Article: Manchester - Manchester Arena (July 28, 2012) post-show

[Anonymous]

I thought it was a decent evening really. The atmosphere dipped in the middle with a couple of duff tracks, but generally well worth the money.

One major negative for me though was the treatment dished out toward Kristeen Young. The abuse thrown in her direction made me feel a little uncomfortable; one lady behind me loudly shouted "pretentious t**t" on three separate occasions, there was a feller on my left constantly flicking the V's at her and the chanting of "Morrissey, Morissey..." between tracks also seemed pretty unecessary. Have I missed something here? Why does she have a hate following? I can't say that I'm a massive fan of her music, but there was some real cruelty on display from certain members of the crowd. I actually felt quite sorry for her.

Incidentally, I still can't fathom why anyone would want to warm up at a Morrissey gig. Their efforts are often rewarded with little enthusiasm and vicious heckling.

[Anonymous]

First post so, Hello..

SETLIST:

You Have Killed Me
Everyday Is Like Sunday
You're The One For Me, Fatty
How Soon Is Now?
(The Smiths song)
Speedway
I Know It's Over
(The Smiths song)
Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
(The Smiths song)
Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want
(The Smiths song)
Let Me Kiss You
I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
To Give (The Reason I Live)
(Frankie Valli cover)
Meat Is Murder
(The Smiths song)
Maladjusted
Scandinavia
Action Is My Middle Name
When Last I Spoke To Carol
Black Cloud
Encore:
Still Ill

He also played:
Ouiji Board
In Far Off Places
People are the same everywhere

[coxsparra]

Manchester council!

[jwizjam]

Awesome. Loved it. I cried three times. I loved the remark, there is no place like Hulme at the beginning. And I wasn't asked to the opening ceromonies of the olympics because my smile was thought to be too sincere. True Morrissey form. Just what you're looking for. The set list, I thought, was fantastic. Lots of my favorites. Still Ill, Last night I dreamt, I know it's Over, Speedway, Maladjusted just to name a few. The only criticism I have is the drummer was definitely not up to standards. I could sure tell it wasn't Matt behind the kit. He hasn't been there long, so learning curve, I guess. Overall fantastic night. Viva Moz! Thanks again for making me smile widely.

[jwizjam]

He also played:
Ouiji Board
In Far Off Places
People are the same everywhere

Wm up band for Morrissey is defo a thankless job.

[CrystalGeezer]

Manchester council!

He's sweatin' a bunny.

[hand in glove]

Thank you for all of the pictures and video! Seems like an awesome night! Happy for all of you who attended!

[Fan]

Wow. The hype for this show was pretty intense, but it sounds like this show was as stale as the other of this tour. Why can't Morrissey see how stagnant and boring his shows have become? With such a vast catalog of quality songs, he can surely bag the garbage new stuff and add more classics.

If the new material had any quality or promise, then okay; clearly, these songs are not good and many use them as a chance to hit the dunny.

[Alex!]

Just got home to London now.

Was this intended to be a 'My first Morrissey gig' for the teens? Couldn't help but be gobsmacked at the profoundly annoying pairs of teenage girls dotted around the place acting like morons.

Sixth time seeing him, drab setlist that needs a pickup. Will stick to London shows from now on, the north's a strange place.

Had planned on just reading my book through Kristeen Young (which I was already doing) but was disappointed to see the lights dimmed for another 30 odd minutes of nonsense. Ah.

Bedtime.

[Anonymous]

A very disappointing show, far cry from MEN arena 2004.

Morrissey is clearly winding down his career and just going through the motions. The setlist was incredibly poor; mid-tempo "sludge" rock which was made worse by the terrible sound in the venue.
Maybe he is deliberately alienating his audience with choices like Far off places, Meat is murder (a right mess of sound and way too long), Maladjusted, etc.

The arena looked like a full house but the crowd was static and produced only occasional polite applause considering the size of the venue. I think this gig had sold well on the strength of the "2004 return" gig but last night was dull and I'm sure many people would think twice before buying tickets again based on last night's show.

