My own gripe with Morrissey performances nowadays

[Theo van Gogh Martyrs Brigade]

In a thread below speculating about whether Alain is still part of the band, someone wrote:

"Alain is featured VERY prominently in Who Put the M in Manchester; in
fact, he probably has the most screen time after Morrissey--at the least,
neck and neck with Boz."

I don't think any of the band are featured "prominently" in the performance.
There's a few shots here and there, and there's Morrissey's introductions, and then there's the ending where they each walk off one by one and each have a few seconds to give a goodbye.

But really, the overall feel of a Morrissey concert nowadays is of a star singer with session musicians deep in the backround.

This is quite different from Morrissey in The Smiths and Morrissey in the early concerts of the solo years with Alain, Boz, Spencer, and Gary.

Watch the "Live In Dallas" video again. What you see there is a gang. Sure, Morrissey is the leader and the star, but everyone in the gang has a lot of personality that can shine through. Gary sometimes steps forward with his upright bass. Boz is dancing around like a goof, and sometimes smashing a guitar. Alain is striking charismatic poses. And Spencer...well you can't do much when you're the drummer, but somehow I still felt a stronger impression of Spencer than I do with the current drummer. When I think of Morrissey's band, I still see Spencer in my mind.

Mostly I think Morrissey performances have constantly been getting better and better over the years in a lot of ways. At some point in the '90s he started sounding better as a singer in concert. He also seems more at ease in performance and between-song chatter, and has better stage moves, gestures, and dancing.

But I don't like that it's no longer a band with a lot of personality that feels like a gang. Maybe this was inevitable because they're all older now. Perhaps it would look silly if they tried to act like they were in their 20s. And perhaps it's okay for things to change.

And change they have. When people speak of Morrissey's band nowadays, it seems a little fake. What it really is is Boz the "musical director" and an assortment of nearly-anonymous session players who we never get a chance to get to know and who may be replaced without a moment's notice. Oh, sure, Gary Day is back and he's a familiar face. However, he looks like he's just punching in on the time clock and doing his job. He's not the same. the entire band has a more ALL-BUSINESS feel to it.

It's sort of like when David Letterman took his show to CBS and Paul Shafer's band got all corporate. It removed a lot of the coolness out of the show.

And it doesn't help that Morrissey seems to have reacted to his many legal disputes with past music collaborators by vowing to never let anyone else share the spotlight again. I got angry when Morrissey did an interview while promoting "you Are The Quarry" and claimed that the fact the band gets so little press is the fault of the journalists. It's partly yheir fauly, but it's also partly MORRISSEY'S fault. He never talks about them. He probably has issued an order that they should not talk to the press. The only thing we have is one rarely-updated and superficial Tour Diary on Boz's web site where we can find out Boz's Top Ten beers but certainly nothing about the music.

With Alain gone (at least for now) we really should stop talking as if Morrissey has a real band. Jesse seems like a good guitarist, but we all know he's with Morrissey for the JOB just as he did with Alanis Morrissette. No, it's not a band in the truest sense. It's Morrissey the solo artist with Boz the musical director and a bunch of session players punching the clock. Nice guys all, yes. And they sound good, sure. But not a true band. Do they even socialize together? Remember that article where one of them said that during the 7 year break Morrissey was, one day, just minutes away from his home but never stopped by to say hello?

 

[Theo van Gogh Martyrs Brigade]

I meant my ONE gripe. It really is my ONLY gripe

 

[puddle]

Morrissey. . .from accounts of people seeing him in bars, on the streets, and his own statments, seems to still be shy and keep to himself in public. so perhaps that's why he doesn't go hang out. it's anti-social behavior. he has some of those close friends yoyu hear him being with constantly--some of them not known to us.

not to mention his past relations with members of the smiths may keep him from getting too close to his current band. he has his quirks, rooted int he past. . .like many people i guess.

and i figure the band is more laid back on stage because they are older. the first time i saw them was in 1997 and they didn't seem so present then either. it was morrissey and all morrissey.

also, early 90s, it was all new for them, now they got used to it. the initial excitment isn't there.

that's my take

 

[jp]

part of it though seems to me that getting older, the stage presence of boz, gary and alain is just "less crazy" so to speak. i definitely think youve raised a number of good points, but moz still does make sure to introduce and credit the band at all the shows, and a lot of the photo sessions of "moz and lads" from last year definitely had a "group effort" feel to them...even if moz got to dress like a priest and the lads had to be nuns...or when he got to wear a suit and the band donned kilts.

after the letterman taping, moz kind of flew by us, gave a smile and a wave, and zipped away in his car. then the band came out, and everyone who was waiting at the barrier was very much excited to meet and chat with them. boz took a picture with me, everyone else seemed to be having fun signing autographs and meeting the fans. yes they seem less present on stage at times, but i still think there is a sense of coherence amongst themselves and betwixt them and moz.

