The Mahaffey Theater was a great choice of a venue for Morrissey to find himself in. Designed to look like a classic European opera house, it captured the kind of class Morrissey exudes even when draped in sardonic sarcasm. There was no opening act just a pastiche of film that opened with the Stooges "Seek and Destroy' set to military footage that is fitting even the news of the world, which Moz evaded from the stage. The opening films felt like you were sitting in his living room as Morrissey clicked through all of the cool Youtube videos he thought you should check out that range from Bowie to Sophie Loren. This is my 6th time seeing him and this proved to be the longest intro film I've sat through from him.
He opened with "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful" which was fitting since his success continues to be his best revenge against a media that tries to ignore him since they can't cancel, yet are never able to ignore him because his legacy only gets closer when you thought it was in the rear view of pop culture. He followed this up with "Suedehead' which found his voice limber for a 64 year old. The first of the five Smiths songs he played was " Stop Me If You Have Heard this One Before' , which I have heard him perform before. "Irish Blood, English Heart" rocked harder than previous performances. This was followed by "Alma Matters" which is one of those songs from "Maladjusted" an album I was lukewarm on when it was released, but the song has grown on me over time, and this performance drove the point home.
"Speedway' is another underrated classic from his solo career, the live performance of this was a powerful reminder of what a great song it is. This came after he went on a bit of sermon regarding how he is only capable of speaking from the heart and how it was not popular in this day and age as the music industry continues it's decline. This made the lyrics more timely, and was the closest he came to addressing his controversy, which was more than expected as Moz's invulnerability to execution from the court of public opinion lies in his ability to disregard what other's think of him, and express this contempt with a calm demeanor and reason as his argument to always prevail.
I think this was the first time I have heard him perform "Half a Person" . This arrangement veered away from replicating what the Smith's did. The lyrics still remain a defining declaration of who he is. This version was slower, and more nuanced. The most surprising moment might have been his cover of Waylon Jennings "Are You Sure Hank Done it this Way" which was true to the original but still firmly in his wheelhouse. He closed the set with "Jack the Ripper" returning to the stage for the one song encore of "How Soon is Now" which was all the crowded needed by that point. The charm and energy he summoned on stage surpassed even what I saw Robert Smith do back when the Cure came though to play an arena. Aging gracefully Morrissey proved the legends are true and he still wears the crown.
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