I am sure you are all having fun now... can't wait to see the lads again this year myself!

Excellent show. No Alain, unfortunately. Opened with How Soon is Now.
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.Then BIGMOUTH STRIKES AGAIN
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LAST NIGHT I DREAMT (with piano intro)
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Enough Said

he played livin la vida loca too

An awesome, awesome show. My favorite Morrissey show ever, by far. Morrissey clearly was not feeling well but performed wonderfully the entire evening. The band was outstanding. A surprising number of old Smiths and early Morrissey songs, including How Soon is Now (to open - GREAT!), November Spawned a Monster, Such a Little Thing Makes A Big Difference (a real surprise), Bigmouth, Everyday is Like Sunday, Rubber Ring (I think), Now My Heart is Full, There is a Light That Never Goes Out, Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me. I may have missed one or two. The early part of the show was mostly the old songs and a little of the new (Last of the Gang to Die and The World is Full of Crashing Bores). The latter part of the show was mostly from the Quarry (Irish Blood, English Heart, How Can Anybody Know How I Feel, You Know I Couldn't Last). Morrissey was very funny and warm the entire show. The crowd was enthusiastic but polite. A few people climbed onto the stage towards the end of the show, but only for a handshake, a brief hug or a kiss, all of which Morrissey seemed to welcome. It was very very nice.

The show lasted a little over an hour including one encore. It might have gone on longer, I suppose, but from where I sat (4th row), Morrissey clearly did not feel well. I thought he was a real trooper, and his kindness, warmth and humor was especially welcome given how he appeared to feel.

All in all a very worthwhile and satisfying show. Don't miss it if you have the chance.

Saw Moz twice at the Apollo and can say with full confidence that this show was 10x better. The band was much tighter and sound excellent. A great show.

How Soon Is Now?
First Of The Gang
November Spawned a Monster
Such A Little Thing
Bigmouth Strikes Again (!!!! Sheer brilliance)
Let Me Kiss You
Crashing Bores
Last Night I Dreamt
Everyday Is Like Sunday
How Can Anyone Know How I Feel?
Now My Heart Is Full
Rubber Ring
Irish Blood, English Heart
I Like You
You Know I Couldn't Last
There Is A Light

Kinda bummed not to hear Munich Air Disaster, but Bigmouth made up for it. He changed the lyric from Walkman to iPod. Rubber Ring was also brilliant. His voice was in fine shape. Looking forward to Philly on Saturday.

i can't believe i missed it.

WHOA. those security guards were ASSHOLES - i was there with two giant two sided signs which read "gyrate" "sara" "daddy" andd "flail" did anyone see me? fucking great show - lame audience, i could swear the heavy man and i were the only ones dancing in the center aisle!

my friend tried to sneak onstage but got ratted out by a blonde haired wench - if she's reading this - DIE!

other than that - morrissey was violently handsome and the band soundded good.

good setlist too - rubber ring!!!

A great surprise was the man who opened for Morrissey, named Dempsey (Jack?). He played five songs:

1. Factories, Trains and Houses
2. I'm Never Going to Let Your Negative Vibes and Comments Get Through to My Pshyche and Cripple Me
3. The Ghosts of Overdoses
4. Apple of My Eye
5. It's All Good

It was a great way to start the evening - just one man and his guitar, singing from his heart.

All the band members were sporting black t-shirts with "Jobriath" in pink lettering on the front.

I thought it was a great show. Bigmouth was an awesome surprise. Saw Moz twice before in DC -- at National Capital Ballroom and 9:30 Club -- was much better than 9:30 Club show in Feb 2000. Venue was good. I'm a big fan of the big 'morrissey' backdrop. All in all well worth the money. Unfortunately, probably the last time I'll ever see him live (unless it's at a much much smaller venue). Hearing 'How Soon As Now' sent shivers -- I've been hearing it since 1985!

According to a reliable source, "Bigmouth" and "Last Night" are two of FIVE debuts (for this tour, anyway) that we'll see over the next few shows. Not sure what the others will be, but I'm waiting with bated breath.

