Morrissey and The Dead 60's on Monday 6th September at Bridlington Spa By Steve Rudd

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What can I say, other than what an amazing night! Support band The Dead 60's, who took on the mighty stage at 8pm sharp for their half-hour set, were so brilliant that I'd almost forgotten that Morrissey was still to come after them. The Dead 60's are a young quintet impeccably fusing elements of reggae and funk with indie pop-rock, hitting the spot as though Franz Ferdinand and The Clash are their favourite bands - and boy do they want us to know it!

Their set was perfectly rehearsed, as they jubilantly span through an astonishing set of complex songs, any one of which could quite easily penetrate the mainstream charts if giving the chance. Psychedelic swirls of organ did add a touch of retro, 60's-styled exuberance, and because the crowd genuinely seemed thoroughly impressed by the lads, I reckon they left the stage feeling more like The Grateful Dead than The Dead 60's.

The patient wait between 8:30pm and 9pm before Morrissey came out seemed too much for most fans. The majority of the hordes that had sold-out the gig tickets for tonight in the best part of just one day (i.e., the day the beauties went on sale) were still finding it difficult to comprehend that he'd actually decided to visit Bridlington for the night, as part of a string of relatively small venue-based shows in promotion of his simply brilliant new album You Are The Quarry.

Indeed, 2004 has seen a most miraculous revival of Morrissey's career via such an album. But the praise heaped on his latest material is all deserved, and it is in fact a tragedy that much of Morrissey's other solo work has - to large extents - been overlooked and under-rated in recent years since The Smiths went their separate ways.

Dwelling on the past, as the man himself well knows, is futile. All that really matters is the here and now, and although it took Morrissey almost fifteen minutes to hit the stage from the first note of his intro music beginning, as soon as he was in position center-stage and his name - that was literally in lights - shone like a beacon, then the crowd went crazy as every person present seemed to feel the need to surge forward in pursuit of a handshake with the legend.

Fresh from rapturously received appearances at the Leeds/ Reading music festivals just a week earlier, Morrissey is riding a wave of fab publicity at present, and the truth is he has never sounded better, proceeding to shake up a magical bag of vintage Smiths classics with new and old material siphoned from is solo career.

He has always been a great-looking pin-up of an icon to set women orgasmically swooning, but his legion of die-hard male fans is just as wide reaching. Indeed, Morrissey really is one pop star that blokes can admire and adore and still retain their credibility in doing so, for their hero is this case is a working class poet without ego or prejudice. He sings hopelessly romantic love songs and teeters on the edge of manic depression in fits, but everything that he does is done in a magnificently rousing manner. Depression interpreted through music has never sounded so heartbreaking.

And yet his songs aren't necessarily about depression, and they certainly do not depress the listeners. As he sung Everyday Is Like Sunday, one of his most popular solo anthems, there barely seemed to be one face in 100 metres radius that hadn't been accosted by the most shamelessly beaming smiles.

He may sing of heartbreak, yet his songs make you feel better - on top of the world even. This is due in large part to how catchy all the songs are in their own little ways, and his 5-man-strong backing band of the moment bring all the melodies to life with a vibrant rock edge. The classic Shoplifters Of The World Unite sounded as fresh as the day it was first written, blasting out a treat, and probably still inspiring the odd band of petty crooks to consider such a prospect. The atmosphere of the gig really was electric and Powergen could have done worse than channel the nation's power supply for the evening directly from the venue.

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