"Morrissey Falls Back on That Moody Old Charisma"

By STEVE APPLEFORD, Special to The Times

Morrissey is a special case, a morose satyr given to operatic outbursts of emotion. It's a pose that somehow works as well today as it did during his days singing with the English band the Smiths more than a decade ago.

At the Hollywood Palladium on Wednesday, Morrissey revealed the pleasures and limitations of that eternally tortured, conflicted, confused, bitter, lovesick persona.

In the first of his two nights at the venue, Morrissey emerged like a seething rock 'n' roll Casanova, dressed in a faux leather outfit that could have come right out of Elvis' closet.

His backing quartet wore matching coats and ties while crafting sometimes intense, driving rhythms for the singer's half-serious, half-comical melodrama.

"You've got me aroused now," Morrissey warned the crowd.

That kind of talk has its own kind of campy entertainment value, but too little of the singer's material was up to his potential. In October, Morrissey made a surprisingly charged and epic appearance at the Coachella Festival in Indio, peaking with a thunderous reading of "Meat Is Murder." But his longer set on Wednesday lost some of that smoldering intensity.

While the adoring fans never wavered in their enthusiasm, there was dramatic disparity between his best work and the lesser songs that filled the spaces in between. He sang too few of his own hits, and even fewer from the Smiths.

So the Morrissey faithful were left to depend on the momentum of his own arch charisma.

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* Morrissey plays Saturday at the Ventura Theatre, 26 S. Chestnut St., Ventura, 8 p.m. Sold out. (805) 639-3965.

In reporting the near death experience of Boy George at the hands of a 4 foot mirror ball, the Spin magazine website used an amusing Smiths reference in the article's title... Not important, but it made me smile.

Boy George: Near-Death of A Disco Dancer

Culture Club lead singer Boy George was nearly killed this week when a large, 62 pound disco ball fell from a UK concert venue's ceiling and struck him on the head during a sound check. Reuters reports that George and the reunited '80s hit makers were readying themselves for a concert at the Bournemouth International Center when the ball dislodged and struck the flamboyant icon. George, who was treated for minor injuries but insisted on performing the concert as scheduled, later that evening, told the UK tabloid The Sun, "It would have been both ironic and glamorous to be finished off by a four-foot glitter ball... but I have survived and I'm still here, although my back is aching like anything. It caught my ear, which is really sore as well.''

MTV currently has a poll up and running that refers back to their Y2K kiss and make up news story. It basically is talking about what bands you think should get together.

It's a poll I guess. Probably a poll I would not put much stock into. As I type this the Smiths are rated number 10.

Thanks to Girl Afraid I got the number to order your tickets for APRIL 29th and APRIL 30th. Tickets are $30.00 and that covers the two days. The number to call is: (714) 778-4966. They accept Visa, money order, or check.

They are on sale now!

Convention website