Johnny Marr @ Manchester O2 Apollo, 25 October

"So, look where I find myself on a Saturday night!" Johnny Marr can barely contain himself. After spending his post-Smiths years as the ultimate journeyman musician, he finally found his voice on solo album number two, Playland. He returns home to a bustling Apollo with enough kudos intact to justify the tour shirts and a lighting rig that bear the legend 'Johnny Fuckin' Marr'. But, crucially, for the first time he's wielding enough home-grown material to limit the inclusion of songs by His Old Band.

To the crowd's credit, they go for the new stuff. New Town Velocity, 25 Hours and surprise crossover hit Easy Money all hit home, Marr's Fender jag ringing out high in the mix, across the vast Apollo. But they raise the roof for a clutch of Smiths biggies (Panic, Bigmouth Strikes Again, How Soon is Now) and some smartly-chosen detours (Still Ill, The Headmaster Ritual.) At times, as Adidas-clad fellas lob empty pint pots and activate Ian Brown mode, a column of wobbling, arms aloft affirmation, you sense the heritage getting trampled. The odd rebel in the rear circle lights up and a pair of middle-aged bad lads openly get the party started with a little, um, Peruvian encouragement. But it would take the flintiest heart to not be touched by the way Manchester lifts the chorus of There Is a Light That Never Goes Out, Marr and band suddenly inaudible.

He's a likeable presence, no doubt, playing it for laughs in between songs. "The Apollo, eh? The bands I've seen here – The Ramones, Blondie, Joy Division…er, Uriah Heep, Barclay James Harvest…well, you can't win 'em all," he deadpans. But, for the moment, 30-odd years after he gave the British indie scene a near-impossible mountain to climb, his credentials (perhaps best exemplified by the youngsters wearing 'Johnny Flippin' Legend' shirts) remain solid rather than spectacular. [Gary Kaill]