Chicago - Parts 1 and 2

Sept. 28, 1997

Friday night's show took place at the Aragon ballroom, atop a nearly 8 foot high stage. It would have been impossible to scale such a height and Morrissey could not even get close enough to shake hands with the crowd. Morrissey announced that he was suffering from a case of the "Chicago flu, but I’m a big boy, and life goes on." The set list was about the same, and Morrissey was his typical genius...we expect as much from him but it is still amazing to see him come through.

Saturday was a different story. The crowd was packed in tight at the Riviera Theatre, and limp bodies were constantly being passed to security over the railing. Moz was close enough to touch, but no brave ones made it to the stage. He stopped the band in the middle of what I think was the 7th song, "Satan Rejected My Soul," after musical mistakes and skipped straight to "Maladjusted." After that it was "Now My Heart is Full" and he was gone. 25 minutes, no Smiths, no encore. The crowd stood dazed as the house lights came on and his personel dismantled the stage. There was repeated booing—at thunderous volumes, a chant of "Bullshit," and several "Morrissey sucks" yelled from an increasingly angry crowd. The crowd also began throwing plastic beer cups and garbage at the roadies on stage. The one dollar per minute ticket price deserved an explanation of why he left, and no one seemed to have any answers. Well, he had been fighting the flu...?

Garrison Poppe