Johnny Marr cuts a small figure on stage at The Forum but his legacy speaks volumes. With a mop of hair, bright red shirt and skinny black jeans, the guitarist that helped establish the unmistakeable sound of The Smiths is quintessential British rock.
Flickers of strobes kick off the hefty two-hour set that bounces from current recordings to timeless cuts from his back catalogue. The show gets off to a slow start; not even an early rendition of Panic revs up this crowd largely composed of Smiths loyalists.
Whatever Marr may lack in frontman attitude, he certainly makes up for in musicianship. The performance is tight and sophisticated. Although the vocals take a backseat to his guitar skills, they aren’t lost in feverish tracks such as Easy Money and 25 Hours.
This isn’t Marr’s first rodeo: even his interaction with the crowd, where he fires up the Melbourne versus Sydney debate, cements him as a seasoned performer. He weaves from his solo work to Smiths classics, leaving the crowd awash with his best Morrissey impersonation on songs such as Big Mouth Strikes Again and Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want. Johnny Marr’s solo work is great, but it’s these Smiths offerings that get people going. This is clearest when he treats us to There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, which is lovingly dedicated “to Melbourne and nobody fucking else.”
This was a performance that perfectly married Johnny Marr’s past and present and refreshingly offered the crowd what they came to see.
Loved: Face melting guitar skills.
Hated: Not much.
Drank: Moritz.
BY ISABELLA UBALDI
