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London, UK (Nov. 16, 1999)

Morrissey Concert London 16th

Posted By: Brokenforeverandsome <[email protected]>
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 17 1999, at 11:19 a.m.

The warm up band were strangely homely. Skinheads; Warm Irish accents lapping at my ears. The singer was quite possibly the antithesis to Morrissey's latter day persona of softie playing it tough. It was a memorably dull performance but the singer, at least, tried to be charismatic. I had been sitting, legs crossed, thinking of those songs and those nights I spent in my earlier adolescence. Gentle strings permeating the smokey air of anticipation.
The atmosphere grew to a climax as "The Operation" drums kicked in, and the lads took to the stage to a clamourous, if not particularly glamorous, vote of approval from the crowd, which consisted of a right bunch of rowdies!
They bowed as we clapped, not in fawning adoration - but with respect for this man.
The chants of "Morrissey, Morrissey" filled the space rather like being at a football match. You could sense the energy and the pain leaving these people's bodies. This was pure catharsis.
"You look so happy. This will change."
So Morrissey.
They ripped into "You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side," the irony of his recent life biting like vitriol. It was weightless but raucous and was a remarkable opening to the show. His West Ham boys' club T-shirt and his propensity for saying West Ham during songs had become apparent even by this stage and it took the sting out of this bitter opening in a risible manner. The "Southpaw Grammar" numbers, "Reader Meet Author" and "Boy Racer" were well-played but are clearly not his best work.
This was my first Morrissey concert - and I had once imagined it would be one of the greatest experiences of my life. During "Boy Racer" I paused for reflection on the changes in my life that have occured recently that have made my emotional development less dependent on Morrissey's music and the realisation dawned on me that I no longer felt I NEEDED Morrissey to feel real. Before Morrissey I felt fake in a way, that somehow I was looking for something that I couldn't hope to find - but now it became clear that loving something as ironic as Morrissey; something so sincere that it's not afraid of marketing its insincerity - had made me open my eyes to the reality - that Morrissey has sacrificed his life in a sense. The man looked desperate.
During a truly beautiful "Trouble Loves Me" he sang "Please fulfill me - Somebody kill me" with wistful abandon as though the only thing that matter at this stage is the legend, whatever that is. The performance was full of grace and a power that could move even the coldest of hearts with its sheer emptiness. "Lost" was delicate and compassionate. "Meat Is Murder" was simply stunning, droning guitar sounds accompanied Morrissey's morbid tones.
"Last Night I dreamt that Somebody Loved Me" finished a soaring night.

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