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| Elvis impersonator, O2 Arena |
Anyway, what I will say is that when Mr Morrissey emerged head to toe in white, my first thought (and that of the annoyingly loud gig-commentator behind me) was that all he needed were a few rhinestones and to dye his quiff. Also, Steven, if you're going to open up with The Queen In Dead and Suedehead, well, you're setting the bar pretty bloody high. Unsustainably high, in fact. Lucky for you that the enormo-dome (too big, in my view - I wish I'd taken binoculars) was stuffed to the gills with devoted fans, most of whom were more than happy to listen to tracks from the latest album rather than a greatest hits set.
What else? Well, it's all covered elsewhere: the Royal-baiting backdrops, the Fuck Harvest Records t-shirts, the venue's meat ban, the almost unbearable video accompaniment to Meat Is Murder, the Dido's Lament (not that Dido) quote that gives this post its title... all of it can be found in other reviews online. And look, I've saved you the time it would take to seek them out. Here's what I'd recommend you read if:
a) You don't like Morrissey - The Independent's half-arsed review
b) You like Morrissey a bit too much - Louder Than War's well-written but ultimately rose-tinted eulogy
c) You like Morrissey and have got your Moz-life balance sorted - The Guardian want to like Mozzer, but just can't help themselves with their critical tendencies
I'll leave you with a video clip (not mine - I would have needed a very long lens) in which you can witness the band's sweary t-shirts, the quote and a beautiful rendition of an old Smiths song. Oh, and that dark blue shirt? Got ripped off and thrown into the crowd one song later. Wonder who got it?
Hmm... that's basically the entire album with show-openers and closers added on. Trouble Loves Me is always good value but I could do without ever hearing Meat Is Murder again. And I think I'd have popped out to the loo during Smiler With Knife.
ReplyDeleteAs for Meat Is Murder, the band's rendition was fine but the backdrop video was grim to the point of being almost unwatchable. None of the venue's numerous food concessions were selling any meat products, though reports of gig-goers being frisked for meat on the way in seem, from my experience and that of those around me in the queue, to be way off the mark. This boy was in no way frisked!
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