> In a thread below speculating about whether Alain is still part of the
> band, someone wrote:

> "Alain is featured VERY prominently in Who Put the M in Manchester;
> in
> fact, he probably has the most screen time after Morrissey--at the least,
> neck and neck with Boz."

> I don't think any of the band are featured "prominently" in the
> performance.
> There's a few shots here and there, and there's Morrissey's introductions,
> and then there's the ending where they each walk off one by one and each
> have a few seconds to give a goodbye.

> But really, the overall feel of a Morrissey concert nowadays is of a star
> singer with session musicians deep in the backround.

> This is quite different from Morrissey in The Smiths and Morrissey in the
> early concerts of the solo years with Alain, Boz, Spencer, and Gary.

> Watch the "Live In Dallas" video again. What you see there is a
> gang. Sure, Morrissey is the leader and the star, but everyone in the gang
> has a lot of personality that can shine through. Gary sometimes steps
> forward with his upright bass. Boz is dancing around like a goof, and
> sometimes smashing a guitar. Alain is striking charismatic poses. And
> Spencer...well you can't do much when you're the drummer, but somehow I
> still felt a stronger impression of Spencer than I do with the current
> drummer. When I think of Morrissey's band, I still see Spencer in my mind.

> Mostly I think Morrissey performances have constantly been getting better
> and better over the years in a lot of ways. At some point in the '90s he
> started sounding better as a singer in concert. He also seems more at ease
> in performance and between-song chatter, and has better stage moves,
> gestures, and dancing.

> But I don't like that it's no longer a band with a lot of personality that
> feels like a gang. Maybe this was inevitable because they're all older
> now. Perhaps it would look silly if they tried to act like they were in
> their 20s. And perhaps it's okay for things to change.

> And change they have. When people speak of Morrissey's band nowadays, it
> seems a little fake. What it really is is Boz the "musical
> director" and an assortment of nearly-anonymous session players who
> we never get a chance to get to know and who may be replaced without a
> moment's notice. Oh, sure, Gary Day is back and he's a familiar face.
> However, he looks like he's just punching in on the time clock and doing
> his job. He's not the same. the entire band has a more ALL-BUSINESS feel
> to it.

> It's sort of like when David Letterman took his show to CBS and Paul
> Shafer's band got all corporate. It removed a lot of the coolness out of
> the show.

> And it doesn't help that Morrissey seems to have reacted to his many legal
> disputes with past music collaborators by vowing to never let anyone else
> share the spotlight again. I got angry when Morrissey did an interview
> while promoting "you Are The Quarry" and claimed that the fact
> the band gets so little press is the fault of the journalists. It's partly
> yheir fauly, but it's also partly MORRISSEY'S fault. He never talks about
> them. He probably has issued an order that they should not talk to the
> press. The only thing we have is one rarely-updated and superficial Tour
> Diary on Boz's web site where we can find out Boz's Top Ten beers but
> certainly nothing about the music.

> With Alain gone (at least for now) we really should stop talking as if
> Morrissey has a real band. Jesse seems like a good guitarist, but we all
> know he's with Morrissey for the JOB just as he did with Alanis
> Morrissette. No, it's not a band in the truest sense. It's Morrissey the
> solo artist with Boz the musical director and a bunch of session players
> punching the clock. Nice guys all, yes. And they sound good, sure. But not
> a true band. Do they even socialize together? Remember that article where
> one of them said that during the 7 year break Morrissey was, one day, just
> minutes away from his home but never stopped by to say hello?

