My first concert of 2013 was a biggie! Morrissey performed a sold out show at Brooklyn’s Opera House at BAM on January 11, 2013 and in a word, it was awesome. A Morrissey concert is always filled with great songs, in between song anecdotes, worshiping fans and lately, glimpses of a shirtless rock god (for at least part of a song). Morrissey lived up to all of those things and more.
Morrissey
Opening with “Action is My Middle Name,” Morrissey quickly got the crowd revved up with his classic “Every Day Is Like Sunday” followed by the first Smiths ‘cover’ of the night, “How Soon Is Now?” Morrissey joked that an article in yesterday’s New York Times said that he needed therapy, but Moz rightly pointed out that the author of the article most likely makes $3 an hour, so “who really needs therapy?” He also introduced the band members by saying “the nominees for country music artist of the year are… ” Equipped with an envelope, he opened it and the ‘winner’ was Taylor Swift!
Morrissey
It was nice to see songs like “First of the Gang To Die” and the Smiths “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want” make their way back onto the set list. Like his last tour of late 2012, the show ended with a dramatic version of The Smiths’ “Meat Is Murder” (including horrifying animal cruelty videos as a back drop) and “Still Ill” as the finale. If this is setting the tone for concerts in 2013, this is going to be a great year!
Morrissey
The setlist was:
Action is My Middle Name / Everyday is Like Sunday / How Soon Is Now? / First of the Gang To Die / Shoplifters of the World Unite / Black Cloud / People Are The Same Everywhere / Alma Matters / Maladjusted / Let Me Kiss You / You Have Killed Me / Ouija Board, Ouija Board / Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want / You’re The One For Me, Fatty / November Spawned A Monster / One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell / I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris / Speedway / Meat Is Murder. Encore: Still Ill
I’m having quite a good Morrissey week! Prior to his sold out show at Radio City Music Hall in New York on October 10, 2012, I met Morrissey! Still on a cloud from the night before, watching Morrissey perform is otherworldly. Every move, every motion and every word that comes out of his mouth is epic. After a very brief set by on again/off again tour opener Kristeen Young, a 30 minute montage of clips featuring videos by Shocking Blue and New York Dolls was projected onto a large screen and then at the stroke of 9 pm, Morrissey hit the stage.
Morrissey
His voice sounded better to me than it has in past tours which really showed on songs such as “I Know It’s Over” by The Smiths. There was quite a nice mix of Smiths songs and Morrissey solo tracks and even new(ish) material like “People Are the Same Everywhere.” He spoke to the audience after every song with occasional funny anecdotes like when he told the crowd that he took a cab in New York the other day and the cab driver spoke English and knew where he was going. He continued “That was the whole story.” He also referenced his appearance on the Colbert Report from the night before and asked the audience if he made a fool of himself on TV, “because [he] tends to do that a lot.”
Morrissey
Some of the highlights of the hour and a half concert for me were seeing die-hard Morrissey fans lose their shit during the intro to every song. Hearing the entire Radio City Music Hall sing along to songs like “Everyday is Like Sunday” or Smiths classics like “Shoplifters of the World Unite,” “I Know It’s Over” and “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me” induced chills many times. Another highlight was the show’s centerpiece – “Meat is Murder,” which featured a montage of clips of animal cruelty as the song was played under red lights. As you can expect at a Morrissey show, he shook hands and let much of the front row touch and grab at him, threw his shirt into the audience and many people in the front made a run for it onto the stage trying to get a piece of Morrissey before getting tackled by security guards.
Morrissey
Morrissey was recently interviewed and asked why he is touring without a new record and his answer was simply “because a lot of people like me.” I think that is the understatement of the year. Regardless, I am happy to have another Morrissey show under my belt because he is simply amazing!
There are few times in my life I am speechless… Picture it – October 9, 2012 on a misty New York night. When it comes to Morrissey, the internet is divided: if they are talking about his music, you only hear good things. If they are talking about his personality, you only seem to hear horror stories. I can’t speculate on what I don’t know about, but I what I will say (and sorry if this ruins the horrible images you’ve already had in your head), when I met Morrissey, he was extremely nice! Several overseas fans were trying to get a glimpse of the music god and he signed a few autographs (including my “Years of Refusal” cd) and was gracious enough to pose for a photo. Unbelievable! Thanks Morrissey for all the years of great music past, present and future and I am looking forward to your show tonight at Radio City Music Hall! Morrissey! Thanks to a good tip, my night did not end there and I saw several more music legends (though my luck in meeting them ran out). Who would that be? Stay tuned….
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