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Monday March 27, 06
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05:46 PM - HE DID NOT CANCEL
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The first date of the tour to run by me, and Morrissey did not disappoint. What a day - I gained a new job, another toy panda, a new friend as well as seeing El Moz - how the hell can I begin to describe this to you? Maybe a track listing:
You Have Killed Me
The Youngest Was The Most Loved
I Just Want To See The Boy Happy
I Will See You In Far-Off Places
Filmed at Koko, in the southern bit of Camden, this concert will be televised in the UK at the end of the week. In fact, it will be the only piece of UK TV promotion - Sanctuary adverts aside - in aid of the new single. I feel privileged to have been there.
I nearly wasn't. I had the world's worst tube journey getting to Mornington Crescent from White City. Well, I know you don't care, but I had to change routes four times, was delayed by all of twenty minutes and was on the verge of committing acts of extreme violence immediately prior to reaching the venue. The great British travelling public had a lucky escape, although I must admit that I was quite inexcusably rude to certain people, including - sorry to say - one or two old age pensioners. Oaths were emitted at high volume; I'm sorry, but it couldn't be helped. All in all, my efforts at remaining composed and possibly-almost-sophisticated-if-you-squinted-a-bit entirely blighted, nay nixed, by London Bastard Transport.
If it had just been me on me own I may not have even got in, but I had two dear friends, to whom I had gifted tickets, who had a word with the guy on the door on my behalf, so we could all just walk in as soon as I got there. I feel truly fortunate to know such lovely people. They don't share my sickness, but they did this wonderful thing for me all the same. I'll have to get them both tickets to Al Pal or something.
ANYWAY, so I have laboured, I have suffered, I have benefitted from the kindness of dear friends and I am in. The four of us look around Kokos. There are people here, but not many discerable Moz fans. Where the hell was everyone...??? I do, however, recognise the rentinue of great lumbering blokes camped out on the bars at the front row. Some of them quite familiar faces. Ah yes, I think, it's been a while since I saw Morrissey in concert, but this is what it's like. I haven't got a bar to hold on to so I will get truly squished.
Friends retire to the bar, while I plan to get myself on the other bar somehow. I cajoled another friend of mine to get as close to the stage as we could, and we got in the equivalent of second / third row, right in the middle, behind the Moz lookalike (the 23rd?). And there we stayed.
THANKYOU BTW, to the lovely, lovely man who voluteered to move back so that we could budge forward. Giving quarter to short female persons should always be applauded in a concert situation. Actually, I got the impression that he was not really much of a Moz fan, so it probably wasn't a huge sacrifice for him, but I was touched even so.
And then, all of a sudden, Morrissey was there. Black suit, red shirt, looking like Morrissey. Not overly excited to be back in Camden, I don't think, but there to go through the motions for the camera with just the necessary amount of aplomb - such a pro. He looked better than I had been led to expect; he's a big guy too, these days. I was close enough to see the blues of his eyes, which is always good. My friend got a glance from him as he took to the stage. But she did turn up to the venue at a decent time, unlike me, so she deserved it.
Lack of Mozaddict critical mass means that the audience side of it doesn't really get going. Response is ecstatic in some parts of the audience, but there's not much of a feeling abroad generally. Everyone says rooted to the spot. Unfortunately, I think it's difficult to get away from that if you're filming a TV programme, although that's obviously precisely what Channel 4 are trying to do with this programme.
The voice, I am relieved to say, sounded superb throughout. I think it's fair to say that Moz has recovered from the flu. Despite the lack of audience action - how I missed the pushing and shoving - I think this will make a very good TV recording.
Atmosphere notes done; specifics to follow:
YHKM - Moz changes lyrics to "Tony Visconti is me"
TYWTML - this really sounded excellent; I think it's one of those songs that really comes into its own in the live setting. The coda was very effective; possibly the best bit of the entire gig. Oh, and Morrissey got his maracas out. They were green.
IJWTSTBH - ditto; the addition of trombonist was hugely appreciated by the audeince, but Moz standing back to listen to him was even better: he had this look on his face which was pure 'Ah, yes, just listen to my trombonist'. It doesn't readily lend itself to description, but you'll see it soon enough.
One bit of Moz banter before the last song - Moz asks the audience about Lynn Perrie. Can't remember exactly what was said, but I do remember finding it in me to say something astonishingly stupid. Ah well. If you're going to do it, you may as well be recorded doing it.
IWSYIFOP - Moz changes words to "hard for our flesh to combine", which I think is now pretty standard for this song. The sound was a bit dodgy in the first verse, to my ears. I think this one needs to, uh, rock a bit harder. You'll see what I mean when the TV recording's broadcast. It has the potential to be absolutely enormous, and it's almost there - there's this amazing, overpowering bit of FX half way through in the "Destiny, for some..." verse. The whole thing needs to have that intensity, in my worthless uneducated opinion.
Some of the less Moz-literate members of the audience were visibly shocked by the "If the USA doesn't bomb you" line.
And that was that. Off went Moz. We cheered Boz as he left the stage and he gave us a thumbs up. Some other bands came on after that, but I don't care and neither do you. I was in the bar busting brain cells and gibbering.
The evening went on, of course, in similarly entertaining vein, but I'm not going to write about it here. A good day, all in all. I am actually happy.
& I'm really looking forward to Paris. It's less than two weeks to go now. In fact, I can't help looking around the house to see what I could sell to get me more tickets. I will stop myself doing that, but still - I'm a hopeless case, and I don't care.
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Thanks for the analysis; now I MUST NOT forget to record it!