Stockton show review

[The Seeker of Good Songs]

If what happened at this show is a thing of things to come, the Sparks show will be riotous..unless they have a lot of security.
Before the set started people got out of their seats and lined the stage, the security wanted everyone back but it was to no avail.

set list
1.The Queen Is Dead
2. Irish Blood English Heart
3. In The Future When All's Well
4. I Just Want To See The Boy Happy
5. Disappointed
6. Suedehead
7. All You Need Is Me
8. Let Me Kiss You
9. Lucky Lisp
10. National Front Disco
11. How Soon is Now
12. You Have Killed Me
13. I've Changed My Plea To Guilty
14. The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
15. Everyday Is Like Sunday
16. Ganglord (Get your fat ass back to the ghetto)
17. I Will See You In Far Off Places
18. Life Is A Pigsty
19. Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want

encore

20. You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side
21. First Of The Gang To Die This song was only partially performed . Many stage invaders got on and it was getting riotous.

The bouncers, who prior to this were taking people off stage politely,but now they were charging them and throwing them off violently. I don't blame them though. The people getting onto the stage were being very rude to old Mogsy.

Morrissey was talkative throughout, but was having sound problems. As he approached the audience end of the stage he was getting feedback, so he would sing most of the time, mid-stage.

He said he liked the Bob Hope Theater because Bob Hope was British.
He said in the begining...Welcome to the start of the....Asparagus Festival.
He talked about Stockton and the TV show Big Valley with Barbra Stanwick?

The music prior to this set was a video of some Spanish TV program, an old concert piece of the New York Dolls, A Wardrobe screen test of James Dan from East of Eden, and I think, Bridget Bandeau in an old video,,her by an old Rolls Royce.

There are 10 different shirts being sold for $35. A belt buckle for $20 and a Money Clip for $15.

On charcoal in color and one brown with a younger Morrissey picture on the front With America 2007 on the back.

A white Seasons T and one called Morrissey cream Tattoo.
A navy blue saying Morrissey Greatest hits 2007 with a screening of a pair of boxing gloves.
also a girlie T and a blur beater type and a white beater type with same greatest hits. (I think that was all)



And yours truly made a mark with old Mogsy. When Pigsty was started I took out my prepared banner/sign, and as he looked my direction, I held it up and I saw him read it...."I CAN"T REACH YOU ANYMORE" I was near he stage n the right but not at stage edge.

As the song progressed, and it came to that line of the song, he came to my end of the stage and I was holding the sign up. He came to me and those around and in front..I leaned in and reached toward me and squeezed/shook my hand!!!! He then back off toward stage middle, and as he did, I tossed my sign toward him, and it hit him in the head/face. ( I didn't intend that to happen) He then took the sign, looked a little at it and tucked an end of it into his trousers and it hung down his leg. He finished the song, went off stage and came back with a changed shirt. My sign was left in the back I guess.

He changed shirt 2 times. First shirt went into th crowd.

Oh...after he went off stage to change shirt..I wrote a little not saying "I apologize for throwing my sign in your face." and put my em,ail address on it. I threw this onto the stage. The bouncer picked up the note. So don't know if Moz will see/read it. I hope so.

That is all. It is late..and I can't hear out of my right ear from standing next to the speaker stack. I actually chewed up some paper and made wads for each ear as ear plugs because it was so loud. Helped a little. What?

TA TA

 

[Abrahan]

nice.

 

[TommyDaniels]

Seeker - that was you with the sign?! I was in the balcony 2nd row and saw you waving the sign on the right side of the stage when the line of the song was coming up; once you threw it at him I wasn't sure what Moz would do but the place errupted in thunderous applause when he tucked it in his trousers. Awesome!!

T

 

[Arsenal]

That sounded like a great show. Wish I could have been there.

 

[nobodysxhero]

haha, was it you who had made a "you're the bee's knees" sign, as well? i caught a glimpse of that out of the corner of my eye..

 

[TommyDaniels]

Well, in addition to the above, I suppose I'll give my take on the show as well. First off, I didn't even know this show was coming up until I saw a local commercial on VH1 this past Tuesday evening adverstising the gig at the Bob Hope Theater (I live about 20 minutes south of Stockton). It was at this point that I realised that I had seen the advertisement for his tour in Rolling Stone in print, but for some reason I idiotically overlooked the first line showing he was indeed playing in Stockton.

