Morrissey at The Brighton Centre - Review

Shots of Elvis, The Ramones and Marc Bolan were displayed on the big screen as fans filled every corner of the venue, the arena had not been this busy in a long time.

Morrissey was treating the crowd to the legends of the business, before they saw a real-life one in the flesh.

One may think that in this modern world of cancel culture, the appetite for the show of the former Smiths frontman would be diminished by the 63-year-old’s consistent right-wing comment on British identity, immigration and global politics in general.

This was not to be the case, the people were there to see the performer, the singer, the icon that is Stephen Morrissey - he gave them that and so much more.

Following the film, the crowd began to roar for their hero, who strolled onto the stage, ready to take on a starring role in this rock and roll production.

The singer shouted ‘let the music play’ and in kicked the 1992 single We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful, capturing the raucous energy of the crowd with its hilarious lyrics and shiny, melodic guitar sounds.

The show is off to a flyer, the less popular Our Frank comes next, but doesn’t dim the crowd’s enthusiasm, they are in awe of their hero.

Our protagonist says his first lines: “It’s nice to be out, I don’t get out of the house much these days.”

At times, he seems almost typecast to play the miserable indie poster boy.

Many are here and still waiting for a Smiths classic to be played, but they do not have to wait long, as the masterpiece How Soon Is Soon comes next.

Morrissey continues to not follow convention, changing the lyrics of the classic to prevent a sing-along moment.

The classics keep coming and the crowd are bouncing along to catchy The First Of The Gang To Die.

Before beginning the tour, the 63-year-old had promised to dive deep into his back catalogue and he delivered with 1990’s Disappointed, mixing this in with the new single Sure Enough The Telephone Rings.

The back wall displayed more images of Morrissey’s heroes - George Best, Oscar Wilde and Marilyn Monroe - all helping to make the performance feel classic and authentic to the man on stage.

As always, the former Smiths frontman is self-deprecatingly funny, telling the audience: “These I'm sure are special moments for you, but for me, it is not, I have had very few in my life.”

Then, the full-throttle ballad of Irish Blood, English Heart revs up the crowd into a frenzy. The loud, crashing chorus sees the first drops of fans attempting to make the pilgrimage to the stage and make contact with their god.

Into the middle part of this blockbuster we go, and 1995’s uneventful Knockabout World is sandwiched in between the more recent I Am Veronica and The Loop.

As songs, these three are nothing special, but Morrissey’s stage presence lifts them from straight-to-DVD no-marks to red carpet royalty.

Bonfire of Teenagers, Morrissey’s latest controversial single, addresses the Manchester Arena attacks in 2017. A red backdrop paints the arena and creates a poignant and touching moment of remembrance, even with the dubious lyrics that cry out at the end - “You must go easy on the killer.”

Once again, Morrissey looks to irritate the crowd, as Everyday is Like Sunday reaches its crescendo chorus, again he changes the melody and lyrics to halt any feel-good sing-along moment, again the crowd do not seem to mind.

Afterwards, he says: “I want you all to know that it is incredibly hot up here, but if I pass out, don't resuscitate me, It may be my chance to leave.”

Two Smiths songs follow, but again is it not your textbook hit singles, the album tracks Half A Person and Never Had No Ever are met with little fanfare.

It feels like the audience is waiting on a big hit, but Morrissey keeps the audience waiting, playing another new album song - Rebels Without Applause.

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Just when it feels the audience might lose their patience with the constant new material, the timeless Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want.

Tender, dreamy and vulnerable, many would say it's The Smiths best song and Morrissey’s best vocal, he still performs with honesty and genuine emotion, the audience are transfixed for its two-minute run time.

They are then quickly jolted back to the blood and thunder of the night, as red smoke fills the stage the performance is drawing to a close for the big finale.

Jack the Ripper is bombastic and slightly frightening - Morrissey’s top comes off, it all becomes a bit much, before a curtain call of The Smith’s glam rock thumper the Sweet and Tender Hooligan ends the night.

Controversial, dramatic, over-top, Morrissey was playing the character of Morrissey perfectly on the evening played the Brighton Centre.

Before he leaves the stage and the credits roll, he thanks the audience, his band and crew for a ‘wonderful night and wonderful tour’.

Sometimes the man can be too honest and downbeat, but here he was genuine, sweet and appreciative of his adoring fans - a lovely touch to end a fantastic performance.

On paper, the setlist seemed mediocre at times, but Morrissey brought it to life when performing it on the stage.

It was a night where we started by remembering Rock'n Roll's greatest icons, and at the end, the Brighton crowd left having seen the best of the lot.