M'Lou Elkins
Fan Review: Johnny Marr at the Paper Tiger in San Antonio, TX on 9/6/2022
When Johnny Marr announces his ONLY U.S. solo show while on tour opening for The Killers and said show is only a 4-hour jaunt away….you go! This is how my friend Jen and I found ourselves road-tripping from Dallas to San Antonio on Tuesday, September 6, 2022.
We arrived at the venue, the Paper Tiger, a few hours before the show was slated to begin and met a few super cool Johnny Marr fans (shout out to Stephen and Ricardo!) while waiting for doors to open, which helped the time pass a bit more quickly. Once doors opened, we made a mad dash to the front and lucked out with spots against the stage. Whew!
As the show’s scheduled start time of 8pm came and went, the crowd inside the intimate little venue became restless. I’d caught a peek at the setlist and knew what we were in store for, so was anxious for the night’s festivities to begin. Finally, at around 8:30 the lights dimmed, the smoke machines exhaled and we knew Johnny Fucking Marr was on his way!
He launched into “Armatopia”, a track the man himself has described as “Eco-Disco,” and played seversl Smiths tunes that sounded every bit as good as Morrissey’s renditions. We were also treated to “Getting Away With It” from his days in Electronic, as well as Depeche Mode’s “I Feel You.” Marr ended the show with the crowd favorite, and perhaps the most famous Smiths song of all time, “How Soon Is Now?”
After chatting with friends Adrienne and Julia, who were also in attendance, we were faced with the long drive home. As 4:30am approached and we were only a few miles from home, we were both exhausted and ready for our current escapade to be over. Yet life had one final adventure in store for us as flashing blue lights lit up behind us and we were pulled over by the po-po.
We told the officer of our road trip adventure to see Johnny Marr. He hadn’t heard of him. “Well have you heard of the Killers…he’s on tour with the Killers!” As luck would have it he had. Perhaps in his desire to not put a damper on our fun night (or maybe our enthusiasm was contagious and instantly put him in a good mood??), the officer let us go with a warning to slow down. Us slow down? As Johnny Marr would probably put it, “Not bloody likely.”
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