The Salford Lads Club A Smiths Tribute Show Galatos 26 March 2004 Smiths devotees, unite and take over. While Morrissey graced Los Angeles with five genuine performances at the Wiltern Theather this week promoting his new solo album, You Are The Quarry, four other lads were busy with the Auckland leg of their Smiths Tribute tour, paying homage to Morrissey’s first incarnation as moody and political front man for a musically stunning eighties British rock band. Dubbing themselves The Salford Lads Club, Adrian (Mozzer), Rob (Johnny/Craig) on guitar, Jamie (Johnny/Craig) on guitar/keyboard, Ryan (Andy) on bass and Pete (Mike) on drums are reawakening devoted Smiths fans in New Zealand with high quality song covers and a memorable stage presence. If you squinted hard enough, you might actually think it was the real thing. Good stage clothes and prop choices (dead flowers flung out to the crowd, cheap bead necklaces) added a unique flare too. Friday night’s show at Galatos in Auckland was packed. 30 and 40-somethings dressed mostly in black mingled with some younger revivalist fans (like myself) and the anticipatory buzz in the air was thick. I kept wondering who was the most devoted, most educated, most hypnotized Smiths fan there. The Salford Lads Club brought back to life nearly 30 classic Smiths songs. Although no one can truly simulate Morrissey’s subtle moans and cries, most tunes were played out splendidly inside the high-ceilinged, red-lit club. It could have been very easy to botch a Smiths tribute with bad renditions and impersonations, but the show was not at all a mockery of The Smiths, and no one was laughing. In fact, many were dancing. The crowd lauded nearly all the songs because the musical skill of all four musicians was excellent. All night, the crowd begged and pleaded for a performance of How Soon is Now (it was the last song of the evening), but the Lads’ cover of it was technically mediocre and drawn out. Perhaps their energy was sapped by the end of the evening. Better highlights and favorites included Unloveable, a great rendition of Cemetary Gates and a haunting take on There Is a Light. Most fans in front of the stage couldn’t keep themselves from singing along and staring back at the band with love-struck eyes. Quite a few were seduced enough to come on stage and hug Mozza with simple delight and grateful recognition for understanding their angst. At the end of the night, after most fans went upstairs to the chill out room at Galatos or some other K Road bar, I spotted the front man, Adrian aka Mozza, talking with a handful of devotees. I overheard one gentleman of a rather small stature gushing over the previous night’s performance at a smaller, less advertised venue and mentioned to him that with so many great songs, even two and a half hours wasn’t enough to cover them all. "Like, I didn’t hear Frankly Mr. Shankley", I pouted. "Oh, that’s a Morrissey solo song, don’t you know that?" the geeky man shot back. "Have you been under a rock for the past 10 years or something? How odd. You must visit Morrissey-Solo.com and brush up on your information. I contribute to the site frequently. My handle is Librarian on Fire." Blushing from ear to ear from my innocent bungle, and feeling awe-struck after hearing more Smiths and Mozzer trivia this man had at the tip of his tongue, I decided I found the most devoted and educated fan at the show. It was Librarian on Fire. And yes, he is a librarian. I have the business card to prove it. Now, what occupation could be more Smiths-like than that? www.salfordladsclub.com - Gerelee Goltsev The Salford Lads Club Galatos 26 March 2004 By Robyn Gallagher I've never seen the Smiths live, but I've set myself a mission to try and get as close to it as I can. So far I've got the Smith's live album "Rank" and I was, naturally enough, thrilled to bits seeing Johnny Marr performing as part of Neil Finn's "Seven World's Collide" extravaganza in 2001. When I heard that some fellows from Wellington had formed a Smiths tribute band called the Salford Lads Club and were touring in Auckland, I was rather excited. Obviously it's not the same as seeing the Smiths live, but like seeing Johnny Marr live, it all adds up to recreate the Smiths experience. Initially I was a little uncertain about seeing a tribute band because typical tribute bands seem to be there for the purpose of letting old people relive their glorious youths. But arriving at Galatos I realised that this tribute band was different. The audience was either too young to be attempting to relive their youth, or if they were older (and there were plenty of 30- and 40-somethings), they certainly weren't there to bring back happy teenage memories. More like reliving those angsty, painful years when Morrissey was the only one who understood. The band took to the stage and if I remember correctly, they started with "What difference does it make". Adrian/Morrissey is blessed with an uncanny resemblance to Morrissey, and managed to sing enough like him to keep the crowd happy. He also had an entertaining stage manner and was, yes, yes, a charming man. The sound mix and particularly the vocals seemed a little muddy at times, but it wasn't distractingly bad. There were a few clunkers in the song choice. The Lad’s delivery of slower, longer songs like "Reel around the fountain" just didn't have the strength to stand up in a live setting. But when they were good, things really went off. Jamie/Johnny and Rob/Johnny wove together Mr Marr's brilliant guitar parts, Ryan/Andy proved that the bass plays a vital part in the Smiths songs and Pete/Mike, um, ok he played the drums (I'm running out of adjectives. Sorry.). In the midst of the gig I found myself fulfilling my lifelong dream of jumping up and down yelling, "Hang the DJ! Hang the DJ! Hang the DJ!" as they performed "Panic". Another favourite was the inclusion of "Handsome Devil". It's a brilliant song that was tragically never afforded a proper studio recording, but the Lads managed to capture its raw, sexual rock energy that the Smith's rough recording promised. By the end of the evening the Salford Lads Club had won me over. They weren't just a cheesy Smiths tribute band. They'd brought enough of their own spunk and personality to make it a unique experience. I think that makes for a more enjoyable time than if they'd turned out to be a bunch of Smiths clones doing album-perfect renditions of songs. I demand that the Lads return to Auckland, because there are many more Smiths songs I want to hear them do live. -- Visit the real Salford Lads Club located on the real Coronation Street. This historic Manchester youth centre was immortalised when the Smiths posed in front of it for a photo in their 1983 self-titled debut album: http://www.salfordladsclub.org.uk/