Summary by Dave Prior
After the joy of the previous night in Battersea, this concert was in a way a bit of a
let-down. The Northgate Arena was in fact a gym, and after the vastness of Wednesday it
seemed very strange.
Elcka again gave a reasonable set, though it was less well-received than the night before.
If nothing else, their drummer has the talent and charisma to go far, but Harrold the
singer veers towards being irritating.
Delightful, smiley, playful, energetic and happy was how Morrissey appeared in London;
unfortunately Chester found him somewhat tired, at the end of a long tour, and I could
tell that he wasn't feeling up to tonight. Still, the gig that began with the words
"Goodbye Chester" was enjoyable.
It was a similar set to the night before, with just "The Teachers" replacing
"Ambitious", and again it was powerful, with the "Southpaw" songs once
again showing their quality. Sadly the sound was suspect, as one would expect in such an
arena, and Alain was obviously dissatisfied with it. In fact I think at one point
Morrissey asked Alain what the problem was.
Though not quite as talkative as in Battersea, Moz still managed some gems:
After "Do Your Best" - something like "Hello to the bruisers from
Merseyside"
After "Boy Racer" - "It's nice to get out of Altrincham" (where Moz
lives when he stays with his mother, and -oi!- where I live too!)
Just before "Paint" - "This is from an album called 'Strangeways, here's my
bum' " before Johnny started plunking the opening bars to "Spring-heeled"
off-key, and Moz grabbed the strings to stop him.
Can't remember any more, but overall it was great - the only problem was the venue. Great
set-list, great hour only, great clothes, voice and dancing, but different venue next time
Mozzer.
Incidentally, I managed to have a quick chat with Alain as he was getting onto the coach
after. He's got a strong sarth London accent - I hadn't realised. He didn't seem too happy
with the gig, and when I mentioned sound problems, he agreed.
By the way, Moz has returned to Altrincham to spend Christmas with his mum - aaaaahhhhh!
Summary by R. Sanzgiri
The show was great, I think it was better than Battersea. The Chester Northgate arena is a
local community gymnasium, with an actual basketball court outline on the floor. Imagine
Morrissey coming to play in your high school, that's what it was like. The set list was
pretty much the same, except he added "The Teachers Are Afraid Of The Pupils".
The crowd was intense. It was a mixture of diehard Moz look-a-like fans and older (35+)
Smiths-oriented people (no offense to anyone over 35). It was an interesting
juxtaposition. The football chants were much more successful in Chester. Before he came
onstage and in-between songs the crowd wouldn't stop shouting, Alain kept egging us on.
Moz said "I don't want to be heckled, I mean... I like to be heckled" or
something to that effect. He again was very playful with the audience. He introduced
"Paint A Vulgar Picture" as a song from the album, "Strangeways here's my
bum".
Not as many people got onstage during "Shoplifters" as at Battersea. Again the
barrier was at least 10-11 feet from the stage. A few made it. But most of them just crowd
surfed (as They Might Be Giants call it, "passin' the dude") and fell into the
loving arms of the security. All in those two nights were the best shows I've ever seen.
Not to mention my first Morrissey shows ever. Six years of waiting finally paid off.
Summary by Henry Gascon
Just returning from Chester. Morrissey came on with grey khaki pants and a 50's high
collared shirt and seemed to be back in the North.
The set was the same except for the addition of "The Teachers Are Afraid Of The
Pupils" rather than "Ambitious Outsiders."
Morrissey began to sing the wrong verse for "Alma Matters", looked at Alain,
laughed, and finished the song. Before playing "Paint A Vulgar Picture", he
said, 'This was a song from an album called 'Strangeways, here's my bum!!' "
During the last three songs it started getting a bit rowdy as at least twenty people
managed go pass security and shake Morrissey's hand. I also think they might have changed
the set list a bit because Morrissey, Boz, Alain, and Johnny huddled together between a
few songs.
It was a great show, the pressure was off from Battersea, and Morrissey just let his voice
flow. It was also great to see Morrissey two nights in a row, especially since I've never
seen him before and have waited for twenty-two years, six months, and eleven days (birth).
My friend Alex and I spoke about the show and mutually agreed that Morrissey is the
greatest singer on the face of the earth, no one can ever really compare to him and no one
ever will. |