Morrissey, never one to shy away from controversy or expressing his opinions, was in remarkably high spirits tonight. He treated the audience to a stellar performance, delivering a robust set list of 19 songs that spanned both his solo career and The Smiths’ classics.
The British singer and songwriter, Morrissey, has often showed his love and support for Israel. Not only he has multiple songs based on the country, he also visits the country every so often. This year he visits the country as part of the Live Tour 2023 for two stops, and we got tickets for the second night in Tel Aviv. And as my wife always says, Morrissey is always better on his second night here, so we were in for a treat.
MORRISSEY
64-year-old Morrissey started out in the late 70s fronting the punk rock band the Nosebleeds before moving to a career in music journalism. Having written several books on music and film, the passion for singing was still there, and he formed The Smiths with Johnny Marr in 1982. The band quickly rose to fame with their debut album before splitting up in 1987. In this short time, they managed to release 4 albums and become a highly influential band in the alternative/indie genres.
After the breakup of The Smiths, Morrissey became a successful, and controversial solo-artist. With his baritone voice and distinctive lyrics with themes of emotional isolation, sexual longing, self-deprecating and dark humour, and anti-establishment stances.
EXPO LIVE
After seeing a 30-minute video of what felt like me having a random night at YouTube, the band and Morrissey entered the stage. After a small snippet of The Girl from Tel-Aviv Who Wouldn’t Kneel, the show kicked right off with a The Smiths classic How Soon Is Now?
It was amazing to see the crowd go wild from the first second. The pace of the show was a lot faster (in a good way) than I would expect. Morrissey is a man of little words, and the words he does speak usually leave you confused. That said, as a frontman, Morrissey is amazing. He manages to hold the crowd and you in the palm of his hand. Also, a sidenote, it was funny to see the same keyboardist, Camila Grey, perform with Morrisey. As we saw just a few weeks ago perform with Adam Lambert here tonight as well.
Some of my highlights were Suedehead, I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris, Everyday Is Like Sunday and Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want. The set list was great! And even for someone that isn’t familiar with any of the songs it was great to listen too. The finale seemed abrupt. The band suddenly exited, no farewell, and the lights switched on. Though puzzled, the audience took it as a cue to leave as the crew began dismantling the stage.
Morrissey delivered a great show here in Tel Aviv! I only knew about 2 songs of his solo career (First of the Gang to Die and Jim Jim Falls), and although none of these 2 made it into the set list, I had an awesome time. The way the band and Morrissey bring the music and lyrics to live is great. This show made me a fan and I will go see him again if I have the change. And yes, I will listen more frequently to Morrissey in the coming days. So the 2 songs will be most likely extended by a lot.
