‘BOURNEMOUTH strikes again’ quipped Morrissey as he took to the stage at the BIC on Saturday evening.
He received a rapturous welcome, by an audience relieved equally that he had actually turned up (he cancelled in 2009 and had shelved a show in the Netherlands just a few days ago) and the fact that they no longer had to endure any more of the surreal thirty minute video that immediately preceded his arrival – presumably a substitute for the non-existent support act.
Projected images and video clips continued to play an important role in presenting Morrissey’s views as the show progressed.
The opening track, the Smiths’ classic The Queen is Dead, was accompanied by images of the Queen making a, shall we say, offensive gesture, along with a picture of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with the words ‘United King-Dumb’ scrawled underneath.
This proved to be a great crowd-pleaser, as did Suedehead, from his debut solo album, which immediately followed.
A string of numbers from his 10th solo album, World Peace is None of Your Business were enjoyed, if not quite as enthusiastically received.
Then, after stating he had never understood why some people preferred Brighton to Bournemouth, in a Mother's Day tribute, he dedicated Everyday is Like Sunday to all ‘but the obvious 3 or 4’ mothers.
And then the audiovisual element of the performance reached its climax with a gruesome five minute film depicting the suffering of animals being farmed for food, shown to a soundtrack of the classic Smiths' single Meat is Murder.
The impact of this, which some of the crowd clearly found distressing, was heightened by the unmistakable aroma of a butcher’s shop being pumped into the auditorium.
Compelling advert for being a vegan over, we were treated to a storming rendition of Stop Me before a slightly disappointing encore of Speedway, when what was really required was another Smiths' standard.
That said, it was still a terrific night in the company of our great singer Steven Morrissey – surely it can’t be long before he and our great guitarist Johnny Marr bury the hatchet and reform The Smiths!
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