Oh my God!!

What bliss it would have been!!!!

And I wasn't there!

Wish he'd included them in the Reading setlist - would have made a truly fantastic appearance all the more so. I have prayed for 'Bigmouth' long - let's hope he retains it when he comes back to England in December!!

it it was him on KROQ? Did he say "D'youknowwhatImean?" anytime during the show?

Would love to hear a bootleg of this show if some kind soul could put it on bittorrent etc..

Sounds like Alain will have to amp up his live playing skills (to transcend his writing skills) judging by the reports on Jesse's axework

Bigmouth........... enfin !!!!!!
Guillaume
Paris - France

Please tell me that someone recorded the show?!?

and if he would drop "how can anybody..'for another song...it would be superb!!!!

Sounds like a wonderful evening. Superb setlist! Can you share some of his witty comments?
Envious in Europe

I've seen Morrissey several times dating to the "Kill Uncle" era, and I thought this show was excellent -- I'd give it an 8 or an 8.5 out of 10. He sounded great, he talked A LOT between songs, and the clincher, for me anyway: The setlist was an excellent representation of his entire career.

I took my fiancee, who was not familiar with most of his music, and she loved it. For her, the highlights were Bigmouth and Irish Blood. I would have to agree that Bigmouth made the night -- a brilliant surprise and an incredible performance. (I liked the Walkman/iPod lyric change.) I also loved Such A Little Thing and Let Me Kiss You. The first third of the show, in fact, was perfection.

A couple of the new songs have yet to grow on me -- and I don't know if they will -- but I couldn't help notice the conflicting sentiment of closing with You Know I Couldn't Last and There Is A Light. What a difference 20 years makes, eh? I will also say that I Like You drips with irony live, with Morrissey singing "You're not right in the head" directly to the audience.

Random thoughts:

* What in the world was that neverending intro music all about? Just kill the house lights and launch into How Soon Is Now!

* I was curious where Morrissey was going with the comment about the Arrested Development TV show.

* I wondered why it took so long for fans to get on stage. Because they wanted to see the entire show?

* I didn't need to see him take his shirt off at the end. Maybe in the old days, but now ... "a nation turns its back and gags."

Overall, it was well worth the three-hour drive ...

jim.roberts@cavtel.net
Norfolk, Va.

This show was one of the best I've seen, much better than the Apollo. The inclusion of several Smiths songs mixed with classic and new Moz material was perfect.

Note for future shows: My girlfriend and I were standing around at the side of the building around 8:20-8:30, 45 minutes before Moz was scheduled to go on, and we got to watch a white van pull up and the band, minus Morrissey, get out and walk right into the side door....no big security, no group of fans, nothing....just the guys and their bags. It was surreal, unexpected. Boz and Deano looked surprised as well since we were the only 2 people on the sidewalk (as if we had been waiting for them to arrive). They all smiled and headed into the building.....Damn I wish I had had a camera!

If this show did one thing for me, it was to renew my love of the Smiths. The five Smiths songs Morrissey played were the highlight of the show, and I would have put down the $55 just to hear those songs. I am one of the many of Morrissey fans who love the Smiths and love Morrissey's solo material, but who have been disappointed as of late. I consider "You Are the Quarry" an average to good album, but musically uninspired.

Honestly, I its been a long time since I listened to my Smiths CD's, but when I woke up this morning and headed out the door, I grabbed Louder than Bombs, and was just blown away . . . again.

Thank you, Morrissey.

Fine set - just get rid of Such A Little Thing and How Can Anybody and add, well anything else, and we'll have possibly the best set list ever!

Morrissey was changing the lyrics to Big Mouth but I couldn't catch it. The part about "the flames rose to her Roman Nose and her *** started to melt." Did he say something like "i-Pod" instead of "Walkman"??

