Notoriously known for putting on a good gig, Newcastle played host to Johnny Marr last week at the Newcastle University Students Union, for the first time since he played over at the O2 Academy during his ‘Playland’ tour last October. Naturally, since then Johnny’s been incredibly busy, and not just from touring. Johnny and his band released a cover of Depeche Mode track ‘I Feel You’ for Record Store Day and have also put together a live album called ‘Adrenalin Baby’. ‘Adrenalin Baby’ features a collection of tracks (handpicked by Johnny) from last years ‘Playland’ tour; recorded in Brixton, Glasgow and Manchester. With a capacity of 1500, Johnny’s latest Newcastle gig was perhaps one of the most intimate on his current tour – that combined with the low stage and Johnny’s glowing gig reviews was more than enough to fill me with the hope that it was going to be a fantastic gig.
Johnny and his band took to the stage with a blistering performance of the energetic ‘Back In The Box’ before diving straight in to The Smiths classic ‘Still Ill’. It was a spectacular gig and Johnny certainly needs praising on his set list writing skills, as the crowd were treated to various Smiths tracks, tracks from both of his solo albums (‘The Messenger’ and ‘Playland’) and his own beautiful live take on Electronic track ‘Getting Away With It’, inclusive of a glorious guitar breakdown accompanied by the splendour of a glitter ball.
I’m sure the audience would agree that Johnny Marr is certainly a crowd pleaser, as they bounced through tracks such as ‘Generate! Generate!’, ’25 Hours’ and the stomping ‘Upstarts’. Though the entire gig wasn’t 100% robust, as Johnny brought the tone down slightly with atmospheric tracks such as the sublime single ‘Candidate’ and an addictively catchy track that hasn’t been recorded yet called ‘Spiral Cities’. ‘Candidate’ in particular highlighted Johnny’s success as a solo artist, with the combination of his striking vocals and absolutely exceptional guitar work. Focusing on guitar work alone, Johnny captivated the crowd entirely throughout the night, from the catchiness of ‘Easy Money’ to the explosive opening riff of ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’.
Johnny finished his set with Smiths favourite ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’; an exceptional choice which saw an array of smiling faces both in the crowd and on stage as Johnny extended the outro to almost duet the chorus with the crowd, shouting “nice one Newcastle, thank you very much!” Luckily that wasn’t the end, as Johnny returned to the stage with a recent addition to his set list; The Smiths track ‘You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet Baby’ – another part of the night where Johnny hit the jackpot vocally. The encore also included a superb version of ‘New Town Velocity’ and a cover of The Primitives ‘Crash’, which saw Johnny welcome his son Nile to the stage to wow the crowd for the second time that night (Nile’s band ‘Man Made’ were the support act). The night came to an almighty end with the enduring ‘How Soon Is Now’ – seeing the one and only Johnny Marr bounce from side to side blasting that tremolo sound is really both a special sight and sound indeed.
“See you next year” shouted Johnny as he struck some victorious poses before leaving the stage, and you know that when he does come back, it’s going to be one incredible night. Johnny’s live album ‘Adrenalin Baby’ is available digitally now, and will be released in physical format on November 13th.
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