Albuquerque - Hiland Theatre (Oct. 24, 1997)

Summary by Alberto Esquinca

On Friday October 24, Morrissey performed at the Hiland Theatre in Albuquerque, NM. According to some flyers posted around town, it was the first time Morrissey visited the state of New Mexico. The Hiland is a small theatre which seats 875 people, and which some of the locals had never heard of. When we got there the Smoking Popes were playing their excellent set. The crowd was rather cold, but the band really put on a good show. Their performance of "I Need You Around" at the end of the set was the one song the crowd got into.

By the time the drum solo from "The Operation" started all of the people in the first few rows rushed to the front. Clad in a black button-down shirt, a band-aid on his nipple, grey slacks, a Gucci belt, and black dress shoes, Morrissey greeted the crowd with a growl of "Albuquerque!" He started the set with "The Boy Racer." The song served to give a rush to the crowd which had been waiting for about hours. I have seen him perform three times, and never had he addressed the crowd as much. He asked "Does anybody here like Whitney Houston... Thank Goodness;" "What happened here today?" I have also never thought he was particularly sexy. But, that night Morrissey seemed like an erotic dancer arousing his fans, grabbing himself, calling attention to his crotch, playing lasciviously with the microphone, sticking out his tongue, eyeing Alain and Boz, and generally turning everybody on. Some of my friends had never seen him or bought his records, but they were highly aroused/ turned on by his performance. Morrissey won over some new fans that night. We weren’t the only ones who thought he looked good. One guy yelled "Morrissey you look really good" to which he replied "What?" We kept saying "you look really good" and he repeated three or four times "I can’t hear you," and "I still can’t hear you." And finally, "that’s what I thought." Toward the middle of the show, as he sang some of the newer songs, he asked "doesn’t anybody know these songs?" Apparently, most didn’t because only when he sang "The More You Ignore Me..." did the crowd get restless.

When the band played "Paint a Vulgar Picture," I turned around and noticed that the whole theatre seemed to be bopping their head. Nostalgia is a powerful thing. When the time came for the guitar solo, Martin came stage front, and did the solo part defiantly, sort of telling us "Johnny who?" Sad to say, Martin still wasn’t as good as our memories. Also noteworthy, during this song a woman handed him a handwritten sign that read "I MEAN IT THIS TIME. TAKE ME WITH YOU." He took it, and sang a few verses covering his face with it. "Speedway" was next.

When Morrissey came out again for the encore, he was wearing a white silk shirt, through which you could see his nipples and said "It was a pleasure to meet you. You are 100% pure sex." "Shoplifters" was played, the crowd went... well, you know the rest.