Morrissey - Earls Court: Sat 18th December

Earls Court (they don't give it an apostrophe so why should I?) is a huge, hulking dog of a venue. Even allowing for the huge numbers of people in attendance tonight, there are still acres of industrial wasteland within that are more evocative of a Curry's car-park than an actual music venue. You can pay £25 for a shit t-shirt, pay £5 for a can of beer, you could, if you felt particular masochistic, go and sit through Remmus, the opening band, but few are so foolish.

For all its flaws, the venue offers an appropriate allegory for what we may now call 'The Resuscitation of Morrissey'. With I Have Forgiven Jesus giving him his fourth top ten hit of the year, sales of You Are the Quarry hitting the millions and NME ubiquity to rival that of his 80's peak, it needs a aircraft hangar to hold every Londoner that should wish to see him. Having seen him weave his particular magic at the Royal Festival Hall in June, however, this did not auger well for the actual gig. The view from "Block 14, Row W, Seat 16' was acceptable, but the venue still seemed to sprawl somewhat, dirty-white surfaces arc off into the ceiling and adds to a somewhat 'cavernous' vibe.

Hours of slumping against grimy pillars in the atrium are ended as the intro tape rolled out its familiarly pretentious list of Moz's bugbears ("Royal Family...John Lennon's murder...Anyone's murder"). Then the man himself emerged, said, "Why do you come here?" then rendered his question rhetorical as Boz Boorer cranked out the intro to How Soon Is Now.

It takes a particular kind of presence to play places like this; you can do as Muse do, and fill it with strobe lights, banks of keyboards, or you may do as The Darkness do and ride out over the crowd on a tiger - neither of which seems quite applicable in this case. In the event, of course, all Morrissey needs to do is stand, sway and sing to keep the crowd involved and entranced. And ah yes, the crowd, who earn italics by dint of sheer size, fervour and unity of purpose; to turn one's head and see 20,000 people screaming "I am human and I need to be loved" can do wonders for the very alienation that the lyrics describe. That is Morrissey's genius: he both defines the problems of his audience and solves them by his very existence, again, unity of purpose.

How Soon Is Now has always left me a bit cold, but not tonight, the riff instantly fills the arena and strains the roof, rather than wafting about, as it does on record. The crowd (as it does at several points during the night) transforms the vocal lines into en masse football chants. But this was just the beginning, the song selection throughout was exemplary: Shoplifters of the World Unite, Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me and (to a near religious epiphany) Bigmouth Strikes Again are dusted of from his Smiths days. One is left with the impression that had the first cautious notes of I Know It's Over been cranked out, that many of the crowd would have fainted from sheer delight. But no, Mozzer seems to be storing that one up for future use, and why the fuck not when he's got November Spawned a Monster, I Like You and First of the Gang to Die up his vestments.

Morrissey's solo career has been patchy but really falls into focus in a live context. Even The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get somehow leads to mass dancing as it's sinuous central lick does its scatological work upon the hips of the faithful. The piano lead dirges of Kill Uncle and Maladjusted are abandoned for a more simplistic sound. Ballads are now differentiated from the rock, with no unsatisfying middle-ground (Sister I'm A Poet and Asian Rut, for example, are now thankfully abandoned).

We don't see much of the famed Morrissey 'wit' tonight; "It is a beautiful name" he says in response to the traditional terrace chants "but look where it's been". Instead we get 18 songs in a set that lasts nigh on two hours. Smiths songs aside, it is a resoundingly, even ferociously contemporary set-list. Seven songs from You Are the Quarry are aired and 3 (count 'em) b-sides could well have halted the momentum, but the likes of Friday Mourning and Daddy's Voice are received in similarly ecstatic style. In fact the gig only flags once during a turgid and silly cover of Patti Smith's Redondo Beach.

Whilst later I get reports of tears and bedlam from what I suppose one would call "the pit" at any other gig, standing against a railing half a mile away from the stage seemed like the best way to appreciate a gig. No sweaty Herberts jumping on me, just the cool breeze of an air-conditioning unit the size of a TV by my head and the ability to smoke appreciatively create a very amiable experience. Once Morrissey gone however, I'm suddenly back in reality, looking round an enormous, shitty silo at 20,000 other confused people wondering what the fuck just happened to them.

Set list:
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How Soon Is Now?
First Of The Gang To Die
November Spawned A Monster
Don't Make Fun Of Daddy's Voice
Bigmouth Strikes Again
I Like You
Redondo Beach
Let Me Kiss You
Subway Train (into) Munich Air Disaster 1958
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get
Friday Mourning
I Have Forgiven Jesus
The World is Full of Crashing Bores
Shoplifters Of The World Unite
Irish Blood, English Heart
You Know I Couldn't Last
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Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me


By J.L Cranfield