At any rate, I was delighted to find out it wasn't sold out and scored a single ticket in the second row of the balcony, middle-left. I got to the show in time to catch the opening act of Kristeen Young. Upon entering the venue I was greeted with a gaggled crowd of Moz fans boozin' it up mingle style in the lower level impromptu bar area, respectively. Heading upstairs, I found my seat and plugged in mentally. Kristeen's set up is interesting; Kristeen was playing a self-sparkled keyboard/piano on the right side of the stage (a Korg I believe), with her drummer effectively pounding away on the left side. Kristeen was dressed in an interesting get-up comprised of a funked out dress complete with plastic six-pack type rings flowing down her arms, black boots and a gussied up futuristic head in line. Her set was interesting as well; solid drumming, distorted paino in most songs, with sweet yet distinct vocals.

Interestingly while she was performing, during the break between each song, an extremely drunken Moz fan situated only a few mere rows behind me was screaming "MORRISSEY!!!!" over, and over, and over, and over, and over (etc./etc.)... you get the point. I'm sure this happens from time to time at M shows, but this guy was LOUD and RELENTLESS (rewind/repeat). Kristeen even responded to the onslaught on stage by saying something along the lines of "I thought you kept saying Dorothy". Evidently from the repeated sounds of it, this guy genuinely believed that through his liquor laden drunken verbal shouts Morrissey would magically start playing at hat drop. At one point, others in attendance became fed up with this bloke and started shouting prolific responses which shut him up for awhile.

Kristeen finished up to be what I experienced a solid set, and even though this was my first personal time listening to her, I was impressed with her set, her interesting distorted keyboarding, and her drummer. Nicely.

Once she ended her set, people immediately began collecting together down near the stage, full range. The mood was thick with anticipation, and was almost surreal. It was at this point that a series of interesting clips were projected onto the white sheet/screen behind the stage; these clips were essentially comprised of various older material from various sources, New York Dolls included. The aesthetic of this presentation was absolutely Morrissey-esque, for obvious reasons. About 15 minutes or so into this intermission, the security guarding the stage got personnel back-up and en masse attempted to get everyone back to their seats. They succeeded, but only for about 5 minutes, which at that point an even larger collaboration was fronted and the stage was once again the property of the fans.

The lights dimmed... the applause was extended and thunderous, as expected. As the large white sheet/projector screen fell to the ground upon release, the audience was presented with the main instrumental display and the complete scene, dazzled with a large stage dwarfing black & white photo poster on the back left side of the stage. I did not immediately recognize the male on the poster, but it looked like either James Dean or an individual in that visual spectrum. Four large multicolored flood ligths immediately came to life on stage in the color of red and began scanning the crowd while an ambient song with female spoken word vocals containing statements and words of hardship played for a few moments.

Then, Morrissey and the band took the stage. Everyone was screaming; everyone was happy. Moz opened with "The Queen Is Dead" and blew myself and the crowd away. Excellent. As the set rolled on, it wasn't until a few songs into the material that the first stage invader mustered up the courage to attempt to do what many had on their minds. As such, security apprehended the rushing fan quite quickly and politely removed him from the venue. Set continued, and "Lucky Lisp" commenced, much to the collective's approval.

Morrissey removed his reddish tie (I think that was the color) during the first song, and threw his first dark/black shirt into the crowd a few songs down the line. A scuffle surely ensued for the prized piece of clothing, and was witnessed.

It was around "How Soon Is Now" that the drunken "MORRISSEY!!" guy that I was talking about earlier came and SAT NEXT TO ME. Of all places... ahh well. Drenched in hard booze, glands seeping rum & vodka out of many-o-pore, he asked if he could sit next to me in an empty seat, and I obliged. As the whafting aroma of liquor invaded the space around me and others surrounding, "Drunken Fan #1" commenced jumping around crazily, hugging all of those in sight, and yes, repeating the "MORRISSEY!!" battle cry that he become so famous for CONTINUOUSLY. He continued to go absolutely nuts and kept grabbing me and saying "DUDE I LOVE MORRISSEY!!" while effectively drooling on me repeatedly. At one point he stated to me that he was "going to jump on stage and "RIP OFF ALL OF HIS DAMN CLOTHES DAMMIT!!". In hindsight, he may have been one of the later stage invaders. Never the less, his spirits were high (no pun intended) and after the "RIP OFF ALL OF HIS DAMN CLOTHES DAMMIT!!" proclamation, he stumbled off into the masses - results unknown at this point. Surely a story, none the less.

Moving on, "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side" was INCREDIBLE and was well received by all, most definitely. Rocking through the remainder of the set, Morrissey bowed out and immediately anyone who wasn't already on their feet at the time were quickly on them, demanding an encore whilst cheering feverishly. Moz and the crew were back on stage to open the encore with "You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side". It was then that the stage invaders, while increasing numerically and in intensity over the course of the night, really began to show their game face.