And Morrissey wasn't what I call witty; he made comments about The Royal Family, jubilee weekend, the Olympics and how he has not been "officially" recognised by the City of Manchester. So same old same old. He has become a caricature of himself.

Morrissey desperately needs some strong new material - QUICKLY. The atmosphere and the crowd reaction was flat as a pancake when he played "People are the same". And if all he can come up with is a Frankie Valli cover, then.....well say no more.

[Anonymous]

I am extremely happy that the injured back played so well.
The physiotherapy have done miracles to a sore back of the bassist player.
Long live the discrimination on those who do not deserve the respect of the British childish.
The weight of the pounds have strange but harsh designations...

[Anonymous]

I think the final above setlist is slightly wrong. After I know it's over, it was black cloud. Then the reason I give, then Scandinavia, then meat is murder. I think that's right. Either way it was fantastic and I don't get any of the criticism. His voice was so lovely, the crowd were really going for it, the band were really tight on all the smiths songs. I know it's over was note perfect. Identical to Rank. Just don't get this perpetual criticism. It was a brilliant night. And as for the meat is murder film, well he's an artist with opinion. It did kind of disrupt the vibe but that is what is brilliant about him. He makes you stop and think; albeit sometimes not very comfortably, but good for him. If you don't want to have to think at a gig, just go see Snow Patrol instead. It was a great GREAT night. Onwards, sideways.

[Anonymous]

I don't get why people are angry at the start time being before 9!!! My ticket said doors at 6 starts at 7.30, was I the only one with the ticket that said start times on it or did everyone else's tickets say 9 on them.
Thought the gig itself was fantastic, seen morrissey 30 times now and that was a great one, goods mix of old and new, meat is murder was awesome, however the video footage was very hard to watch and left me numb.
Overall a fantastic gig with some good old fashioned morrissey banter.

[Anonymous]

From reading many of the posts, I am really glad I didn’t go. Morrissey’s live performances have been becoming more and more turgid over the past few years. A few good numbers in between slow, saggy noise produced by fifth-rate ‘musicians’. Why is he still boring everyone with ‘Meat Is Murder’? And ‘Carol’ – it even sounds crap on CD, never mind live. To come to your home city and play just one encore? And judging by how KY was treated, large parts of the audience are as petulant and bitter as the man they have come to see.

[Dave2006]

Gig reviews on Solo are generally bobbins - there were 15,000 of us there last night and we all have different views. Met a woman on the tram home, it was her first ever Moz gig and she was upset that he didn't have a greatest hits set list... For me, it's always great to see Morrissey - it's been 12 months since Bradford, Leeds and York last year, so just great to be able to see him live. looking and sounding great and in a chatty mood.

For what it's worth, here's my two penneth; too many unreleased half finished songs in the middle that only appeal to the die hard fans who devour everything (really, Action is my middle name only has about six lines, that's not a song it's a doodle). The sound during Ouija Board was awful, even if you forgive him for chopping the song up. Speedway is only Speedway because of the sound of a motorcycle engine at the start, so why drop it for an opening riff by Jesse? The band making noise at the end of Meat is Murder is just self indulgence, like a poor prog rock gig, at one stage though I hoped Gustav was trying to segue into Sweet and Tender Hooligan... but, no. On the plus side; HSIN, Fatty, Paris, LMKY and Maladjusted (great to hear after so many years) and the slowed down versions of Please, Please, Please and Still Ill are just devine.

Does anyone know what the lyrics were at the intro to Please, Please, Please? Sung in a Johnny Cash southern style, something about 'when you cry it makes me happy' or 'when you cry it makes me smile' sure it mentioned Dixie as well. As of yet there are no videos on Youtube for Please, Please, Please or for this intro - can anyone help? Has he sung this at previous gigs?

