Central Park Summerstage, New York, September 17, 1997 The irony was in full-swing Wednesday night as Morrissey, the inventor, champion and only true sole survivor of '80s mope-rock performed onstage in Gotham for the first time in half a decade. As the smell of flame-broiled burgers wafted its way across the dust-filled air around Central Park's Summerstage like a dense morning fog, the King of the Vegetarians appeared on a smoke-saturated stage in a grand Spinal Tap sort of way. Apparently the concert's organizers hadn't heard that meat is murder. But Morrissey apathetically played on, even though the romantic allure of Central Park was an odd setting for his less-than-satisfying hour-long set. Given the Mozzer's self-loathing songs of love and hate (he loves to loathe, he hates to love), a dark and dreary dungeon would have been a more proper venue. But he's not about to change now: His depths of misery made the Smiths icons of the unfortunate, and Morrissey's efforts to continue their work have won him a rabid following. Culling his short set almost entirely from his last three studio albums -- the recently released "Maladjusted," 1995's "Southpaw Grammar" and 1994's "Vauxhall and I," Morrissey left much to be desired musically. Curiously missing from the set were his biggest and catchiest singles, "Suedehead," "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful" and "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get." Instead, Morrissey fell back on the second tier of his catalog, most successfully on "Now My Heart Is Full" and recent single "Alma Matters." As usual, he spent more time dodging an almost constant shower of flowers than addressing the crowd. Occasional inquires about the level of crowd suffering ("Can you take some more?) were as vocal as Morrissey got. Just when it looked as though the gig would teeter-totter around average until its end, the Mozzer dragged out two Smiths songs. Although Morrissey politely declined in the past to pay homage to the house that he and guitarist Johnny Marr built, he crooned through a heart-wrenching rendition of "Paint A Vulgar Picture." (Perhaps after losing a recent $1.6 million lawsuit over back royalties to former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce, the Moz figures he should be getting his money's worth.) While the bite of Marr's guitar was missed, current guitarists Martin Boorer and Alain Whyte did a fine job. Better yet was an encore of one of the Smiths strongest pleas of servitude and remorse, "Shoplifters of the World Unite." Roping the wind with the microphone cord, Morrissey actually looked like he was -- gasp -- having fun taking on his former self on stage. He then exited the stage with what sounded like a classic Smiths-ism or even a possible title for his next album, "I love you, good night." Although his brief nostalgia trip couldn't make up for a common evening in the world of Morrissey, for a moment, the Moz was louder than bombs. KEVIN RAUB ([email protected]) |
