"Now I am walking through Rome and there is no room to move, but the heart feels free..."
Morrissey is a god. Okay? Damn straight, it’s okay! It’s better than okay...
Jack and I departed from Pendleton a little after 4:00 on Saturday. The CD player spouted Muse, Daft Punk, M83, She Wants Revenge, Depeche Mode, and of course, Morrissey, and we had delightful conversations.
Danny called me while we were on the road, and asked us where we were. The nearest sign had an arrow pointing to a place called Winamac, so I told him about the sign. “Where the fuck is Winamac?” he asked me, and I responded with, “You’re asking me!” It was good to hear from him, though.
We arrived in Merrillville, and we called our respective parents to tell them we had made the trip safely. Jack looked at his phone, and he said, “It cannot be 6:00.” Well, there was a time difference in Merrillville, we discovered, so we had two hours before the concert instead of one. We walked to Denny’s and had dinner there.
We moseyed on over to the theater after eating, and there were a scattering of Moz fans waiting. It was an odd collection, I’ll say.
They opened the doors and let people in, scanning tickets and such. The woman took ours and said, “Oh, well, they’re upgrading the mezzanine tickets to floor, if you’re interested.” Jack and I thought, well, they might be crap seats, but hey, it’s worth a shot. We walked up to the table where they were doing the exchange, and the woman wrote our new seat numbers at the top of our tickets.
We stopped by the merchandise table, and Jack bought a shirt, and I did to. Mine is a pale blue with a pink and white crest that says, “Morrissey Boys Club” on it. Very cute.
We stood outside the doors of the theater, and I looked at the tickets. “Jack,” I said, “Seats A 704 and 705. That’s odd. That can’t be right. That’s too... close.” Then, the usher got the cue to open the door, and he let us in and led us to our new seats.
Our new seats.
Our FUCKING AMAZING new seats.
SIX ROWS FROM THE STAGE! (Well, okay, maybe the seventh, with an aisle in front of us, but STILL!)
I could barely speak. I was jumping around and just... Damn! I was in disbelief.
We were calling and texting and just spreading the news that we just got lucky. Very lucky. Insanely lucky. I was seriously, SERIOUSLY contemplating jumping the stage. It’s a dream.
Kristeen Young came on to open at 8:00. Bah. She hadn’t changed at all since the show at the Murat. I’m still not a fan of hers. Very chatty, though when someone shouted, “I love you!” She had the most melancholy tone when she replied, “Why do you love me?”
The transition between Kristeen Young and the Moz was still the same as the Murat show, and it was still as bizarre, but now I understand one from reading my book on the Smiths, as it was a performance from the New York Dolls on German television, and the New York Dolls was a great influence of Morrissey’s.
Then it was time.
Around 9:00, the white curtain dropped. The backdrop was different from the Murat, as that one had been James Dean, I couldn’t identify this one, but it was still just as good. The show began with a long list of pestilences and horrible things in the world, same as the other show, but this time, when Morrissey came out, he said, “So you’re still here even after all that? Well, let’s hope that will change after this,” or something like that. Then he went into “Stop Me If You Think That You’ve Heard This One Before,” which was awesome, especially since I had wished he played it at the previous show. It was GREAT.
In fact, the setlist had been changed up quite a bit from five months ago. Some of the songs he played, I’ll be honest, I hadn’t listened to that much.
After the first song, he played “Tomorrow,” “I Like You” (And Morrissey, I really do like you! We’re not right in the head!) and “Sister, I’m a Poet.”
He then played “That How People Grow Up,” which I remember him performing on Letterman back in, oh, July or August or so.
He followed with “Jack the Ripper,” and when I first heard the intro, I was turning to Jack and yelling, “Oh my god! Jack the Ripper! I’m so happy! Oh my god!” I’ve had it stuck in my head for weeks, honestly, especially the chorus. It’s beautiful, and the performance was beautiful.
Right after the tranquility of “Jack the Ripper,” they raged right into “London” where strobe lights were going crazy and I just had no time to react to the rapid switch and I was just flipping out with the raw power of it.
Morrissey busted out a tambourine for “The Loop” to follow, and literally busted it at the end and gave pieces to people in the front. Then, he sang “Why Don’t You Find Out For Yourself?” and “Stretch Out and Wait,” made some political remarks about Hilary Clinton and then sang “The World Is Full of Crashing Bores.”
