I was there last night and it was an odd one. I was having a fantastic time, even though I was all the way up on level 3, there was a good crowd around us well getting into it. However looking down to the stalls, nothing was going on. Could this be due to real fans not getting the tickets? Maybe next time there will be pre sales again, I went to 5 gigs in 2004 and got front row tickets, or at standing was able to get to the front. This was my second gig of this tour and I was stuck up on level 3 for both, it seems nobody got front row tickets for the sage, even the people in the front of the que. It also needs remebering that there are loads of new fans, who often don't get it the same way as older fans do, not that I have anything against them, without them there would probably not be ROTT or this tour.
I also think the choice of venue was bad, and thought that all along from when it was announced, it's not for a gig with lots of audience participation, it's a sit back and be entertained place. It was great for Nancy Sinatra last year, but not for Morrissey. The security were having a field day too, don't think they get that much action at the sage and were making the most of it. One nearly knocked me over the seat in front in his dash to get to the person in the middle of the row that dared to take a picture on their mobile, a bit over the top. And god help anyone who tried to get on the stage, they were just given a kicking, maybe that also pissed Morrissey off, he has been known to walk off when the security has been too rough. I think the security just saw their chance to have some action as they are only used to dealing with the over 60's in the Sage and probably took the opportunity to prove that they were reaaly hard security men, not just someone who directs pensioners to the toilet and coffee shop.
But musically the night, bar a couple of hitches was fantastic, Gang Lord is brilliant, it was just the venue and ticket allocation that let the night down, the lack of encore wasn't the end of the world, it was disapointing, but after all it was Morrissey and it adds to the excitement!