Again, thunderous applause at the end of the aforementioned track - then it was into "First Of The Gang To Die". The track was a HUGE hit with the crowd, and even those patrons within eye sight of me that were minimal on movement throughout the night got up and started dancing and singing along to this seminal tune. Evidently, the song proved too much for the Stockton audience and the stage invaders started going CRAZY! At first it was one, then two, then a boy, then a girl - next thing you know it was almost total chaos up on stage, with multiple fans clawing their way through the battlefield to get a simple touch at Morrissey. Numerous beefcake chunk bouncer security folks were tackling and flinging people off stage. One guy was slammed to the ground quite hard and you could hear a "thud" throughout the theater from his impact on the stage. Finally, in a last ditch attempt, Morrissey was trying to maneuver around the crawling/tackled souls on stage rippling for his embrace when one stage jumper in particular made it past the security threshold and began ripping Morrissey's shirt off, ripping his medallion and microphone away from him in the process.

At this point, Moz had seen enough and exited stage left with haste, casting a small, quick low wave goodbye to the first show of the tour. The band quickly followed suit. Everyone was quite shocked and the "Morrissey!" chants rolled on through until the lights were turned back on in the venue and in a bit of irony, "That's Life" by Frank Sinatra was then belted out over the houses sound system with volume, much to the chagrin of the crowd. Upon exiting the theater, I overheard many people stating how Morrissey would probably never play Stockton again because of all of the stage rushers. This is of course to be determined.

The security was polite ushering us in and only until things really got out of hand did the stage security really have to start getting super serious with the rushers. There were just simply too many coming at Morrissey, too fast, at every angle possible eventually. I don't blame Morrissey.

Aftering the sobering end of the concert, back out to the warm Stockton night I went. I proceeded around the back side of the venue and waited with a group of about 30-40 Moz fans by his tour bus. The mood out back was a bit in limbo, seeing as how the show itself initially ended. Eventually, after about 30 minutes, many characters ammased in the gated area immediately outside the back theater exit, including the obvious stage crew, security, gear heads and even a few Stockton cops. Then, a dark dressed fellow with a black beanie hustled to a bus accompanied by staff; at first nobody realised it, but it was Moz. Morrissey continued to his bus, off into the night.

All in all I thought it was a great show; Morrissey was awesome. Moz did have some mic problems, particularly feedback from the mic when he was close to the crowd, and also seemed to forget some lyrics. The one instance that sticks out in my mind was during 'Suedehead' when he sang "All the things I knew you'd written about me...", at which he kind of made an "oops face", but who's counting, eh?

Again a wonderful night, and if you made it this far, thanks for reading. It was a great show, even with all the quirks - but then again, what is a Morrissey show without a few curveballs? I'm still glowing from the experience and know that this one will be with me for a long time.

Cheers From CA,

Tommy Daniels

 

[vicarinatutugal]

Brilliant review Tommy, I have to say I am utterly sick with jealousy, I fear this is how I am going to feel till the tour is over.

 

[dislocate my shoulder]

Great review, thanks a lot.

 

[Uncleskinny]

A navy blue saying Morrissey Greatest hits 2007 with a screening of a pair of boxing gloves.

So it IS a Greatest Hits tour. I had this daft thought about him running through a load of songs through the back catalogue. We know there's some he hates, like Journalists Who Lie, Get Off The Stage, I Don't Owe You Anything. I really wish I could be at some of those shows, you lucky, lucky people.

Peter

 

[Grim O'Grady]

TSoGS oh you lucky bugger, you must let us know what Moz emails you?

How big was that banner you whacked him with & what was it made of? It's a shame he didn't sing you have killed me after pigsty, 'coz you could have thrown it at him then?

thanks for the review

love

Grim

 

[Walkers Crisp]

Thanks for the reports. I'm terribly jealous of you all...("The Queen Is Dead"..oh my.....)

 

[Chartres]

Wow, amasing news. Unbeliveable amasing. Allthough I don't think it sounds as a greatest hits tour, would be very un-Moz. But hey, I'm usually wrong. Now all I need is to see him play at Way Out West in Slottskogen. Otherwise I will hav to fly.

Nice to see You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side but I'm not very surprised, remember that it was widly rumoured to have been played at the second Karlstad gid last August. And a question about The Queen Is Dead, did it sound similair to what it did in 1997?

I'm also very concerned how The Boy With The Thorn In His Side id sound, remember how The Headmaster Ritual had problems coming to life in 2004.

 

[Claudia2006]

What a great read! Thanks for the reviews. So amazing.... I wish I could have been there.

