The Smyths, Auckland NZ, 2019

The Smyths

14th February 2019
The Tuning Fork, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review & Photography by Sarah Kidd.

Tribute bands. Those two little words can often conjure up cringe worthy images of tatty makeshift costumes, cheap wigs and occasionally semi-decent playing that by the end of the night has descended into drunken karaoke.

The word tribute was not one that The Smyths were particularly fond of being attached to either when they first formed back in 2003; but such is the way of the human psyche and our need for labels. So, the band reluctantly pinned it to their lapels and moved forward. The problem is however that when it comes to The Smyths that label just does not fit. Because they are frankly so much more than that. The Smyths have themselves stated that what they want to do, what their intentions are, is to create an experience, an experience that embraces both the sound and the spirit of The Smiths.

The result? An outstanding night of music and song that any fan of The Smiths would enthusiastically embrace.

There is an air about them, one that communicates both a seriousness to the task at hand – The Smyths religiously rehearsing at least once a week – but also an overwhelming sense of joy. And understandably so; the four piece are Smiths fans themselves probably more so than many of the audience members standing in the pit last night who had come to live vicariously through them. Every single Smyths performance a heartfelt ode to their one and only muse.

As Andy Munro on lead guitar and Simon Hudson on bass take their places, Tom Harris on drums settles in, ready and waiting to dive in to the first track of the evening; the crowd are primed and chomping at the bit, the sold-out venue almost audibly humming with the anticipation.

And then he arrives, and for a moment, time just … stops.

Morrissey stands before all; a loose cardigan buttoned over his bare chest, a string of pearls adorning his slender neck and of course the infamous quiff below which sits a pair of black rimmed glasses. Visually Graham Sampson is so damn close to Morrissey that it would easily cause a double or triple take on the street. But as he begins to sing ‘Hand in Glove’ all bets are off; even the most fanatical Mozza fan would struggle to identify the difference between the two.

Encompassing not only the richness of Morrissey’s baritone vocals but all the little nuances from the mid-song yelps through to the dreamy falsetto’s of tracks such as ‘Heaven knows I’m miserable now’, Sampson takes the audience back in time to the mid 80’s when The Smiths first birthed their third album The Queen Is Dead, which The Smyths have promised to play in full. Watching Sampson perform it is nigh on impossible not to get swept up in the jangle pop goodness that is flowing from him; his mannerisms, his movements, right down to the curvature of his voice as he addresses the audience are Morrissey.

Surrounding him, Hudson, Munro and Harris recreate each Smiths track with charm and an underlying deep love for the music; from the fast-paced drum routine of Harris during the intro to ‘The Queen is Dead’ through to the perfectly plucked bass lines of Hudson during ‘I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish’.

Even the evening itself is well set out, the show consisting of two separate sets with both a small intermission and inescapable encore. With their tour manager James Anderson also doubling as their sound engineer, the performance is one that is both highly polished and well mixed, which only adds to the already thrilling overall experience. Definitive highlights include a breath taking version of ‘I Know It’s Over’, a song that Sampson refers to as a ‘vocal tour de force’ and one of his favourite to perform; an on point version of ‘There is a light that never goes out’ which Sampson dedicates to the Auckland audience and an encore that featured a full blown, in your face version of ‘How Soon Is Now?’ complete with gladioli.

To label The Smyths a mere tribute band would be an insult to their sheer professionalism and undeniable passion; here is a band that lives and breaths The Smiths not only in their day to day lives but every time they step onto the stage.

Long live The Smyths.

Were you there at the Tuning Fork for this magnificent Smiths experience? Or have you seen The Smyths perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Setlists:

Set 1:

• Hand In Glove
• William, It Was Really Nothing
• The Queen Is Dead
• Frankly, Mr. Shankly
• I Know It’s Over
• Never Had No One Ever
• Cemetery Gates
• Bigmouth Strikes Again
• The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
• Vicar In A Tutu
• There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
• Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others
• Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now
• Barbarism Begins At Home

Set 2:

• The Headmaster ritual
• Panic
• Shoplifters Of The World Unite
• Sheila Take A Bow
• Shakespeare’s Sister
• You’ve Got Everything Now
• Well I Wonder
• Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before
• Girlfriend In A Coma
• I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish
• Ask
• Still Ill
• This Charming Man
• What Difference Does It Make?
• Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want [encore]
• How Soon Is Now? [encore]

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