Morrissey meets his muse Rita Pavone in Milan
Morrissey did not cancel the concert.
It’s what many of us think at nine o’clock when he finally goes on stage: shirt, a bouquet of flowers tucked into his trousers, maracas in his hand which he shakes in a funny way. With him, as we know, you never know and the concert was scheduled for 8.20am: at that time, the Fabrique is already packed, so much so that it is almost impossible to move. But first a long video starts on the screen which extends a wait that lasted 12 years – that’s how much time has passed since the last concert in Milan.
Rita Pavone, “my muse”
As soon as I arrive (with difficulty) at the balcony passing from backstage, there is also one of the icons of Morrissey’s pantheon: Rita Pavone. Moz has mentioned it several times in the past since the ’80s: already during the Smiths’ move to Sanremo Rock in 1987 he said that “Cuore” is one of his favorite 45s, going so far as to include a video of it in the pre-shows of the concerts. An affection reciprocated by Pavone, who spoke equally often about this admiration in interviews and social posts, and only a few months later regretted never having managed to meet him.
Finally the meeting took place backstage, before the concert, as she herself told me at the end of the evening, showing me a copy of the autobiography that Morrissey gave her with the dedication “my muse”. During the concert Rita Pavone sings and keeps time to all the songs, interrupted only by someone who occasionally asks her for a photo.
The tribute video and Morrissey icons
Before the start, in fact, a long video tribute by Morrissey to his icons had started on the screen: a 40-minute montage with clips of performances and interviews, from the Ramones to Kid Creole to Sigue Sigue Sputnik. A “moodboard” that will also last during the show: short animated films appear on the screen, from Brigitte Bardot to Bruce Lee, to illustrate the songs.
“I’m very happy to be here, I’m very happy to be alive. It won’t last,” he tells the audience when the concert finally begins, to set the tone for the evening. The show is the perfect staging of Morrissey and his sublime contradictions – those that are also found in the latest album “Make-up is a lie”, just released but with only three songs in the set list: the title track, “Notre-Dame” and “The Monsters of Pig Alley”, the most Smithsian of the bunch. “I have great news: the album is at number 2 in the English charts in the middle of the week, and without radio and media attention”, he says, returning to the classic catchphrase in which he talks about being censored because “in England” if you have an independent thought they arrest you”, he will say shortly after.
Between classics and tired moments
Monologues aside, the concert alternates great music and tired moments, sublime songs and others that don’t hold a candle to classics like “Suedehead” – his first solo single, welcomed with a roar, while Moz shows off his voice (“I’m so sorry!”) and his iconic poses (no, the adjective is not an exaggeration), as he will do for a good part of the concert. In this sense, the comparison between “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me” – one of the few Smiths songs in the setlist – and the subsequent “Jack the Ripper” is quite merciless.
But the public still reacts adoringly: when he throws away a sweaty bandana, the front rows fight over the memorabilia. At the end of the show several fans from the front rows try to get on stage, promptly blocked by security – but with Morrissey approaching and holding out his hand.
In the end he is forgiven (almost) everything
But then when he sings “How Soon Is Now” – anticipated in a slightly different set list compared to the standard one of the other dates – or the best pieces of the solo repertoire such as “Everyday Is Like Sunday” you forgive him anything, you love him regardless. Even more so when he returns for the encore and sings “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out,” waving a bouquet of flowers. The classic of classics, only recently put back into the lineup and which many fans no longer hoped to hear from his voice. The concert ends with Morrissey shirtless, and a line he sings in “The Monsters of Pig Alley” comes to mind:
“We’re not sophisticated / We’re overweight and dated / But we love you”.