Someone posted this on the main board and I love what they said so much I'm quoting it here for anybody who missed it:

As Morrissey left the venue...
... with a knit cap pulled tightly over his head and trying to look incognito on the way to the tour bus, you should have seen the smirk (you know the one, where he's smiling while biting the inside of his cheek) on his face. As much as he chose to not finish FOTGTD, events like last night add to the legend even more.

Think about it. The first show of his North American tour and forevermore his history will document yet another show (even at this stage of his career) where the fans are just to fervent a force for the security to handle, and Morrissey has to be escorted off for his protection.

Brilliantly played.
Troy's Keen -- Saturday April 28 2007, @08:11AM

edited to say: And I'm against stage invasions like the one that happened last night. But still..... I can see how romantic an idea it is. Just don't hurt Moz! No tackling!

 

[Anais Pin]

Brilliant review Tommy, I have to say I am utterly sick with jealousy, I fear this is how I am going to feel till the tour is over.

Me too, I could actually throw up... Thanks Tommy for a great review, glad you enjoyed our boy.

 

[moz'art girl]

Thanks for your reviews! God, the mood was electric! The American tour begins well...You have made a great welcome to the legend...

 

[in_a_loveless_world]

Did anyone take pictures? Was it easy to sneak your camera in?

 

[The Seeker of Good Songs]

haha, was it you who had made a "you're the bee's knees" sign, as well? i caught a glimpse of that out of the corner of my eye..

That was my sign as well, yes.
I only held it up briefly. I'm not sure if Morrissey noticed it..he was looking in my direction, and made a kind of grimace face, but not sure if it was the sign or what.

 

[The Seeker of Good Songs]

TSoGS oh you lucky bugger, you must let us know what Moz emails you?

How big was that banner you whacked him with & what was it made of? It's a shame he didn't sing you have killed me after pigsty, 'coz you could have thrown it at him then?

thanks for the review

love

Grim

The sign was about 30 inch by 15 inch. 2 lines:
I CANT REACH
YOU ANYMORE


Ironically, the sign was made out of an old trouser leg. Painted with poster paint and glitter glue. (Home school art project!)

There was a notice outside the venue with all the "No's"..backpack, chain wallet, cameras signs...)...so I snuck my sign into the venue, ironically again, inside my trousers.

I had no intention to throw the sign to him, because i was going to use it tonigh at the Sparks show where it would have been more fitting. But after he came to me and acknowledged the sign with a hand shake to me, I couldn't resist tossing it up to him. I had no intention of hitting him with it, especially in the face. Afterwards, on the way home, I was kicking myself for not talking to the stage bouncer, who lingered after the show was over and was passing out waters. I should have told him to give Morrissey my apologies. I did shake his hand but didn't think to talk to him.

Made a new sign for tonight at Sparks. Tonight I will be with the Mrs. in the balcony. She is preganant (for the last time) and she needed a seat. We will be at balcony edge and hopefully he will see the sign tonight.

My hearing still isn't right in my right ear. Sounds like a science fiction UFO buzzing around.

On the main site there is talk that security was out of hand. I disagree. In the beginning when people were getting on stage they bouncers were fairly polite..to the girls anyway. The guys invading were being aggressive so the bouncers need to be agressive back. During the encore, the bouncers were getting outnumbered by invaders and the invders were not treating old Mogsy with respect, so the bouncers were charging and throwing the invaders off. If Morrissey get hurt on stage, they are the ones held responsible for his safety. NO? May hats off to the security. Its one thing to get on stage to shake Morrissey's hand or touch him, but to tackle him, rip his shirt off and grab his jewelry is out of hand. If He wants the fans to have his shirt he throws it out to the crowd.

Off to Sparks soon.

Do you think he will email?

 

[The Seeker of Good Songs]

Did anyone take pictures? Was it easy to sneak your camera in?

There were a lot of cell phone cameras and a few thin digital cameras.

I was going to bring mine in but I observed how security was checking people entering and saw one guy go back to his car with his camera so I knew I couldn't get in with mine. I was going to put it in my trousers between my legs, but didn't think I could get away with it. No room, and they were using security wands..metal detectors.

Why do they allow cellphones and blackberries in but not a regular camera?

I did take some pics of the venue..opne is above, but also around back. The had two semi truck trailors for the equipment and three tour busses. I took pictures of those as well, will post on monday if anyone is interested. OLd Mogsy was probably snacking in his bus when I took the picture. Too bad he didn't peek his head out.

He did mention the Asparagus festival. Wonder if he went in.

 

[Zenith Nadir]

Fantastic reports Tommy & seeker.