Meat Is Murder: Morrissey at The Palace, 09/20/2016.

I'm gobsmacked at the recognition that it's been 12 years since the only other time I've seen Morrissey perform, also in Louisville, and also at The Palace.

How could this be?

Highly influential, Morrissey is widely credited as being a seminal figure in the emergence of indie rock and Britpop. He has been acclaimed as one of the greatest lyricists in British history, with his lyrics having become the subject of academic study. He has courted controversy with his forthright opinions – endorsing vegetarianism and animal rights, condemning royalty and prominent politicians, and questioning issues of British national and cultural identity.

Last night's show was brilliant, and short of lapsing into a formal review, I'll note only that very few of Morrissey's musical generation (he's 57) seem to have put as much thought into the dynamics of pure performance. Rock and vaudeville are joined, with huge dollops of agitprop courtesy of the video screen. To say the results are unique is to be guilty of understatement.

Check out the set list, and join me in appreciating a man who genuinely merits the description of icon. It was money very well spent for us.

Superb show: Noel Gallagher and Snow Patrol at the Palace.

Last night at the Louisville Palace, Oasis co-founder Noel Gallagher opened for Snow Patrol, performing songs from his old band alongside new numbers from last year's solo album.



Let's just acknowledge that when the "backing" band closes with "Don't Look Back in Anger," a song that merely served as anthem for a generation of Brits, it's a hard act to follow, but Snow Patrol was just fine.

Imagine: Perhaps rock 'n' roll isn't dead, at least just yet.