posted by davidt on Wednesday May 12 2004, @11:00AM
2-J writes:

NME continues its seemingly never-ending coverage of Morrissey in this week's issue.

*Moz gets a mention on the cover: 'MOZMANIA HITS LOS ANGELES'
*There is a full page advert for You Are The Quarry
*There is a full page photo of him on the 'Next Week's Issue' page, with Moz sitting on a sofa. I think this is a completely new photo. It also says it is going to be 'The Heroes Issue' and 'Franz Ferdinand, Morrissey will see you now' as the main headline, and 'NME fixes it for today's hottest young acts to meet, interview, and generally gawp like stunned fish at the men who changed their lives' 'FRANZ FERDINAND take tea with MORRISSEY!'
*There is a full page live review of the Wiltern gig of the 24th April, including a big picture of Morrissey and the setlist.
In full:-


AMERICA'S MOZ WANTED

Morrissey
in Los Angeles
Venue: Wiltern Theatre Date: Tuesday April 24

The Deity of the depressed transcends time and fashion in the land of fake tits.


          It's wrong, of course. But in an evening of contradictions it's wrong in a hilarious 'did I really pack my brain this morning?' way. During the emotive encore of The Smiths' 'Shoplifters Of The World Unite' which sends the whole crowd into paroxyms of pleasure, a peroxide blonde dancing on her boyfriend's shoulders yanks up her top and gets her fake tits out. And what's Morrissey's reaction to such a gruesomely inappropriate display of adoration? He glances quizzically at Faketits, like his nephew is presenting him with his first baking attempts and Moz's not sure which one he's supposed to have. Both? How VERY kind. Not now though, thanks. And he gingerly gives the universal hand symbol for 'OK' before admonishing the crowd as a whole to "Hand it over/Hand it over".

          LA, then. The last of five sold-out shows at the beautiful art deco Wiltern Theatre. Faketits aside, this is a young audience of LA's finest: the under-25's who knew there was a light that would never go out, hispanic gay couples, lesbians and the inevitable Anglophiles. In a city where being 'alternative' means a goatee beard and leather kecks, these are the true outsiders.

          'You Are The Quarry' makes up the bulk of the set, which, like Moz himself, is lean yet beafy. It illustrates the range of the new album admirably. There's the camp frippery of 'First Of The Gang To Die' ("what a silly boy"), an appeal to come out ('All The Lazy Dykes'), an attack on fake empathisers ('How Could Anyone Possibly Know How I Feel?') and, as enshrined in the 1666 Moz At Of Parlaiment, one about unrequited love ('Let Me Kiss You'). And to top it all, set-closer 'Irish Blood, English Heart', a petulant declaration of bloodymindedness, shows he can still knock out a single as irresponsibly brilliant as anything by The Smiths.

            It's a song by these old muckers, 'There Is A Light...'), that crushes any obstacle in his flirtation with the sublime. The response is sizzling. One not-so-lazy dyke manages to dodge security to gently touch him. An air of celebration, admiration and teeth-grinding jealousy fills the room before she's manhandled offstage with the weary efficiency that only experience with the Marines or Moz can give you. At the end of 'Shoplifters...', he tosses his shirt into the audience. The still haf-naked Faketits attempts to grab it - raining blows in unfortunate heads. It's hardly Wildean but what this scene lacks in the wit characteristic of the rest of the evening, it more than makes up for in hilarity.

          This is a revitalised Morrissey with an equally energetic audience. While people were piffling away with breezy Britpop and earnest humourless acousticology, he's been quietly growing out of being a mere icon and becoming an institution. And, like those equally institutions of Catholicism and Coronation Street, however hard you try, you always go back to Morrissey in the end.

Anthony Thornton.

Gig Report
Victoria Rees, 29
From: London
High Point
"When a bloke who got onstage during 'Shoplifters...' was grabbed by security and lifted his shirt to reveal a tattoo on his stomach that said "MOZ""
Best Song
"Everyday Is Like Sunday"
Performance (on a scale from Gene:Ordinary Boys to Gene Simmons:God Of Thunder)
Definitely Gene Simmons!
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  • One thing that escaped me in this week's NME first time round.

    In the Essential Buys section ('The pick of the last four weeks') Morrissey's 'You Are The Quarry' is one of the four CDs recommended. "A triumph of faith over industry, of devotion over spreadsheet".
    2-J -- Wednesday May 12 2004, @11:19AM (#101967)
    (User #4798 Info)
  • Letters page (Score:1, Insightful)

    There is a real dickhead called Paul who has e-mailed the NME (his correspondence is printed on the letters page) to say that Moz is a washed-up old has-been and that NME should focus on "young blood" like the Libs. While I like the Libertines, I am almost certainly going to write back to tell him what a cooler-than-thou arsehole his e-mail makes him out to be. Don't know if NME will print it, but i probably will write. In another letter, an Smiths fan says that IBEH is a dirge and that Moz needs to get back in touch with Johnny Marr. A third letter can't contain its author's excitement at Moz's comeback.
    Anonymous -- Wednesday May 12 2004, @12:03PM (#101992)
  • "While people were piffling away with breezy Britpop and earnest humourless acousticology, he's been quietly growing out of being a mere icon and becoming an institution."

    You mean whilst the NME were, we were still listening to Moz and at the time buying Maladjusted whilst the NME were slagging it endlessly and calling The Great Man a racist has-been.

      "And, like those equally institutions of Catholicism and Coronation Street, however hard you try, you always go back to Morrissey in the end. "

    Come back! The NME may have come back, we've always been here!

    Tossers.
    I am human -- Thursday May 13 2004, @05:16AM (#102184)
    (User #3100 Info)
    ...and I need to be loved.
  • So, I was the 'not-so-lazy dyke' who managed to get onstage during There is a Light That Never Goes Out and 'touch him gently.'

    This being essentially my first mention in print - and jesus christ, I don't think you can beat that mention, a play on a new Morrissey song - I must get a copy or two of the magazine.

    I'm in L.A. and went to the local Virgin Megastore and picked up the current NME they had. It has the Muse singer on the cover, says 'NEW MORRISSEY ALBUM' on the front, has a favorable review of You Are the Quarry inside and a brief blurb about Meltdown. But no L.A. concert review.

    Can someone in Britain let me know - does this L.A. concert review appear in the NEXT issue of NME? Or did I already miss it and need to look for a back issue?

    When I was onstange, I actually whispered in Morrissey's ear, but 'touching him gently' is a beautiful way to describe that. I suppose I actually did touch him gently as I was doing it. God, who remembers?

    Love
    math+
    Anonymous -- Friday May 14 2004, @02:15PM (#102541)


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