Honestly I wasn’t sure I’d be here again, at a Morrissey gig. But here I am, in Leeds, stood in Millennium Square on a blustery Wednesday evening. Let’s be fair Moz loves controversy, courts it and is often guilty of coming out with some right clap trap. He’s also capable of utter musical brilliance though, but before we get there. There’s perhaps the real reason I’m here. The support bands. As line ups go, this is pretty impressive.
First up it’s Lottery Winners. If you’ve not yet seen this band live where have you been?? They’re fucking fabulous, Thom is on stellar form entertaining the crowd with his effortless and humble comedy routine. I say comedy, I mean he is funny, but it’s all as sincere as the songs they belt out with glorious passion and joy. Lottery Winners are the real deal, a bunch of mates writing songs that are important to them and taking pride playing those songs to as many people as possible, they’re the definition of a hard working band. Now don’t forget this is a crowd of miserable Moz fans (to play the stereotype) and some around me look reluctant at the start, but after half an hour of perfect pop they’ve been won over. It’s not that Lottery Winners have chosen a charm offensive set as much as it’s just every song they have is a pure dopamine injection. The bar is set.
The Slow Readers Club have a bit of tough act to follow and with only half an hour to play with, I’m intrigued as to what they’ll choose to fill it. They’re a much different proposition to the openers, darker, edgier. The electro banger ‘Moderise’ is first to test the speakers. It really does pack a wallop even outside with the wind still whipping around. ‘All I Hear’ follows and there’s clearly a few fans in, but also a few none plussed faces. We get a few calls of “READERS!” though and as the majesty of ‘All That Matters’ builds, the clapping starts with the stomp. This gets me every time, the rhythm section of this band is an absolute juggernaut. Throw Kurt’s guitar over the top and Aaron’s vocals and well, I’ve gushed about this band before, but I’m not going to stop now, it’s sublime. ‘Afterlife’ seems to struggle with a lot of background chatter around us, but ‘I Saw A Ghost’ fairs better with the lighting guy waking up a bit. They finish with the bruising ‘Lunatic’ but as great as they sound, it doesn’t connect with the Moz masses and that’s a real shame. If you’re reading this having been to the gig and weren’t sold, I urge you to listen again and maybe grab a ticket to see them headline, they really are worth investing in.
So, to the bloke with the quiff. He takes to the stage with a nonchalant air and rips into ‘How Soon is Now’. Yes he’s arrogant, but fuck me what an intro. I’m stood there thinking how do you follow that when the opening jangle of ‘Suedehead’ is rightly met with a deafening roar. It sounds utterly fantastic. Moz (and band) have the devoted audience in the palm of his hand and I’m genuinely shellshocked. He’s not as charming as Thom earlier though. “When I was younger I bypassed Leeds and graduated from Stretford”. What the point of this statement is unsure, but it’s met with a few confused grumbles. Arse. We’re here for the music though and ‘Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before’ can still stop me in my tracks and have me grinning like a loon but I can’t help wonder if we all love him slightly less than we used to. ‘Irish Blood, English Heart’ sounds great too, even with some odd unhinged yelping before we get a full on singalong for ‘Girlfriend in a Coma’, which has to be one of the weirdest happy sounding songs about such a morose topic. At this pace I’ll be a wreck by the end and might need some medical assistance myself! The political pronouncements come out for ‘I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris’ and ‘Notre Dame’ and I’m a bit lost, but only momentarily. I’ve not heard ‘I Wish You Lonely’ before but it’s a bit of a belter. As is the glam clout of ‘Sure Enough, the Telephone Rings.’ Those buzz guitars sound glorious and Moz seems more engaged. Whipping his mic lead and throwing his head back. This is a new one too, before which he comments “I’m unable to release music in England now because I speak the truth”. Which is nonsense of course, but he loves playing the victim. “I could be wrong, I could be right… I could be right”. I’m afraid you’re wrong, but I like the sound of the new songs and ‘The Night Pop Dropped’ is another one worth a listen. It’s undoubtably the big hitters that everyone’s here for though and he knows it, flashing his chest during ‘Half a Person’ and shaking his tambourine during ‘Everyday is Like Sunday’. Before shedding his jacket for ‘Please Please Please, Let Me Get What I Want’ which always gets this crowd excited. The entire stage is then bathed in a hellish red glow for ‘Jack The Ripper’, as it vanishes in a comedic level of smoke filling half the square. It’s an amazing set though and I think I came in with slightly low expectations so maybe I was always going to feel this way, but I’m stunned. As are a few patrons as they realise there’s no encore. He’s ripped his tshirt off at the close of ‘Sweet and Tender Hooligan’ and headed off into the night. Something more bands need to do. Hit me with a solid set like this, then split. It’s perfect, an amazing gig from start to finish.
