A night of nostalgia for all, Johnny Marr and the Belle Game gave a 4-apple performance at the Fillmore.
First up was the perfect support for Johnny Marr—and the perfect complement to my Parallels T-shirt—the Vancouver-based Belle Game, who have been synthing it up for nearly 10 years. And, they’ve never sounded better. Even their banter was on point, asking “How many people have already seen a show this week?” Many of us raised our hands, of course.
The Belle Game were just really awesome. Halfway through the female-fronted synthpop set, they played one of my favorites, “Spirit.” I could have melted right into the floor if I didn’t have to see Marr right after.
I really wonder why the Belle Game would play for us after finding out that we potentially will be leaving them out of an updated NAFTA, but maybe I should just be thankful that they’re so thankful and don’t take it personally.
We also were treated to “Oh I,” which can only be described as Siouxsie-esque. It was charming to see her get on one knee and serenade someone in the front.
They finished up with “I Want Nothing,” which they also ended their set with when they were at Cafe du Nord in February. For a half-hour set, it was very tight, and the time flew by.
After a similarly 30-minute wait, Marr took the stage with three of his sexiest friends.
Marr played a lot of tracks from his newest record, leading with “the Tracers.”
Lampooning different names that A&R guys give song titles, such as the “impact track” and the “killer track,” Marr let us know that he “had lost track.” He then introduced the newest single (whatever that means), “Hi Hello.” The merch table did sell tote bags that read “Hi Hello,” so there is that.
The near-sellout crowd was patient during the new material, which admittedly is better than what one might expect. But they did perk up during covers, including The Smiths’ “the Headmaster Ritual.”
To commemorate the first Electronic single, “Getting Away With It” (“Yo, let’s do this one again at the Fillmore!”), I held up a glass of whiskey on the rocks, which was the cover art when the maxisingle released.
Even though I wasn’t old enough to see Electronic live, this will be a moment that I’ll never forget. And I can always sing “Forbidden City” during karaoke, so that’s good enough for me.
Marr is a bit unassuming in nature, but you can tell he is a goofball in private. He messes around playfully during his solos while still nailing every chord.
He was relatively quiet during the first half of the set and then apologized, implying he forgot about banter. “I don’t mean anything by it,” he said of the inferred slight.
He then paused and added, “I always imagined the Fillmore would smell like this. You don’t disappoint. You don’t have edibles here anymore, do you?”
After the laughter subsided, he then said, “Yeah, politics, eh? This song’s called ‘Bug.’” When the song was over, he further interacted with the crowd, asking, “Does anyone have any requests?”
Once people started yelling out several suggestions, he replied, “I was just thinking, ‘Let me write this shit down.’” He then pretended to turn around and fetch a sheet of paper, saying, “How about ‘Get the Message’ by Electronic?” As he began playing it, he said, wryly, “What a coincidence.”
Someone in the very middle of the crowd then started to go crazy, and I totally felt him.
You see, when I was in high school and this song would come on my Sony AM/FM clock radio, I would get in trouble for pounding the beat on the carpet with my palms. This guy was equally enthused and even got the people around him to clap to the beat during the bridge.
During the Frampton-esque guitar hook at the end of the chorus, Marr would literally make his guitar meow. It was even better than the studio version. I can’t even imagine what kind of trouble I would have gotten into 26 years ago if I had recreated that instead of the percussion.
The rest of the 100-minute set was solid. “Easy Money” was flawless, and he ended the main set with a “How Soon Is Now?” cover. The encore had “Rise” and more Smiths covers, including “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.”
Marr has led a good life, and at 54 he could rock out for another 20 years if he keeps taking care of himself. He looked and sounded great.