My first time seeing the man live!
So very awesome!!!!
Truly one of the best concerts I've ever been to...The synchronization of music with lighting effects was VERY awesome...and effects were hardly ever used twice if not only once...Example: how soon is now, and the awesome color shifts during Such A Little Thing Makes Such A Big Difference!
For those that missed this show...i feel bad for you ...as I have No regrets! perfect show...I really thought more flowers would have been thrown on stage..but only one boquet made it up there and was quickly removed...there must be a recording or vid of this floating...thank you morrissey...oh and that DAR hall is very good for live shows like morrisey fo sho!

There are quite a few people that think Moz is a self-righteous, pompous old git, but at the show last night he did something that I think proved that he just loves his music and his fans.

During the last number, a few people did the old jump-up-on-stage-to-kiss/touch-Morrissey thing. Everyone was successful and Moz was very cordial to them in shaking their hands, etc. (these people also had a lot of courage to try, as there was a 350+ lbs. bouncer that was on the right side of the stage, crouched and ready to pounce on anyone that even thought of coming on stage). Anyway, the last guy to get on stage got up on the left side of the stage after Moz had crossed almost all the way to the right side. Just as he got up onto the stage, he stumbled and fell and was grabbed by security immediately. It seemed the lad was going to be carted off and miss touching him, but then, Morrissey saw him and crossed all the way across the stage and gave the fellow a handshake and bow -- much to the delight of the crowd. (In fact, the only other things that got more cheers was the opening with 'How Soon is Now?' and when he changed his shirt off stage halfway through the show.) Anyway, maybe not that big of a thing to most people, but it just reminded me that, eventhough he has a lot of critics, Moz is a wonderful man and performer.

I, like most everyone else that have posted here, was very surprised and elated that he played so many Smiths songs. I saw him during his 2002 tour and if memory serves correct, he played only two Smiths songs and that includes the 'There is a Light' encore. 'How Soon is Now?' was incredible to open the show and 'Bigmouth' was, of course, fantastic. But, 'Last Night I Dreamt...' was the highlight of the show.

Morrissey was extremely chatty and talked in between every song. He asked of anyone watched Arrested Development and, sadly, there wasn't much crowd response (hands down, it's the best show on TV -- watch it). But then, after asking the question, they launched into another song. We never found out what he wanted to say about it -- if he liked it, hated it, who knows? He said something like 'It's good to be here at the 9:30 club (a local indie club)' and 'Welcome to what is, unfortuneatly a 'POP' concert', dripping with sarcasm. Don't like the bigger crowds and the success of 'Quarry', Moz?

The other thing that I found interesting was the diversity of the crowd. There were emo kids, rockibilies, and 'I wear black on the outside, cuz black is how I feel on the inside' people, as expected, but there was so many almost, dare I say, 'middle-aged' folks that were wearing cotton dockers and golf shirts. I was very strange, yet fun to see them.

I was also surprised that Moz didn't make more political comments. He said something like, 'Of course the down side to being American is American politics.' But I thought that, being a stone's throw from the White House, he'd say a little more...

Overall, great show. Don't miss him if he's coming to your town -- you won't regret it!

I wrote up a fullr eview from last night, complete with between song banter from Moz. Go here:

http://informationleafblower.typepad.com/blog/2004/09/bigmouth_strike.html

Cheers. Can't wait for Saturday.

what did Moz and the band do during this bit?
just stand around?
what a setlist! lord, I'm jealous!
John

how much do you think moz is commanding for each performance? 100K?

First off, Moz was amazing! He looked great and despite being under the weather he sounded great.

Second, FUCK DC. It's a crime against humanity that God can't sell out a 3500 seat theater when you have fucking lame ass pieces of shit corporate "alternative ©" bands (insert name of band who will be in the cut out bins in a year) playing larger venues. I blame WHFS and radio in general for this

Third, FUCK DC again. I'm so sick of you fucking asshole hipsters who have no passion for music coming to shows to stand with hands in your pockets and a frown on your face. FUCK YOU!

