Back in the City Hall with carers Jackie & Jan, along with my daughter Laura who is a fan of the Smiths, Morrisey and Johnny Marr in particular. Support came from Gaz Coombes, formerly lead singer of Supergrass. We were perched up on the wheelchair platform situated at the back of the hall, with a great view of the stage and the crowd in front of us.
The crowd, by the way, was absolutely massive: it looked like you could hardly move down there. It was the biggest crowd I have ever seen standing in the City Hall. We were all set for a fantastic evening with tremendous atmosphere.
Gaz Coombes got the proceedings off to a great start. He has a new band and played a clutch of solo material. As far as I am aware, no Supergrass material at all (as for I am aware). Very entertaining. But everyone was there to see the main man Johnny Marr. He came on stage to a massive roar from the crowd.
The publicity for the tour described him thus: “Founding member and songwriting genius of The Smiths, superstar collaborator and sensational solo artist, Johnny Marr is rightly regarded as a bona fide British music icon. He has just released Spirit Power: The Best of Johnny Marr, a collection of songs curated from the last 10 years of his sublime solo output, together with a pair of new tracks, Somewhere and The Answer. The album, which debuted in the UK Top 10, came hot on the heels of Marr’s last studio album, Fever Dreams Pts 1-4and 2023 photography book Marr’s Guitars.”
Johnny took to the stage and truly commanded it. He waved his guitar about and played a selection of songs from his back catalogue including several Smiths songs (Laura counted seven, more than we have ever seen him play before) including “Panic”, “This Charming Man”, “Bigmouth Strikes Again” and “How Soon Is Now?” Great stuff! He closes with the Electronic song “getting away with it”. I am even getting quite familiar with his solo material. An excellent selection of songs drawn from throughout his career.
The encore included an excellent stomping version of Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger”. For the very last song we were once again taken back to the Smiths and “There Is a Light That Never Goes out”. We all agreed that the entire concert was very enjoyable indeed. A great night with a modern icon who is a true hero to Laura and me.
Many thanks to Jackie for the photographs and Chris for manipulating the site.
Gaz Coombes Setlist: Salamander; Don’t Say It’s Over; Wounded Egos; Turn the Car Around; Feel Loop (Lizard Dream); Deep Pockets; The Girl Who Fell to Earth; Long Live the Strange; 20/20; Walk The Walk.
Johnny Marr Setlist: Sensory Street; Generate! Generate!; Panic; New Town Velocity; Spirit Power and Soul; This Charming Man; Somewhere; Walk Into the Sea; The Answer; Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want; Get the Message; Bigmouth Strikes Again; Hi Hello; How Soon Is Now?; Easy Money; Getting Away With It.
Encore: Armatopia; The Passenger; You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby; There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.
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