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Morrissey
Aragon Ballroom
Filter Grade: 96%
by Nahall Sadeghi
Morrissey has always had a penchant for making his shows out to be like a religious experience, and the night truly had its amens and hallelujahs in tow. The night set off with The Smiths classic, "Panic" and was accentuated by all the awkwardly placed body gestures only the charming man himself could demonstrate. After the song's end, the Moz claimed "It's been many, many years since I first played this fabulous venue. It's my pleasure to say they finally have some decent toilet paper, so things are definitely looking up!" So take note people. Should you ever want the Pope of Mope to return to your favorite local venue, make sure its sanitation products get upgraded.
Of course, it wouldn't be a Morrissey show without that crafty, lyrical wordplay of his. During "In The Future When All's Well" he switched it up to 'Living longer than I had intended/ Something must have gone wrong' highlighted by his signature headshake of sorrow and vile disappointment. Oh Morrissey, you clever, clever swine!
Keeping within the vein of disappointment was the performance of "Dear God, Please Help Me". From the exaggerated, sexualized vocal delivery of the lyrics 'There are explosive kegs/ Between my legs…Now I'm spreading your legs/ With mine in between', to the difficult manner in which he was using his arms to carve the air around him, all I could think was 'Dear God, this man needs a hug.' Naturally then, my mind wandered off to far more important and debatable matters such as whether or not his moniker of Mozza was a derivation of mozzarella, whether or not PETA would certify such a designation, and guesstimating just how many of Morrissey's male disciples in this here audience had fully developed man crushes on the lad.
The man's impending effort of Let's-attack-on-something-American came about in the form of scrutiny on the American press and its lack of penning the Moz's name at all. Morrissey, of course, made the mistake of asking the audience why this has been so (which I still maintain was done in a rhetorical fashion, at least for his sake), to which some haggardly looking creature shouted back "Because you're crap!". Big mistake, bro. Concertgoers should never underestimate Morrissey's fanbase as they hold the Triple M Threat: Miserable, Morose and MILITANT. Thankfully (and expectantly), an inanimate object was projected from a nearby distance and settled its rightful speed against the creature's head. Morrissey himself retaliated in saucy fashion with "No, it's not because I'm crap…Shut up!".
The performance carried on strongly with rare gems like The Smiths "Girlfriend In A Coma" and "William, It Was Really Nothing", his own "The National Front Disco", and the tasteful b-side "I've Changed My Plea To Guilty" whereby the gangly looking fellow to my left felt it absolutely necessary to squeal at ungodly decibels and offer "I've requested this eleventeen times! AAHHHH!". But the night was captured most accurately in "Life Is A Pigsty" having Morrissey reach out to the audience while singing 'Every second of my life/ I only live for you' and later attaching a somber tone to the action with 'I can't reach you anymore'. However, Morrissey's performance at the Aragon Ballroom only went to further prove that he's still within reach and that our hands will continue to be outstretched.
SETLIST:
Panic / First Of The Gang To Die / The Youngest Was The Most Loved / You Have Killed Me / Disappointed / Ganglord / William, It Was Really Nothing / Everyday Is Like Sunday / Dear God, Please Help Me / Let Me Kiss You / I've Changed My Plea To Guilty / In The Future When All's Well / I Will See You In Far-off Places / Girlfriend In A Coma / Irish Blood, English Heart / Life Is A Pigsty / How Soon Is Now? / I Just Want To See The Boy Happy / The National Front Disco // Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want
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