Editor’s Note: Parklife sent David LaMason to The Lyric Baltimore to cover a performance of Morrissey more than a month ago. Live Nation required us to get artist approval before publishing any of David’s pro photos. We followed up many times, but we never received an approval (or a veto, for that matter). However, David wrote this nice review, and The Lyric received prior permission for our featured image here. We still hope to publish David’s great photos of Morrissey in the future if we ever receive the OK to do so.
“I’m all dressed up. I’m on my way. I’m gonna fall in love, but don’t try to touch me. Don’t try to touch me, because that will never, never happen again.” These are the words Morrissey started his brilliant set at The Lyric in Baltimore when he visited there in November.
Morrissey, who continues celebrating 40 years of music, brought his World Tour into Charm City to a packed house. Now, it has to be said that though I’ve had a great appreciation of the man for years, this show was the first time I’d actually seen him perform live. Having the chance to see Morrissey perform that night made me wish I hadn’t waited so long as he put on a fantastic performance — sounding as vibrant as ever.
On Nov. 12, I knew at once as we shuffled into The Lyric’s lobby that the place was either sold-out or was pretty close as waves of fans made their way to their seats. And, though, clearly many in attendance had been fans for decades, I saw quite a few younger concert goers. I’ve noticed that even with my own middle-school aged daughter there’s a renewed interest in bands like The Smiths.
Things started with a montage film that started with old Vietnam War-era scenes that shifted to bits of performances by The Jam, The Ramones, and David Bowie, along with clips from old movies. There was even a long piece that featured Baltimore’s own icon, Divine, dancing and singing.
Watch the official music video for “How Soon Is Now?” by The Smiths on YouTube:
As the film stopped and Morrissey and his band took center-stage, the group took a moment to look out to the crowd and take a bow before kicking off the set with “You’re the One for Me Fatty,” the hit from Your Arsenal, an early solo album.
Morrissey’s band on this night, as he provided introductions, were Camila Grey on piano / keyboards, Jesse Tobias on guitar, Matthew Walker on drums, Juan Galeano on bass, and Carmen Vandenberg on guitar. And I have to say this band was amazingly tight. From Grey’s piano solo to Walker’s thundering kettle drums at the end of “How Soon Is Now?” to Galeano’s masterful lines and the way Vandenberg switched from one guitar to the next in “Life Is a Pigsty” it was a sight to be seen (and heard).
“After you’ve said the words what happens then…”
Introducing “I Am Veronica,” Morrissey mused on one of Baltimore’s literary greats. “When I woke up today I was determined to go to Edgar Allan Poe’s grave and to just lie on the grave and do things like that but I couldn’t get out of bed. Couldn’t do it. Do you blame me? I don’t blame me.”
A good part of the set came from the unreleased Bonfire of the Teenagers album, such as “I Am Veronica,” “Rebels Without Applause,” “Sure Enough, the Telephone Rings,” and “I Ex-Love You.”
But the entire night brought with it a bit of just about everything from The Smiths (“How Soon Is Now?,””Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want”) to early solo material such as the fan favorite “Every Day Is Like Sunday” from Viva Hate.
And there were some pretty emotional moments as well. The introduction of “Life is a Pigsty” with the opening sound of thunder seemed to bring out something in both Morrissey as well as the crowd as a woman jumped up on-stage to hug Morrissey. And, though this seems like a common occurrence during Morrissey shows, I was impressed at how the man can keep his composure throughout it all. Morrissey and company returned to the stage to encore with “Speedway” from Vauxhall and I, coincidentally the first proper Morrissey album I bought, though certainly not the last.
The setlist included:
You’re the One for Me, Fatty
Alma Matters
Shoplifters of the World Unite (The Smiths song)
I Wish You Lonely
Rebels Without Applause
How Soon Is Now? (The Smiths song)
I Am Veronica
Sure Enough, the Telephone Rings
First of the Gang to Die
Life Is a Pigsty
Everyday Is Like Sunday
I Ex-Love You
Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want (The Smiths song)
Darling, I Hug a Pillow
The Loop
All the Lazy Dykes
Jack the Ripper
Dear God Please Help Me
I Will See You in Far-Off Places
Encore:
Speedway
Thank you for the music, Morrissey!