 

[Theo van Gogh Martyrs Brigade]

> Morrissey. . .from accounts of people seeing him in bars, on the streets,
> and his own statments, seems to still be shy and keep to himself in
> public. so perhaps that's why he doesn't go hang out. it's anti-social
> behavior. he has some of those close friends yoyu hear him being with
> constantly--some of them not known to us.

I'm sure he's ever bit as shy as his songs suggest. However, I also think there's ego going on.

And it is very odd how the music press, expecially in the UK where Morrissey gets high coverage, is not interested in the band whatsoever. What gives?
I think it flows, in part, from the way Morrissey presents them. Obviously part of it is also that Morrissey is the one who makes great copy gives fascinating interviews.

But even in the reviews, barely a word for the others.

Boz and Alain have co-written some of the greatest pop songs of the last 20 years. Biased opinion on my part, but think of all the songs. Sure, that's primarily because of the singer. But they just never get any credit. I wonder if it pisses them off. I'd feel real bad if I was involved in all those albums in a substantial way and never got much credit. Granted, they're not as innovative or naturally gifted as Johnny Marr was in the 1980s, so I'm not suggesting they're at that level. However, when I flip through music magazines I see article after article discussing musicians in pop bands ad naseum, few of whom have songs that can touch Boz and Alain's body of work.

 

[jp]

still, the fans, at least as is evident from this site, are still highly interested in whats going on with boz and alain. especially alain. the second biggest piece of gossip/rumors has been "whats the deal with alain, when will he be back, etc." not to mention the alain whyte fanzine.

but yes, you do make some keen observations. the biggest thing is, they will always pale in comparison to moz in the eyes of fans and the media. its intrinsic at this point. but i thinks it ok, and im sure they are pretty comfortable with it themselves, else they would have bounced like spencer did at this point.

> I'm sure he's ever bit as shy as his songs suggest. However, I also think
> there's ego going on.

> And it is very odd how the music press, expecially in the UK where
> Morrissey gets high coverage, is not interested in the band whatsoever.
> What gives?
> I think it flows, in part, from the way Morrissey presents them. Obviously
> part of it is also that Morrissey is the one who makes great copy gives
> fascinating interviews.

> But even in the reviews, barely a word for the others.

> Boz and Alain have co-written some of the greatest pop songs of the last
> 20 years. Biased opinion on my part, but think of all the songs. Sure,
> that's primarily because of the singer. But they just never get any
> credit. I wonder if it pisses them off. I'd feel real bad if I was
> involved in all those albums in a substantial way and never got much
> credit. Granted, they're not as innovative or naturally gifted as Johnny
> Marr was in the 1980s, so I'm not suggesting they're at that level.
> However, when I flip through music magazines I see article after article
> discussing musicians in pop bands ad naseum, few of whom have songs that
> can touch Boz and Alain's body of work.

 

[Theo van Gogh Martyrs Brigade]

> part of it though seems to me that getting older, the stage presence of
> boz, gary and alain is just "less crazy" so to speak. i
> definitely think youve raised a number of good points, but moz still does
> make sure to introduce and credit the band at all the shows, and a lot of
> the photo sessions of "moz and lads" from last year definitely
> had a "group effort" feel to them...even if moz got to dress
> like a priest and the lads had to be nuns...or when he got to wear a suit
> and the band donned kilts.

Good point about the photos. I love that kind of stuff! And I'm very glad those photos are featured in the live album. But they're never featured in the sleeves of the studio albums, and only very rarely on the sleeves of singles/EPs.

 

[Mr.Improper PIMP of the fuckin nation..and proud s]

Re: I meant my ONE gripe. It really is my ONLY gripe

Good stuff actually theo. The PIMP had to ponder what you were talking about and it seems you were on the point a few times. Ive never said a negative word about his majesty(why start now??) and will not ever. But, I do think you have made some good points/ assumptions. I would call gary and dean far better than "session musicians" though. I miss alain alot. To me, and this is just the mutha fuggin PIMP of the nation speaking.......but there just doesnt seem to be any "fun ness" within the band anymore amongst all of them?? if that makes sense??? looking over past videos, you see them enjoying themselves and laughing and so forth. None of that these days. I just watched the SNL(with michael keaton) footage and near the end of the second song....morrissey nods off to alain and bozzer and they both smile as if to say" thanks boss". They seemed a bit happier than, now?? i dont know. Good post though.