Moz show in Hamburg, Dec. 8

Morrissey's first concert in Germany since 1992 turned out to be really great, but nevertheless in some aspects, quite a "strange" one. First off, if it hadn't been for the internet, and especially for "Morrissey-solo.com", I suppose there would have been a significantly smaller number of people at the show; as it had been nearly impossible to find out about it. The show had only been announced in two mainstream rock magazines; and even in Hamburg itself there was not one single poster announcing the concert to be found. Indeed, most of the people I talked to told me they had learned about the event from the internet. Seems we're all wide to receive...

When we arrived at the venue at about 4 pm, there were only about ten people waiting. I should mention here that the "Grosse Freiheit 36" is situated in a street full of sex-shops, bordellos etc.; it's Germany's most reknown red-light district (I was shyly hoping that Moz would react towards this and play "Such A Little Thing..."; which of course he didn't), this added an obscure feeling. Among these devotees was the publisher of the great American Moz-zine "True To You", Julia Riley, and wonderful people from all around Germany. The atmosphere was really nice, although the wait seemed to endure ages and it was really getting cold. At about 7 pm a taxi arrived with the band - without Moz. The band entered the club through its back entrance. Boz and the others signed some books etc., but did not stay outside for long... By now, there were a lot more people waiting at the main entrance, and at 10 to 8, we decided to leave our place to get into the club in time.

When the doors opened at 8 pm, there were still tickets on sale, and I really don't know if the show was sold out or not - but I think so, as the club was extremely packed. The atmosphere in the big queue outside, and inside the club, was good, but in no way ecstatic or something. There had to be a lot of "just normal concert-goers" at the show, in no way devoted to Morrissey... I remember the many stupid looks we got for the flowers we were carrying.

Sadly, this rather cool atmosphere was to stay throughout the whole evening. Elcka opened at about 10 minutes past 9, and although their set was okay, I don't think they're something too special. They reminded me a little of Suede (and the singer's appearance and behaviour was similar to German comedian Helge Schneider). Their guitarist greeted the crowd with the words "Hello Hamburgers!".

Elcka finished about 35 minutes later. The tape that was played now contained some nice, but also some real vile tunes... including a reggae song!

At 10 pm, after only a few only half-hearted Morrissey chants, it was finally the time for the well-known drumroll to begin... and it seemed to take forever till its end! When Moz finally got on stage, lots of flowers were thrown towards him (no daffodils, though... impossible to get), most of which he caught and threw back at the audience. The very energetic show started off with "Do Your Best..." and went right on with "Boy Racer", with Morrissey making some explicit gestures with his hips and fingers...

Morrissey did not say much between the songs, apart from some "Thank you"s. But at one point he asked: "What is going to be our next song?" - The crowd answered with "Suedehead", "Jack The Ripper", "Everyday Is Like Sunday" and "Tony The Pony", but after a few seconds, Morrissey murmured: "Nothing."; and the band started to play a haunting version of "The Teachers...", with Morrissey fiercely singing "To be finished would be a relief".

There was a humorous moment, when some guys started chanting something about Eric Cantona. Morrissey looked in their direction and asked: "What did that mean?" - Some murmurs in the crowd. - Moz: "What?" - Silence. - The band begins to play.

Although Morrissey did not say too much, he communicated a lot with his fans: he bowed down to shake hands about a zillion times, and he looked into countless eyes. I was a bit surprised to hear only three songs off Maladjusted, but I was very happy to hear so many Vauxhall songs... although I was disappointed he left out "Hold On To Your Friends", "Sunny" and especially "Nobody Loves Us", one of my favourites.

The whole set was filled with energy and tightness, and unfortunately there was a lot of rough behaviour in the audience. It could not spoil my happiness, but I wish it had been a little less aggressive...

The strangest thing was that in the middle of the set, with the beginning of the wonderful "Now My Heart Is Full", the songs were being played considerably slower than their recorded versions. I can't tell why they did that, but at times - especially in "The More You Ignore Me" - it was really obvious a little speed was missing.

This did not keep the concert from coming to a furious end, with a fantastic version of "Speedway", accompanied by massive stroboscopic lights. Only three people tried and managed to get on the stage (I was, sadly enough, too far away...). Two of them had the chance to embrace and hug Moz, whilst the other one was directly caught by the stage security. All of them were hurled out of the back door and onto the street.

I still have to mention that someone threw a Union Jack flag towards Morrissey, but he caught it and threw it back into the audience.

Interestingly, he altered some of the lyrics: in "Do Your Best...", he sang "This is ME on a bad day, ME on a pale day"; and in "Paint A Vulgar Picture", it was "BPI, BBC, MTV kiss my arse"!! and "Well, maybe: I just haven't earned it yet, baby".

"Shoplifters" was a wonderful ending to the show after 63 minutes, but by that time, I really had no air left to breathe...

All in all, the Mozzer was more than beautiful and the show was fantastic; but I had dreamt of a better audience. Still, I made some wonderful friends, and it was an evening I'll never forget.

VIVA MORRISSEY!

Dominic Saxl, Berlin