, the most recent number was "Speedway" from 1994's "Vauxhall and I," the rose in the crown of Morrissey's thorny career.
The new songs were nothing special. "The First of the Gang to Die," based on a rhythm guitar riff lifted from Suede's "The Chemistry Between Us," was introduced as having been written that afternoon in the lobby of the Doubletree Hotel.
"If you watch American Music Television, you may agree with the sentiment of this song," Morrissey said about "The World Is Full of Crashing Bores," a number supporting the assertion that his titles are often better than his songs. Also new were the insipidly sincere "I Like You" and a minor-key mood piece proving that anybody who stays too long in Southern California eventually will write something with "Mexico" in the title.
The miserable evening was nearly redeemed by sterling performances of two of his most wrenching songs. "Meat Is Murder," a militant cry for an end to the senseless slaughter of animals for human consumption, was passionate and heartfelt. And "Speedway," in which the reviled moral outcast laughingly confesses the truth of the ugly rumors by which he is destroyed, was infused with a proud self-hatred.
After a serviceable "November Spawned a Monster," Morrissey encored with the ghoulishly joyous "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out," which had the audience singing along on a chorus that celebrated the anticipation of dying in a car crash with a loved one.
LINK to article
cheers,
Jay
----
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/84009_morrisq.shtml
MUSIC REVIEW
MORRISSEY
WHEN: Thursday night
WHERE: Paramount Theatre
Review: A disappointing night with Morrissey
Saturday, August 24, 2002
By BILL WHITE
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER
A mediocre set list and terrible sound conspired to make Morrissey's Paramount appearance a lackluster event.
Touring with neither management nor a label seemed to be raking hard on the former Smiths lyricist and vocalist. Dressed in black and resembling a cross between Terence Stamp and Quentin Tarantino, the 43-year-old pop star was in poor form for Thursday night's concert.
Ten minutes elapsed between the time the lights went down and the band appeared on the stage. The interim was filled with Nico's caterwauling, an obscure poem and the sounds of trains and screaming. Whether this was meant to heighten the anticipation of the crowd or simply aggravate it was not clear.
As the band tore into a barely comprehensible rendition of "I Want the One I Can't Have," one wondered if the horrible sound might be Morrissey's gift to his fans of an approximation of a night in a shoddy Manchester club.
Most of the songs were from "Bona Drag" and "Viva Hate," Morrissey's first two solo efforts after the Smiths' breakup in 1987. His echoing voice failed to dominate the band's attempt to execute the complex arrangement of "Jack the Ripper."
Some high-end was finally added to the vocals in the second part of the 75-minute concert, and the overactive band members calmed down enough to provide decent support on "Sister, I'm a Poet" and "Everyday Is Like Sunday."
With the exception of four new, unrecorded songs, the most recent number was "Speedway" from 1994's "Vauxhall and I," the rose in the crown of Morrissey's thorny career.
The new songs were nothing special. "The First of the Gang to Die," based on a rhythm guitar riff lifted from Suede's "The Chemistry Between Us," was introduced as having been written that afternoon in the lobby of the Doubletree Hotel.
"If you watch American Music Television, you may agree with the sentiment of this song," Morrissey said about "The World Is Full of Crashing Bores," a number supporting the assertion that his titles are often better than his songs. Also new were the insipidly sincere "I Like You" and a minor-key mood piece proving that anybody who stays too long in Southern California eventually will write something with "Mexico" in the title.
The miserable evening was nearly redeemed by sterling performances of two of his most wrenching songs. "Meat Is Murder," a militant cry for an end to the senseless slaughter of animals for human consumption, was passionate and heartfelt. And "Speedway," in which the reviled moral outcast laughingly confesses the truth of the ugly rumors by which he is destroyed, was infused with a proud self-hatred.
After a serviceable "November Spawned a Monster," Morrissey encored with the ghoulishly joyous "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out," which had the audience singing along on a chorus that celebrated the anticipation of dying in a car crash with a loved one.
LINK to article
