Benedum Center, Pittsburgh, PA..... With a Morrissey concert, one always wonders whether it will take place at all--given Morrissey's well-documented history of shows cancelled at the last minute. So it was concerning when several recent of his concerts had to be scrapped due to credible death threats on the former Smiths frontman. But, it turned out not to be a concern and the show went on as scheduled. Morrissey was in fine voice but I had some issues with the setlist. Towards the end of the main set, I thought it's got to be bangers all the way down, but I was disappointed. Some deeper cuts, but more problematically, midtempo songs that didn't get the energy up except for the hardest-core of Moz-heads. There were a lot of people heading to the exits early, and my daughter (first time seeing him live) said to me at one point, "The music for each song sounds good but once he starts singing, they all sound the same." The last time I saw Morrissey , while a showcas...
Irving Plaza, New York, NY...... Although Gin Blossoms would go on to having four top 40 hits in the U.S. including one top 10 placement while Del Amitri would only have three top 40 hits (including one in the top 10), when this concert took place Del Amitri was the bigger band and thus the Scottish group was the headliner. Del Amitri released their brilliant debut album in 1985 but it came and went with little notice in the U.S. outside of some college radio stations (including my WICB, at Ithaca College). I loved that release but when no follow-up album came out for years, I figured sadly that they were a one-and-done band. But then, they had a new album in 1989 on a new record label and lo and behold--the band scored their first top 40 hit in "Kiss This Thing Goodbye." It took the label two tries to make it a hit, releasing the song as the album's first single without success but then re-releasing it in the summer of 1990 and taking it to the lower depths of the top 40...
The Marquee, New York, NY This was one of the coolest Billy Bragg shows I attended, primarily due to some technical difficulties early on in the set. post continues.... Bragg's guitar wasn't coming through properly, so while the problem was being corrected Bragg began to sing one of my favorite pieces of Bragg obscurata: "I Don't Need This Pressure, Ron," an acapella Reagan-era number (the title satirizes the Spandau Ballet U.K. hit "I Don't Need This Pressure On") which I used to play all the time on my college radio station. Frankly, I was shocked and delighted he pulled that one out--I never expected to hear it live! I went to the show with my then-girlfriend Christine.
Comments