Supergrass was playing at the 930 last night and that show was announced and on sale before Moz's tour was, so I'd say that ate into ticket sales somewhat.

am I dreaming? I thought he did "America Is Not the World" before "Irish Blood English Heart" ?

My only disappointment. I hope it's back for Earls Court - amazing show, and astonishing to hear him put his great recent singles alongside the classic Smiths stuff - and it stacked up well. All in all, an amazing night.

Can anyone please tell me what the general mood of the front rows are? Are people up and dancing and engaging with Moz? Or are people generally sitting down and acting polite? Thanks!!!

"thank you thank you... very kind... of course the downside to being American is American politics..."

"flames rose to her roman nose and her ipod started to melt"

"sunset beach (muttered smirking) anyone?" Before "Bores"

"I CAN understand why my life has been cursed poisoned and condemned"

"the *something* club is absolutely fantastic.."

there were a few requests before you know i couldn't last, so moz spoke direct without his microphone to the front row who cracked up when he replied

"This is a status quo cover for YOU (pointing)" before "you know I couldn't last"

"you're not right in my bed, and nor am I and this is why..."

it was yet another amazing show, and Morrissey was in a supremely witty and cheerful mood.

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

Read the rest of this comment...

Hi, as mentioned earlier, a lot of older folk at the show. My friends and I wondered whether we were the youngest there, but during our people-watching we met two other girls our ages who were wondering the same thing (though both were older than me). Anyone attend born after April 20, 1988? If I were actually the youngest I might be entitled to some bragging rights.

Also, they had some ringer shirts on sale that were really cool.

Screw all of this stuff about the great setlist, and the amazing gig! What we really want to know is was Julia there? I was worried about her after hearing that she was involved with a walking stick in the U.K.

as a fan, i think it will be great if he would tour ASIA, particularly Philippines. I'm sure many fans would watch that...

well, just a wistful thinking...

to Filipino fans there, ala lang..

I'd just like to respond to Manchester Neil's post in which he says "i'm so bored of supposed fans describing YATQ as average - name another album this year with three better single releases."

First off, I'd like to say that I'm a MASSIVE fan of the Smiths and Moz - 'Hatful Of Hollow', 'The Queen Is Dead' and 'Vauxhall and I' are the most regularly played records in my collection, and have been for a number of years now. So please, let's not have the inevitable "why do you come here and why do you hang around?" ripostes that seem to accompany posts that are critical of Moz's new material in some way.

The truth remains that YATQ is average, whether you're fed up of it or not. You have to consider the album as a whole entity. Three great singles cannot lift an album which, overall, by Morrissey's sandards, is average. 'FOTGTD' is fabulous, few except bobmozza argue with that; 'IBEH' is good, a strong single with a direct message; 'LMKY' is a charming song, though not his best. The rest is mostly average. Even 'IBEH' and 'LMKY' fall flat up against 'Boxers' or 'Trouble Loves Me'. Neither does YATQ compare favourably with other album releases this year. Up against such excellent records as 'Last Exit' by the Junior Boys or 'Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus' by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds or 'La Serpenta Canta' by Diamanda Galas, Quarry sounds predictable and unimaginative, and, more to the point, musically rather safe. Morrissey's singing on the new record, and the passion of his singing, is superb, unquestionably. But taken as a whole entity the album is average. As to the issue of singles, Franz Ferdinand's 'Dark Of The Matinee', 'Take Me Out' and 'Michael' are, IMO, superior AS A WHOLE to the Quarry single releases, though not to 'FOTGTD'. Likewise, from the gorgeous 'Last Exit' by Junior Boys, we have had the sublime 'Birthday' and 'Teach Me How To Fight', though there has yet to be a third single release. Nick Cave's 'Nature Boy' single knocks IBEH and LMKY into a cocked hat, while the 'Abbatoir Blues/Lyre Of Orpheus' album makes one wish Moz's band could muster up a third of the Bad Seeds' musical edge. Each album I've mentioned - 'Last Exit', 'Abbatoir Blues' and 'La Serpenta Canta' - are, in my opinion, far superior to YATQ because the consistecy of their excellence means they don't just rely on one or two stand out tracks. Sadly, this is what I feel YATQ does. I actually agree with those who've said that, yet again, the best songs are on the b-sides - 'Never Played Symphonies' and 'It's Hard To Walk Tall...'. But the album itself is a rather average experience as a whole.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63847-2004Sep30.html

best Morrissey show I have seen, but the security were assholes.. I tried to get on stage during the encore, and was escorted out the venue.. what dicks, but the whole show was great.. lost of words..

