JOHNNY MARR CELEBRATES HIS FIRST DECADE AS A BONA FIDE SOLO ARTIST WITH A CAREER-SPANNING SET WITH GAZ COOMBES PROVIDING ABLE SUPPORT
Dave Freak
7 APRIL
Though from different generations, both acts tonight have faced a similar dilemma: what do you do when your huge band splits?
For Johnny Marr, the answer seemed to initially lie in forging a career as a gun-for-hire and sideman, but for Gaz Coombes, there appeared no doubt that a solo career would beckon.
When Supergrass folded in 2010, Coombes slid comfortably into solo-dom without a pause, and (recent Supergrass live reunion aside), that’s been his primary focus for over a decade with 2015’s breakthrough Mercury Award-nominated second outing, Matador, signalling his increasingly appealing solo direction.
Gaz’s Britpop-free 10-song set plays to his newfound strengths, swiftly showcasing inventive tunes from Matador onwards. From the ‘saxy’ standalone 2019 single Salamander and motoring rhythm of Deep Pockets, to the epic 20/20 and twitching Walk The Walk, he leaves us wanting more. Sure, a Supergrass banger would have been welcomed (who doesn’t want to hear Pumping On Your Stereo?), but such a nostalgic burst would also be a distraction. For the time being at least, cutting The ‘Grass is a sound move.
Unlike Gaz, Johnny F***ing Marr (to give him his full name), has no issues with retreading past glories. Or certainly some of them.
Oddly ignoring his JM And The Healers period, The Spirit Power Tour officially marks 10 years of Johnny as a bona fide solo artist.
It took a while for the ex-Smiths’ guitarist to find his voice, with a quarter of a century of team-ups and guest spots between their final LP and his official solo debut, The Messenger. Since that belated move to centre stage, he has visibly (and musically) grown in confidence with every outing and now comfortably poses by the mic, slinging his guitar aloft, like any self-respecting axe hero always should.
Tonight’s set is divided between recent solo adventures, The Smiths and his Electronic side project, traversing the best from all worlds. Hence the punchy Generate! Generate!, Spirit Power And Soul and the Smithsian jangle of New Town Velocity, all of which stand strong alongside classics Panic and This Charming Man.
Aware of the giant shadow cast by his past, Marr jokes that we shouldn’t be frig
