the girls in the third picture are so cute!

I think these photographs are beautiful.

At 4 o'clock on that Michael Stipe lookalike!

Lovely photos- did you use a filter for raking these?

i like the fact the photographer used black and white. looking back, it seems like a long lost age and these photos provide warm memories. we did not have internet access, word of the tour was from the radio or paper and collectively we would wait patiently for our champion to grace us.
i recall the day tickets went on sale for the l.a. show back in '91, the line was very, very long(and giddy) he could have played to what seemed like thousands in the parking lot that day. met many new friends and scored(traded) some great bootleg smiths shows from people.
thanks for the stroll down memory lane.

Wow. Thank you so much for sharing.

love
math+

Does Anyone know what kill uncle means, did he kill an uncle? (theres a dead one in 1 of those pictures)

Though not waiting early to get in -- though I got fairly close to the front row. There was an absolutely awful moment when moz threw something into the audience -- perhaps a tambourine, perhaps a shirt, i don't remember. But some crazy lout, who didn't really look the part of a moz fan, punched a girl in the face during the melee and seemed to delight in it. It was very disturbing to see the glee on his face. It kind of ruined the show for me. Well, probably not as much as that girl. It was so ugly and brutal. Plus, no one got on stage. But good show otherwise. I think he debuted You're the One For Me Fatty or We Hate It there.

Wow, I'm in photo #2. Very cool. Thanks for posting

Your sending of these photos opened a whole new dimension of what love and fandom really mean. I liked specially pictures 6 and 3 for this. These pictures somehow touch me even more than those I would see of people freezing in the streets from war - because whereas chilling in the streets from war, or chilling in lines like during the Great Depression of 1929 was a unchosen circumstance, the fans of Morrissey chose to chill on the sidewalks that day, by the tremendous force of his music. The last time I was so moved was when I was at the Bibliothèque de Geneviève (Paris), reading a passage from a group of anarchist religious men, who gave up every possession they had to march in the streets, naked, in protest against the opulent, greedy and opressive Catharsists. Morrissey always symbolised a fight, I guess, against a more subtle kind of hierarchy; and the fans being oblivious to the cold that day means their devotion to this fight. Congradulations, these pictures should be put in History.

Amazing photos. #6 is especially iconic (shame about the Front 242 jacket, though).

They seem to be slightly tinted (not quite sepia). How was this achieved?

Dear Friends-

Unfortunately- this is the one show that I missed! Chicago is such a great city, and perfect for photographing!!!

The photos are amazing!

I think photos of the queue are a great concept- especially with regard to Morrissey shows.

However-

The Aragon ballroom is a god-awful venue to see any show. It is filthy-dirty and nasty. And the bouncers are hateful and very mean. There was a crazy homeless lady one time trying to jump in line (Aragon- Sept '97/Maladjusted)- and one Bouncer actually hit her in the face; it was awful. She was ranting and raving, but she didn't seem violent.

I have no idea why major acts even bother with the Aragon. I saw Morrissey there for YATQ- and I was #13 in line; everyone was super-friendly except for the awful bouncers who were terrible.

I was very mad to see two VIPs allowed to jump the queue. They were very rude and cavalier about the entire matter; am I missing something here? The people in line "booed"- not becuase of their VIP status- but because they were snotty and nasty about the entire matter; one even gave the middle finger. No class at all. Some VIPs. And yes I was jealous. At least I have some class.

Always-
Ken S.

The only Morrissey show I have ever had the opportunity to go to and finally it gets some recognition! I remember it very well. I skipped work to go to the show and almost got fired for it. The other posts are right in saying that the Aragon Ballroom is a nasty place but it is also elegant and beautiful in it's own way. I remember getting to the show about 1-1/2 hours early and still being somewhere near the middle of the crowd. Why were chairs set up when none of us used them anyway? As I remember it everyone stood on the chairs for the entire show. Made for some tired legs that is for sure. Sure wish I could have been up on the balcony on that night. Anyway I got to the Aragon with my girlfriend (now wife) at about 6 p.m. and Morrissey was supposed to start at about 7:30 but didn't actually take the stage until about 9:30. So while waiting we got to listen to "The Planet Rockers" as the opening act. Anyone remember them? Pretty crappy as I remember. I also remember smelling more pot at that show than at any other show I have ever been to. I hold Moz so dear to my heart, as I'm sure many of you do, that I still have the program and ticket stubs from that show. Anyway, in the years since I have lived all over the world (military) and always happened to be away on business when Moz is in the area. Last tour I lived in Texas and actually had the opportunity to go and was on my way to the venue in Austin when I heard that Moz had canceled due to a sore throat.....yeah right. Just a few more years until military retirement and just then maybe I will be able to catch every show but November 8, 1991 will always hold a special place in my heart.

I'd just like to add to the chorus of voices praising the beauty and ethos of these b&w photos. Simply lovely!

The site's new banner based on one of these photos is class.

Thanks for the treat, "Jake"! ; )

but jeez the early 90's were an ugly time.

What a perfect place and the timeing was great for Blk and wht pictures...For the look the style everyone seems to have is awsome.. and the two males walking have that sort of walk ,stroll:) Oh!
I just loved your pictures... Great job...
And Thank You for shareing.

Wow this does bring back some memories. I *may* have a few photos of the outside line and even inside the show, but since I had only a crappy 110 camera, they are probably more than useless.

Sadly, I'm not in any of these eight pics. I wonder if the photographer has any more? Maybe some not-so-artistic ones that may happen to show more people in the background?

If I remember right, I was pretty close to the front of the line - maybe in the first 20 or so, at least until the end of the day and everyone started line-jumping.

I was a student at U of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana then. I bought two tickets on my mother's credit card and posted an ad on the dorm ride boards offering the second ticket for a shared ride up to Chicago. It was answered by a fine young man whose name I've long forgotten, but he got us to the Aragon early enough to spend an entire day freezing on that blacktop with all those lovely people. I remember the guy with Moz painted on his leather jacket and also tattooed on his arm who would later get to meet Morrissey at the filming of the Glamorous Glue video at the Kingston Mines. I was there, too :)

I've seen every one of Moz' Chicago shows except for that overpriced Amex/House of Blues gig. The Aragon 91 was my second show of his, but the first time I really got to meet and hang out with the hardest-core of the local Morrissey fandom. Fortunately that experience was to be repeated many times in the years that followed.

Memories, memories...
  -jason