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"The Lights Won't Go Out On
The Smiths Indeed." |
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Carling Academy, Bristol. - Sunday
2nd December 2007 |
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Band Profile |
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By Kathryn
Courtney-O'Neill |
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I have never been a fan of "The
Smiths" and I have never been a fan of Morrissey for that matter
either. I always found him rather odd and what man in their right
mind would put flowers in his back pocket? It was all rather
obscure at the time.
Tonight, here I am about to watch a
band pay tribute to "The Smiths" and not really knowing what to
expect, but they certainly had to be a damn sight better than the
support band!
The show opened to Sergei Prokofiev's
"Dance of the Knights" from Romeo & Juliet. And then a complete
change of theme. "Sheila Take A Bow" was the first song 'The
Smiths Indeed' jumped into. And that was a good start because the
crowd loved it. I recognised quite a few songs as the band went
through the set and that surprised me because their music must
have been buried deep into my subconscious. Listening to the radio
all day and watching "Top Of The Pops" at the time must have had
an impact all those years ago.
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On top of that 'Morrissey' dressed in
shirt, jeans, and red cardigan complete with glasses looked as
though he had just got out of his comfy armchair and just slipped
slickly into performance mode. He just made it look so easy
....... but it isn't really because Jürgen Wendelen who plays the
role of this lead singer must have spent hours studying his idol
to make him look so perfect. And he also bears a strong
resemblance to the man himself as you will see in one or two of
the photos I took that night. An important part for any tribute
band, however the rest of the band are not look-a-likes but
they give a great performance anyway.
The focus of the show is on the lead
singer. Yes the flowers made an appearance, being swung above
Morrissey's head, being hugged, being thrown into the appreciative
crowd. The local florists must love this band! And of course the
Morrissey mannerisms are there as well as the beads swinging, arms
and legs flying everywhere and the voice sounding all too
familiar.
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found "The Smiths" a bit of a depressing band, a bit too melancholy
at times but the melodies to many of their songs are quite good and
memorable. The lyrics on the other hand are ironic most of the time.
After all who would have a song entitled "Girlfriend In A Coma",
"Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" and "Hang The DJ" complete with
hang man's noose being paraded around the stage? Even with the main
man changing into a suit later in the show and carrying a placard
around the stage with the wording "The Queen Is Dead" whilst singing
the song, you get where this guy is coming from. |
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| Other songs performed in
the show were, "This Charming Man", "Hand In Glove", "William, It
Was Really Nothing", "What She Said", "Stop Me If You Think You've
Heard This One Before", "Panic" along with two lengthy encores that
included "Bigmouth Strikes Again", "Shoplifters Of The World Unite",
and "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" all of which were met
with loud cheers and claps and whistles signalling that everyone
must have had a good time. |
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I really did enjoy "The Smiths Indeed"
which was surprising for me. Even those with doubt can be converted
to appreciate Morrissey and "The Smiths" for who they are and the
music they perform. It was entertaining, it had it's fun moments and
the band also enjoyed themselves on stage too. It had a really good
atmosphere and a very mixed audience who also did their own
Morrissey dance steps and were in their element singing along to a
number of songs. I think I can safely say a good night was had by
all, me included. The lights won't be going out on "The Smiths
Indeed" for a very long time to come. Very entertaining indeed. |
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