Oh, and then he sang a lovely “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me.” One of those times I just want to go up and give the dear Mozzer a hug.
Then, the Moz sung “Billy Budd,” “All You Need Is Me” (Nice!), “Death of a Disco Dancer,” “Irish Blood, English Heart,” “I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris,” and “One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell.” He made some comments at the end of that song by saying something like, “It’s true, one day goodbye will be farewell,” and the crowd sighed.
Following that, he sang “You Have Killed Me.” But then...oh the breaker for me...
He sang “Dear God Please Help Me.”
I heard the first note and I just... I just wanted to cry. My hands clutched the spot over my heart, and I sang along with him, feeling my heartbeat, feeling weak in the knees, wanting to be held. I could have died.
And after breaking my heart - as getting your heart broken by Morrissey live is vastly different than it is when he breaks it in a recording - he changed the pace so rapidly. I was so glad that he played “How Soon Is Now?” again. It was brilliant all over again, and props must be given to the drummer, for the ending was as fantastic as ever. Morrissey stood near to our side of the stage and pulled off his dress shirt, the buttons falling down, bouncing off the stage.
After that, the band and Morrissey walked backstage, but returned to take bows, Morrissey wearing one of the shirts at the merchandise table reading, “Je Suis Morrissey” on the front and “This is Morrissey’s town. We just live in it.” on the back. They performed “First of the Gang to Die” for the encore. About five or six people jumped the stage, three actually touched Morrissey. After the third person to jump the stage, I took note of the extremely large, increasingly annoyed security guard set a little ways on the stage. If I jumped, this man would immediately slam me to the ground or pick me up and throw me off the stage.
As much as I wanted to jump onstage, my not wanting to confront this security guard overrode my desire. I didn’t want to break every bone in my body for Morrissey, even if that would mean a great story to tell. Even if my rational thinking was waning a bit...
Jack and I left after the show, the song “That’s Life” playing as we exited, my legs wobbly from amazement, blown away by Morrissey’s sheer awesomeness. We got in the car, Jack blasting Muse from the speakers, and we made it back to Pendleton around 2:30 Sunday morning.
Unbelievable. What a show.
I still can’t fathom that it actually occurred, and that I was there..
Jack and I departed from Pendleton a little after 4:00 on Saturday. The CD player spouted Muse, Daft Punk, M83, She Wants Revenge, Depeche Mode, and of course, Morrissey, and we had delightful conversations.
Danny called me while we were on the road, and asked us where we were. The nearest sign had an arrow pointing to a place called Winamac, so I told him about the sign. “Where the fuck is Winamac?” he asked me, and I responded with, “You’re asking me!” It was good to hear from him, though.
We arrived in Merrillville, and we called our respective parents to tell them we had made the trip safely. Jack looked at his phone, and he said, “It cannot be 6:00.” Well, there was a time difference in Merrillville, we discovered, so we had two hours before the concert instead of one. We walked to Denny’s and had dinner there.
We moseyed on over to the theater after eating, and there were a scattering of Moz fans waiting. It was an odd collection, I’ll say.
They opened the doors and let people in, scanning tickets and such. The woman took ours and said, “Oh, well, they’re upgrading the mezzanine tickets to floor, if you’re interested.” Jack and I thought, well, they might be crap seats, but hey, it’s worth a shot. We walked up to the table where they were doing the exchange, and the woman wrote our new seat numbers at the top of our tickets.
We stopped by the merchandise table, and Jack bought a shirt, and I did to. Mine is a pale blue with a pink and white crest that says, “Morrissey Boys Club” on it. Very cute.
We stood outside the doors of the theater, and I looked at the tickets. “Jack,” I said, “Seats A 704 and 705. That’s odd. That can’t be right. That’s too... close.” Then, the usher got the cue to open the door, and he let us in and led us to our new seats.
Our new seats.
Our FUCKING AMAZING new seats.
SIX ROWS FROM THE STAGE! (Well, okay, maybe the seventh, with an aisle in front of us, but STILL!)
I could barely speak. I was jumping around and just... Damn! I was in disbelief.
We were calling and texting and just spreading the news that we just got lucky. Very lucky. Insanely lucky. I was seriously, SERIOUSLY contemplating jumping the stage. It’s a dream.
