Flowers For A Poseur
B.T. (Dec. 1, 1997)
review by Lars Henrik Møller
submitted and translated by Thomas Bjerre
| (Photo text): Self centred outsider: Apparently Morrissey was in a hurry Saturday
night. He only played for about an hour. * * * * (out of six) No other singer has to the same degree made a career out of being an outsider like the British Morrissey. He is a self-centred poseur, but luckily with a large amount of self-irony and a sharp humouristic wink in his eye. While his self pity at times becomes unbearable, much can be forgiven when he writes songs like "Satan Rejected My Soul". Musically he has found his own niche a long time ago, and he never steps outside of it. This Saturday he gave a short and intense concert on Vega's large stage in Copenhagen. The show only lasted a little over an hour and consisted almost solely of the tempo-filled part of Morrissey's repertoire. Morrissey and his band came, showed their teeth, and conquered in record time. Especially thanks to an over-enthusiastic audience it was an enjoyable night. By the first song the singer was exposed to a small bombardment of flowers. And often people mumbled along to the songs. No doubt there were many people from the audience who have followed Morrissey since he broke through in the beginning of the 80's with the Smiths. They were rightly proclaimed as one of the most important bands of the 80's. When they split ten years ago Morrissey immediately began a solo career. The music under his own name lies in a clear extension of his old band, but without the musical genius of Johnny Marr it has often been difficult for Morrissey to find the right tune. Even though his albums always contain a few treasures they lack the magic and the melodic excess which were characteristic of the Smiths. However, you cannot accuse Morrisssey of making a lot of play with the triumphs of the past. He only played two songs from the time of the Smiths. "Paint a Vulgar Picture" was an odd choice which was received with enthusiasm, while "Shoplifters" was the only encore. In addition, a robust and no longer youthful looking Morrissey zapped around his solo career while whipping up the atmosphere and lashing his microphone cord about. At one point Morrissey mentioned that he had never seen so many sexy faces like tonight - in Oslo. He was, in other words, in good shape. All in all it was a concert which worked on the strength of the energy and the good atmosphere rather than the music itself. |