It seems I am the only one disappointed by this show. I definitely did not think it was worth the $65 I paid.
First though, the positives: All of those Smiths tracks, Morrissey's voice, how he looked, his quips in between each song, his taking his shirt off at the end. The lighting. The venue starting things bang on time and keeping to a schedule (and not having to wait outside for very long either, after the 7 p.m. door opening). The security that allowed us to see a full Morrissey concert without it abruptly ending early due to crowds rushing him. The fact that Morrissey played 1.5 hours (longest of the 4 concerts I have seen by him) despite illness.
The negatives: The audience (I felt like I was in a concert occuring at a nursing home - this was the quietest crowd I've ever encountered at a Moz gig - this was also the first time I had not heard chants of "MORR-is-sey"). Many people on the sides were sitting down throughout the whole concert. The lack of energy, particularly in the beginning (downright boring, at times). The number of ballads played. The fact that songs like "How Soon Is Now?," "November Spawned A Monster," "Now My Heart Is Full" and others that rock on record felt flat/watered down and were not nearly as heavy or driving. The arrangements of some of the songs. The sound (around me, I kept hearing people yelling for the guitars to be turned up, and I agreed). D.A.R. Constitution Hall's sound/acoustics. The far-too-long intro (was that Joolz doing the voice-over?). Some of the sparkly curtain/flashing lights reminding a few friends and I of Elvis's later "Las Vegas" years and us saying that we hope Morrissey doesn't go down that route ... with his crooning last night however, and the emphasis on ballads ... perhaps it is not long off?! The people next to me, who thankfully moved - one constantly asking me and some others if we "had any gum," and tapping me on the arm saying, "Isn't it great we're so close?" while her friend sat there wearing a Britney Spears t-shirt. The guy in front of me who kept saying, "I want to go to Australia and get laid every night." Where the HELL do these people come from?!
At some points I got an uncanny feeling thinking that Morrissey and Jay Leno (looks-wise) have perhaps been separated at birth.
For those interested in such things, Morrissey first came out wearing black trousers, a black button-down shirt, and a deep red velvet blazer/smoking jacket. After a few songs, he took off the jacket. Later, he changed into another dark (bluish, I think?) button-down shirt. For the encore, he came out in an orangey-red shirt that looked great against the backdrop.
The stage had a dark sparkly curtain that nicely reflected the light and made me happy (lover of glittery things that I am). There was the large MORRISSEY sign made up of dozens of light bulbs that mainly flashed red, but also turned different colors.
Here is the setlist in order along with some of his words to the crowd. The songs with * next to them were my favorites of the night.
"It's wet, it's Wednesday, it's Washington"
1. How Soon Is Now?
"It's nice to be back here at the 9:30 Club"
2. First Of The Gang To Die
3. November Spawned A Monster
(Lyrics altered to include Moz singing "Yes, I am a freak")
4. Such A Little Thing Makes Such A Big Difference *
"Just remember you don't need to clap if you don't really want to."
5. Bigmouth Strikes Again
Lyrics altered to include Moz singing "The IPOD started to melt")
"I'm not a professional yet ... Just you watch, I'll make it into Rolling Stone magazine someday."
6. Let Me Kiss You
Moz introduces his band
7. The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
Gong struck at the end of this song
"The unfortunate thing about being an American is American politics."
8. Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me *
9. Subway Train (into) Everyday Is Like Sunday *
10. How Can Anyone Possibly Know How I Feel?
"I didn't want to be me - it was thrust upon me."
11. Now My Heart Is Full
12. Rubber Ring
13. Irish Blood, English Heart *
14. I Like You
15. You Know I Couldn't Last
Went offstage, then came back on and took a bow with his bandmates
"We're not the Grateful Dead ..."
16. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
Took off his shirt, threw it into the crowd
The most powerful, best song of the night for me was "Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me." I'm not too keen on this recorded, but out of everything last night, this was the most interesting. And even though a ballad, "You Know I Couldn't Last" showed Morrissey's voice at the peak of brilliance.
For me, the Morrissey shows I have seen can be represented as a graph that started high and is slowly going down. Coming away from this concert I felt how quickly time is passing by, and how all of these artists we revere and look up to are getting old. Who knows how much time we all have left ...
So Morrissey still remains the beautiful icon he always was, with his distinctive voice and gorgeous face that makes you want to "kiss" him "full on the mouth" - it's just an older, slower, more watered-down Morrissey for me, which means life is getting on, and it's just a question of time ...
Cheers
DJ Medusa.