Dave

[Anonymous]

Been to many Morrissey gigs over the years and this wasn't great. It started well and the audience were up for a great night but it dipped and died in the middle, not recovering until the last couple of songs. I was in the seats when I would definitely have had a better time had I been in with the crush. It's all been said above...nobody wants to admit that they've just attended a concert that wasn't great but let's be honest!

[Anonymous]

Gig reviews on Solo are generally bobbins - there were 15,000 of us there last night and we all have different views. Met a woman on the tram home, it was her first ever Moz gig and she was upset that he didn't have a greatest hits set list... For me, it's always great to see Morrissey - it's been 12 months since Bradford, Leeds and York last year, so just great to be able to see him live. looking and sounding great and in a chatty mood.

For what it's worth, here's my two penneth; too many unreleased half finished songs in the middle that only appeal to the die hard fans who devour everything (really, Action is my middle name only has about six lines, that's not a song it's a doodle). The sound during Ouija Board was awful, even if you forgive him for chopping the song up. Speedway is only Speedway because of the sound of a motorcycle engine at the start, so why drop it for an opening riff by Jesse? The band making noise at the end of Meat is Murder is just self indulgence, like a poor prog rock gig, at one stage though I hoped Gustav was trying to segue into Sweet and Tender Hooligan... but, no. On the plus side; HSIN, Fatty, Paris, LMKY and Maladjusted (great to hear after so many years) and the slowed down versions of Please, Please, Please and Still Ill are just devine.

Does anyone know what the lyrics were at the intro to Please, Please, Please? Sung in a Johnny Cash southern style, something about 'when you cry it makes me happy' or 'when you cry it makes me smile' sure it mentioned Dixie as well. As of yet there are no videos on Youtube for Please, Please, Please or for this intro - can anyone help? Has he sung this at previous gigs?

Dave

I've emailed you Dave.

[Dave2006]

Thanks to a rapid email... it appears that the song he sung / spoke as an intro to Please, Please, Please was Irving Berlin's 'Let Me Sing and I'm Happy' - thanks Stephen

What care I who makes the laws of a nation
Let those who will take care of it's rights and wrongs
What care I who care for the world's affairs
As long as I can sing this popular song
Let me sing a funny song with crazy words that roll along
And if my song can start you laughing I'm happy, so happy
Let me sing a sad refrain of broken hears that love in vain
And if my song can start you crying I'm happy
Let me croon a low down blues to lift you out of your seat
If my song can reach your shoes
And start you tapping your feet, I'm happy
Let me sing of Dixie's charms
Cotton fields and mammy's arms
And if my song can make you homesick I'm happy
I'm happy
Let me sing of Dixie's charms
Cotton fields and mammy's arms
And if my song can make you homesick I'm happy

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/a/al+jols..._20245184.html

Dave

[Guernie]

What a mixed bag of reviews for this show. What I find odd is that of all the shows on this tour, I assumed THIS one would have 4 or 5 songs for the encore. With Moz pulling out "old" favorites for the hometown crowd . So far it has been just 1 time somewhere in the far east (Singapore ? ) that he sung 2 songs for an encore.
However, by the song "Still Ill" you could tell that his voice was fading . He still hung in there and sang from the heart ! Thanks to all who posted reviews, pictures or videos from this show . I've been looking forward to the Manchester show . Viva Moz !!

[Anonymous]

Last night was my last morrissey gig.
The set was flat with no atmosphere whatsoever.
Moz made a few comments which had people smiling but other than that he seemed to ignore his crowd.
The play list was pretty dire with a huge flat spot in the middle,the ageing meat is murder video did nothing but make me think it's a time filler whilst Moz has a break.
I don't want some ancient animal rights movies rammed down my throat when I have paid good money to watch a performer I have followed since The Smiths were formed all those years ago.

The MEN arena is not the best place to watch a gig but this was made even worse by the fact we had a constant queue of people attempting to enter the standing area which blocked our view of the stage for nearly three quarters of an hour.
A couple of decent songs but I'm afraid overall a poor performance.
Sorry Moz but I will not be attending future gigs.