Johnny Marr is widely regarded as one of the finest guitarists of all time, mainly for his work with The Smiths. After spending two decades moving through various projects, including fitting in seamlessly with indie-rock bands Modest Mouse and The Cribs, Marr has finally stepped into the spotlight, releasing his debut album earlier this month to a largely positive response.

Support on the night was provided by Bouts, a promising new band with an album due in September. Their songs were filled with quirky guitars that were catchy, but Bracken’s vocals have a habit of sliding off the note he’s singing, meaning his voice tends to sound out of key with the guitars. However this only seemed to occur on the newer songs, and the fantastic Get Sick showed that maybe Bracken will be able to iron out this bad habit – an intriguing band at any rate.

Marr kicked off his show with album opener The Right Thing Right. Marr’s voice sounded a little rough on this one, but the guitars were fantastic, and by the second track, Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before, the first of several Smiths songs Marr played, his voice had warmed up nicely. Again Marr’s guitar playing was magical, and he managed to put a new twist on this classic track. Already a formidable start, Marr just kept getting better and better track after track, featuring songs from his solo album, The Smiths, and his project with Bernard Sumner, Electronic. The tracks from his own album sounded much more vibrant live. European Me was fantastic, the backing vocals standing out, and Lockdown allowed Marr to showcase his unquestionable genius. The twinkling riff of Messenger was another marvellous one, and Generate! Generate! was that little bit heavier  and offered a nice contrast to the other, more technical tracks.

Marr oozed a cool elegance throughout the performance, and engaged in plenty of friendly banter with the crowd, especially when a guy threw a Django Reinhardt t-shirt to him. In response, and to the crowd’s delight, Marr launched into a rousing rendition of Bigmouth Strikes Again, again putting an exciting new twist on an old Smiths classic. I Want The Heartbeat was another faster one, and this was where the band finished up before the encore. Marr came out again and launched into an aggressive version of I Fought The Law, made famous by The Clash. Excitement grew amongst the crowd as they anticipated what Smiths tune Marr would do next, and a cheer went up as the distinctive riff of How Soon Is Now rang out. This track was probably Marr’s best performance, and the massive guitar solo at the outro was the outstanding moment of the night. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out was the closer, and again Marr leaves his own mark on the track without being any less appealing than the original. The synths were wonderful, and of course Marr’s guitar playing was nothing short of phenomenal.

Marr was truly stunning, and every song was exceptional and unique in its own way. His backing band were impressive as well, playing interesting parts, but allowing Marr to express himself fully. Tonight he showed why he is considered to be one of the finest guitarists ever.

Johnny Marr Photo Gallery

Photos: Kieran Frost