This Odd Bill Makes Sense

A young, middle-class married couple in their mid-20s, Guillermo and Luisa came to the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim on Friday night for two very different reasons.

Luisa, a native of El Salvador, would never miss a local appearance by her favorite rock en espanol band: Jaguares.

Guillermo, born in Los Angeles of Mexican descent, drove to the Pond knowing he would finally get to see the British pop-rock icon he idolized as a teenager: Morrissey.

Sitting next to the couple was Guillermo’s sister Alejandra, 19, who considers herself a fan of Jaguares and Morrissey.

“They’re sort of similar, in a weird way,” she said while the opening act, Jumbo, was taking the stage. “Not musically, of course. But they have a common sensibility, a darkness in their lyrics that unites them somehow.”

Alejandra was not the only one to feel this connection at Friday’s intriguing pairing of Mexico’s rock stars and England’s enfant terrible.

Morrissey’s decision to accept Jaguares’ invitation and perform three dates for their predominantly Latino audience makes sense: The singer is surprisingly popular among Mexicans and Mexican Americans.

The acceptance of this sexually ambiguous pop star by Mexico’s macho society has puzzled some observers.

But Mexico’s take on machismo is accompanied by a full embrace of melodrama and sentimentality, which explains why an effeminate performer such as Juan Gabriel is venerated as a national hero in Mexico, and perhaps why the ever-melodramatic Morrissey has made a connection.

At the Pond, the former leader of the Smiths wisely ignored all these matters. Besides the occasional “Hola, Los Angeles,” he didn’t address the ethnic issues during a tuneful performance that was all about Morrissey the naughty poet, the mischievous bohemian, the self-pitying fatalist.

The singer, who lives in Los Angeles and has not released an album of new material in five years, is in talks about a possible deal, according to a representative. He performed some new songs Friday, including a mournful ballad called “Mexico,” whose chorus went, “It seems if you’re rich and you’re white/You’ll be all right/I just don’t see why this should be so.”

That song, like Morrissey’s entire set, was received warmly. But Jaguares created the evening’s strongest impression. Now a sextet, the band has been at its peak since last year’s release of the morbidly atmospheric album, “Cuando La Sangre Galopa.”

Augmented by touches of percussion and reeds, the group’s current incarnation is a machine of unstoppable intensity (think 1974’s King Crimson or 1983’s U2). The enriched lineup was particularly effective when previewing songs from Jaguares’ forthcoming album, including a new, austere version of the old favorite “Detras de los Cerros,” as well as a rendition of Juan Gabriel’s “Te Lo Pido Por Favor” that found singer Saul Hernandez drowning its lyrics in a sea of anguish and romantic despair.

As always, Hernandez’s rapport with the audience mirrored his “we’re all one” philosophy. Before ushering in a mariachi ensemble for a celebrative coda of authentic rancheras, he commented on the event’s underlying message.

“Let’s prove something tonight,” he said to the enraptured crowd. “Let’s demonstrate that uniting cultures is more important than making money.”