Johnny Marr, live at The Academy

Despite Moz’s presence in Baile Átha Cliath – he was spotted bonding with cousin Robbie Keane – and subsequent rumours of a proto-Smiths reunion, hell remained unfrozen for Johnny Marr’s packed show in the capital.

Opening with ‘The Right Stuff Right’, from solo outing The Messenger, the guitar legend blasted through an impressive set, liberally peppered with Smiths and Electronic gems.
Marr let the songs and his dazzling guitar work do the talking for the first half of the evening. However, he warmed up towards the end, chatting between tunes and growing visibly more relaxed.
Singles ‘Upstarts’ and ‘New Town Velocity’ (dedicated to everyone from Kildare!) stood out amongst the new songs. Although the older material did generate a more enthusiastic response, generally the solo tracks held their own.
Marr was clearly touched by the audience’s effusive response, commenting on it on several occasions. He was particularly impressed when he was handed a book by one uber-fan in the front-row and thrown a Django Reinhardt t-shirt from an adorer on the balcony.
In fact he wore said garment for the encore, which, as endgames go, was hard to beat: a blistering ‘I Fought The Law’, ‘Getting Away With It’, which featured one of the finest solos of the night, ‘How Soon Is Now?’, in all its majestic glory, and a transcendent ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’.