Monday 21/01/08 Morrissey @ The Roundhouse, Camden

Whether you love or loathe Mr Stephen Patrick Morrissey, one thing’s for certain, it’s been impossible to ignore him over recent months. We won’t bore you with the intricacies of his feud with that certain music weekly, but tonight’s opening show of his six night residency at the hallowed surroundings of The Roundhouse in Camden categorically proves one thing: he’s infinitely more accomplished as a musician and performer than an interviewee. Indeed, from the offset, tonight’s sold-out show is a resounding triumph.

Arriving onstage to a clamour of football terrace-esque chants from the (how shall we say it?!) less-than-youthful audience, Mozza, resplendent in his brown number, immediately sucks up the attention of the whole theatre and revels in the glory as he greets with “Good evening West Ham!” before duly dispatching the timeless Smiths classic ‘How Soon Is Now?’ with clinical precision. Indeed, in every possible sense Morrissey is the picture of a man totally at ease; nonchalantly swinging his microphone lead, reaching out to the crowd in an almost ecclesiastical manner and resorting to a bizarre upside down pose as the first tune climaxes.

After delivering a resounding ‘First of the Gang to Die’, Morrissey cheekily makes his first indirect reference to the NME debacle by introducing himself as “My name is trouble, I believe.” He soon revels in his risqué nature and exhibits his apparent refusal to change his ways, by apologising for his sore throat: “I have a frog in my throat and I don’t mean a small French person,” he quips. But for those members of the audience perhaps hoping for him to publicly spit his bile over the publication, we’re limited to the odd clever swipe (“In between recent bloodbaths, I’ve recorded an album”) and nothing more. Indeed, he’s right to do so, as tonight is, and should be, all about his brilliant music.

It’s an expertly constructed set, that, despite the omens of the opening ‘How Soon Is Now?” and fourth song ‘Stop Me…’, rewards the aficionado more than the passing fan. Out of The Smiths archive he lifts ‘Death of a Disco Dancer’ and ‘Stretch Out and Wait’, which are both lesser known in the context of other Smiths songs in their inimitable arsenal, but tonight with an enthusiastic Morrissey at the helm they pack plenty of punch. Excitingly, fresh songs debuted promise much of the impending new album. ‘Something Is Squeezing My Skull’ is ragged and almost the sound of a man on the verge of a breakdown, while the plaintive, emotional ‘Mama Lay Softly on the Riverbed’ echoes of haunting Smiths songs yesteryear.

Buoyed by a strong midsection of a searing (and courageously aired) ‘The National Front’ and the aforementioned ‘Death of a Disco Dancer’, by the time we reach ‘The World is Full Of Crashing Bores’ we’re treated to a solo stage invasion where a man in his late twenties embraces and kisses Morrissey like an excited teenager. It’s hard to think of too many artists who have the same effect.

With his sweat patches fascinatingly expanding, but his energy levels unwavering, it’s the finale of the set that truly sets the venue alight. ‘Irish Blood, English Heart’ is bold and vivacious, while the encore ‘Last of the International Playboys’ sees Morrissey tear his shirt off in jubilation. Whether he retains such boyish energy for the five impending dates of the Roundhouse stint remains to be seen, but if you catch Morrissey in half the kind of form he displayed tonight, you’re in for a treat.

CLICK HERE to see pictures of the show