Morrissey thrills crowd in Lawrence show
One of England's most famous and notorious musicians graced the stage of Liberty Hall in Lawrence on Wednesday night.
He only goes by one name. That name is Morrissey.
His solo work and his work with the Smiths in the '80s and his solo work has been influential to hundreds, if not thousands, of bands across the globe.
And he played in Lawrence, something I never imagined would take place.
The Smoking Popes from Chicago opened the show to a packed house and played a good mix of songs, ranging from new stuff to old stuff to stuff I didn't recognize.
The band even threw in a bit of Elvis Costello's "Allison" at the end of its second song, much to my delight and surprise.
The Popes have added a guitarist for the tour, leaving vocalist Josh Caterer free to sing without having to handle rhythm-guitar duties, except for the few songs he played on acoustic guitar.
The standout songs of the set were "I Know That You Love Me" off the album, "Destination Failure" and "Need You Around" from the second album, "Born To Quit."
After only half an hour, Smoking Popes left the stage all too soon.
The crowd was perhaps the kindest, most polite and receptive crowd I have ever seen for an opening act.
People clapped after every song and paid attention to the Popes. It was very cool to see that.
After about a 45-minute break and some chanting of "Morrissey! Morrissey!" by some of the crowd members, the house lights went down and the stage lights went up.
Strobes flashed and lights went off as a massive prerecorded drum-solo intro played for three or four minutes.
Then out strolled the man and his band to thunderous applause and screaming from the sold-out crowd.
Morrissey stepped up the microphone and said, "Howdy!"
Several gladiolas flew toward the stage from fans in the front, which is a tradition dating back to Smiths' shows.
Morrissey and crew launched into "Boy Racer" and set the stage for an hour-long set that more than simply another concert. It was a moving, almost spiritual experience.
After "Boy Racer," Morrissey introduced the band by saying, "We're five bastards from England."
Morrissey occasionally walked to the edge of the stage and reached out to shake hands with fans. Some had cards and gifts for him, which he took and put in his pockets.
For the first time since the break-up of the Smiths 10 years ago, Morrissey performed Smiths' songs live.
The bands false-started "Paint A Vulgar Picture" to manic screams and cheers from the crowd and stopped just as fast.
Morrissey jokingly said, "Fooled you. See, I used to be in this band called The Clash."
Then they kicked into it for real, and the crowd went crazy by singing along and loving every minute of it.
He followed it with his newest single, "Alma Matters," from his new album, "Maladjusted."
Morrissey even played his biggest hit as a solo artist, "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get," which I kind of expected but wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't played it.
After closing the set with "Speedway," Morrissey and gang left the stage. The crowd began stomping, clapping and chanting for them to come back.
After a few minutes, they came back for one last song.
That song was the Smiths' "Shoplifters of the World Unite." It was the highlight of the entire show.
Now, I've been to hundreds of shows, and I have never seen a crowd go that crazy to a single song in my life and probably never will again.
Guitarists Boz Boorer and Alain Whyte hit the opening chords, Jonny Bridgwood began plucking out bass notes, and Spencer Cobring banged out the beats. The crowd was whipped into a frenzy.
They began throwing themselves at the stage to simply touch Morrissey.
Members of the crowd flung themselves over the security barrier, sometimes four or five at a time to grasp Morrissey's hand for a split second. He made sure to shake every hand that came toward him.
It seemed like the entire crowd was singing along to "Shoplifters," too.
Then it was over. The band vanished. The house lights went up. The security guards were telling everyone to go home. This was more of an experience and an event than a normal concert.
If you missed this, then you should kick yourself repeatedly. It was that good.