Kristeen Young came on to open at 8:00. Bah. She hadn’t changed at all since the show at the Murat. I’m still not a fan of hers. Very chatty, though when someone shouted, “I love you!” She had the most melancholy tone when she replied, “Why do you love me?”
The transition between Kristeen Young and the Moz was still the same as the Murat show, and it was still as bizarre, but now I understand one from reading my book on the Smiths, as it was a performance from the New York Dolls on German television, and the New York Dolls was a great influence of Morrissey’s.
Then it was time.
Around 9:00, the white curtain dropped. The backdrop was different from the Murat, as that one had been James Dean, I couldn’t identify this one, but it was still just as good. The show began with a long list of pestilences and horrible things in the world, same as the other show, but this time, when Morrissey came out, he said, “So you’re still here even after all that? Well, let’s hope that will change after this,” or something like that. Then he went into “Stop Me If You Think That You’ve Heard This One Before,” which was awesome, especially since I had wished he played it at the previous show. It was GREAT.
In fact, the setlist had been changed up quite a bit from five months ago. Some of the songs he played, I’ll be honest, I hadn’t listened to that much.
After the first song, he played “Tomorrow,” “I Like You” (And Morrissey, I really do like you! We’re not right in the head!) and “Sister, I’m a Poet.”
He then played “That How People Grow Up,” which I remember him performing on Letterman back in, oh, July or August or so.
He followed with “Jack the Ripper,” and when I first heard the intro, I was turning to Jack and yelling, “Oh my god! Jack the Ripper! I’m so happy! Oh my god!” I’ve had it stuck in my head for weeks, honestly, especially the chorus. It’s beautiful, and the performance was beautiful.
Right after the tranquility of “Jack the Ripper,” they raged right into “London” where strobe lights were going crazy and I just had no time to react to the rapid switch and I was just flipping out with the raw power of it.
Morrissey busted out a tambourine for “The Loop” to follow, and literally busted it at the end and gave pieces to people in the front. Then, he sang “Why Don’t You Find Out For Yourself?” and “Stretch Out and Wait,” made some political remarks about Hilary Clinton and then sang “The World Is Full of Crashing Bores.”
Oh, and then he sang a lovely “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me.” One of those times I just want to go up and give the dear Mozzer a hug.
Then, the Moz sung “Billy Budd,” “All You Need Is Me” (Nice!), “Death of a Disco Dancer,” “Irish Blood, English Heart,” “I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris,” and “One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell.” He made some comments at the end of that song by saying something like, “It’s true, one day goodbye will be farewell,” and the crowd sighed.
Following that, he sang “You Have Killed Me.” But then...oh the breaker for me...
He sang “Dear God Please Help Me.”
I heard the first note and I just... I just wanted to cry. My hands clutched the spot over my heart, and I sang along with him, feeling my heartbeat, feeling weak in the knees, wanting to be held. I could have died.
And after breaking my heart - as getting your heart broken by Morrissey live is vastly different than it is when he breaks it in a recording - he changed the pace so rapidly. I was so glad that he played “How Soon Is Now?” again. It was brilliant all over again, and props must be given to the drummer, for the ending was as fantastic as ever. Morrissey stood near to our side of the stage and pulled off his dress shirt, the buttons falling down, bouncing off the stage.
After that, the band and Morrissey walked backstage, but returned to take bows, Morrissey wearing one of the shirts at the merchandise table reading, “Je Suis Morrissey” on the front and “This is Morrissey’s town. We just live in it.” on the back. They performed “First of the Gang to Die” for the encore. About five or six people jumped the stage, three actually touched Morrissey. After the third person to jump the stage, I took note of the extremely large, increasingly annoyed security guard set a little ways on the stage. If I jumped, this man would immediately slam me to the ground or pick me up and throw me off the stage.
As much as I wanted to jump onstage, my not wanting to confront this security guard overrode my desire. I didn’t want to break every bone in my body for Morrissey, even if that would mean a great story to tell. Even if my rational thinking was waning a bit...
Jack and I left after the show, the song “That’s Life” playing as we exited, my legs wobbly from amazement, blown away by Morrissey’s sheer awesomeness. We got in the car, Jack blasting Muse from the speakers, and we made it back to Pendleton around 2:30 Sunday morning.
Unbelievable. What a show.
I still can’t fathom that it actually occurred, and that I was there..