Did anyone speak to the band or did Moz mention the "supposed" interview?

I wish he would have played America Is Not the World. My favorite line is:
"America, they brought you the Hamburglar, oh well, America, you know where, you can shove, your Hamburglar."

If anyone has a recording and would be willing to trade or sell me a copy, please send me an e-mail at raymitten@aol.com Lots of stuff to trade.

First Moz show after 12 years of fandom....amazing, brilliant. Everybody is raving over the Smiths material, and while certainly understandable, I thought hearing the best of YATQ live was the highlight of the show. You Know I Couldn't Last, The World is Full of Crashing Bores, I Like You....all were incredible.

I think this was a bloody dreadful venue. First, it is way too formal. The seats are inches apart, and there is no area at the front to get closer to my idol, Moz. I wish it were at the 9:30 club, where there are no seats and we can get close.

Second, the whole place stank of mildew (it had rained earlier in the day.)

Third, the security staff and the house staff were nasty and evil. One lady came up and bellowed at me "is that TRASH?!!" in a nasty voice when she saw my plastic bag under my seat (No, you rotten pig, it is a bag with an overpriced 30 dollar t-shirt in it!) I wanted to say, "no, it's not trash, but YOU are!"

They were absolutely dreadful and unprofessional. The front section had empty seats but the Nazis wouldn't let us get any closer. For some illogical reason they let the very front section block the aisles to dance, but no one else. They ENJOYED trying to pitch people out. They tried to tackle the few lucky ones who got on the stage for a split second. After the show, they SCREAMED "GET OUT!! THE EXIT IS THAT WAY!" literally minutes after the show ended, when people were still buying shirts and visiting the PETA table. Some of us went to the front of the stage when the drummer was giving away the set lists and drum sticks, and this evil black giant came screaming "get out of here!" literally minutes after Moz left the stage.

The guy who got Moz's shirt was NOT a big fan, by the way! He said he would keep it a few days and then give it to some girl. I bet we'll see if on Ebay in a day or two. By the way, he did NOT go around offering free smells. I was the first who came up to him and ASKED to touch it, and then I asked to smell it. It smelled lovely, like nice cologne, and it was quite damp from Moz's dear sweat!

It's a bit late to be asking this, but did anyone notice what some fan said to which Moz replied, "People always say that. It's like they wish I died 20 years ago." It was during a time when people were shouting requests, so maybe it was a certain request? Or another comment?

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drove from pittsburgh to see moz for the first time and made it to my seat seconds before moz's intro. which i liked. it was this really depressing music with a female voice slowly reading a list of all the things that are wrong with the world. i swear it went on for about ten minutes and then morrissey hits the stage and you know the rest. nice.

three tiny complaints about the concert :

1...it could have been about two songs longer. i'm not sure if this was due to the venue's curfew or if it was because moz was still sick. he did not sound sick by the way. "rubber ring" alone was worth the $70 price of admission.

2...the t-shirts were weak. there was one design that i liked but it only came in a wife-beater! what's up with that? i noticed that no tour dates were printed on the backs of any shirts. hmm, i wonder why? heh heh.

3...the venue's security sucked. i hope someone less lazy has written them a nasty letter. they started yelling at people to leave even before the outro had finished. (frank sinatra's 'my way') then they harassed the people standing in line with money in hand to buy a t-shirt, saying things like "if you haven't bought a t-shirt yet, TOO BAD!" or something like that. i've been to many, many, many concerts and this is the first time i've ever experienced rudeness like this.
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