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A (gasp) cheerier Morrissey proves his show is still worthwhile
Wed, Nov 30, 2011 (5:33 p.m.)
With each pass through the somber, repeated line “Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head,” Morrissey modulated his phrasing and volume, wringing fresh raw emotions from a familiar song.
Photo: Erik Kabik
Friday night’s Chelsea Ballroom headliner took the stage rolling his Rs and growling playfully, a far cry from the last time Las Vegas saw Steven Patrick Morrissey. On that night two years ago at the Joint, he exited without encore or explanation, leaving us speculating as to what might have upset the notoriously moody man. This time, he seemed in good spirits from start to finish.
The Details
- Morrissey
- November 25, The Cosmopolitan
Better yet, his voice sounded fantastic, cranked up high above his five-piece backing band. The peak moment came when the 52-year-old Brit unleashed a song from his youth, “I Know It’s Over” off The Smiths’ 1986 classic The Queen Is Dead. With each pass through the somber, repeated line “Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head,” Morrissey modulated his phrasing and volume, wringing fresh raw emotions from a familiar song.
He played three other Smiths tunes but mostly stayed away from his hits (no “Everyday Is Like Sunday,” “The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get,” “The Last of the Famous International Playboys”). It hardly mattered. When Morrissey dug into his recent catalog, songs like “Black Cloud” and “When Last I Spoke to Carol” came off like old favorites, a testament to his iconic sound and style. Even a cover of “Satellite of Love” had unmistakable Moz to it, with the singer twisting Lou Reed’s original “I love to watch things on TV” lyric into a dour “I cannot stand the TV.” Of course, fans reacted loudest to the Smiths’ material, even if the gruesome animal-slaughter videos synced to “Meat Is Murder” made their post-Thanksgiving stomachs turn a bit.
Complaints? Just one, really. After performing 21 songs at each of two 2007 Pearl stopovers, Morrissey pared down to 17 for his two most recent Vegas visits. Which means, as his songbook grows, he’s giving us less of it; at this rate, in 2013 he’ll be off in under an hour. Then again, considering the way his voice suddenly deteriorated during an encore stab at “Still Ill” (or could that raspy sound possibly have been intentional?), maybe we should give thanks for what we got. And that this time, the night ended with a song rather than silence.
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas dares to be different. From the hotel’s red reservations desks to fine art found throughout the resort, The Cosmopolitan’s signature style is helping to pave its own path on the Las Vegas Strip.
Upon entering the resort, you’re greeted by pillars of video boards playing video art by Digital Kitchen and David Rockwell Studio exclusively produced for The Cosmopolitan. Just beyond that, you’ll find all your favorite casino games on the resort’s 100,000-square-foot casino floor.
The Cosmopolitan’s rooms standout as the resort’s most unique feature. About 2,220 of The Cosmopolitan’s 2,995 rooms have 6-foot deep terraces that span the length of the room, a first at a modern Strip hotel. Other in-room amenities include soaking tubs, kitchenettes and quirky accessories like artsy coffee table books.
The dining experience at The Cosmopolitan isn’t something you’ll find at other Strip resorts, either. All of The Cosmopolitan’s 13 restaurateurs are new to the Las Vegas market. You’ll find American steakhouse fare in a modern setting at STK, top-notch sushi at Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill and the freshest fish flown in from the Mediterranean daily at Estiatorio Milos.
Whether the sun is up or down, Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub is the place to find the party at The Cosmopolitan. The venue is a dayclub/nightclub, complete with a pool and cabanas outside and three different rooms with three different vibes inside.
If nightclubs aren’t your thing, you can grab a drink at one of The Cosmopolitan’s five other bars, like The Chandelier, which is encased in 2 million dripping crystals.
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