Last night E and I went over to Oakland and saw Morrissey for the second time. The first time we saw him, I was 17 and it was E's 19th birthday. It was in New York, at Madison Square Gardens. The Gardens was PACKED. And I tell you, there was nothing like the feeling when the lights went up, he walked on stage, and the crowd. Went. Wild. *swoony sigh*
Last night was different. The Paramont was actually a much better venue. Still large, but small enough to have an almost intimate feel. Which, is really what you want with Morrissey. Maybe I'm letting my angsty teenage self show through a bit too much, but I still want to reach out and hold him and tell him that it will be okay, he will find love.
The show was great. He did a great mix of old and new songs, including stuff from The Smiths. E and I were blown away when he opened with The Queen Is Dead. Last time he didn't play any Smiths' songs, but it was '91 and the Kill Uncle tour and I'm sure he was still trying to establish himself on his own. He sang Panic, Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want, How Soon Is Now? and The Boy With a Thorn In His Side. He also played my most favoritest solo song, Everyday Is Like Sunday.
What was really fun is to see that he's not taking himself so seriously these days. Yes, we still got a speech about not eating animals and buying organic and some anti-war reteroric. He hasn't quite reached the William Shatner level of self-parady, but he's having fun with it. It's so obvious that he loves what he does, that he loves playing to the crowd (bending down to shake hands with those in the first row), that he knows what we want and even though we've wanted it for 20+ years he's still happy to give it to us. And yes, he did take his shirt off 1/2 way through the show. Not too bad for a 48 year old guy.
Okay, time to get to work, put the iPod on the Morrissey/Smiths playlist and shuffle away the day.
