Morrissey at Hammerstein Ballroom
On Saturday, Nicole and I finally got to see Morrissey for the first time. A series of show cancellations, poorly-timed travel plans, and forgetful ticket-buying had kept me from catching any of the previous shows since I moved to New York, so although I’m in the midst of another cold and felt like hell I was still glad to drag myself out of bed and down to Hammerstein.
Although I had a great time, I have to say I had no idea how fucking insane Morrissey fans in general actually are. I’ve seen a lot of shows with rough crowds and bad mosh pits - Nine Inch Nails at MSG in 2000 comes to mind - but this time I got pushed and shoved and trampled and bruised more thoroughly than I ever would have thought possible. We are, after all, talking about Morrissey. I can’t really complain too much given that at the end of the mad rush to the stage I ended up one row back from the barricade where I had a much better view than I had during the opener. Yeah, seven foot tall guy who reeked of pot and body odor, I’m talking about you.
I also ran into my friend Torchie and her boyfriend in the crowd before the opener. I hadn’t seen her in person in years, so we had a great time drinking and catching up before the show started. After that, we were sadly swept apart by a sea of frenzied Morrissey fans.
All in all, though, the show was excellent, Moz sounded great, and the setlist was almost perfect. And I got to giggle at the fight that broke out next to me over both the sweaty shirts he peeled off and tossed into the crowd. There’s already at least one video from the show up on YouTube, shot by someone a couple people to the right of me. And here’s the whole setlist, if you’re interested:
- Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before
- The Last Of The Famous International Playboys
- You Have Killed Me
- The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
- Irish Blood, English Heart
- I Like You
- Jack The Ripper
- I Just Want To See The Boy Happy
- The National Front Disco
- Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
- Why Don’t You Find Out For Yourself?
- All You Need Is Me
- The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
- Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want
- I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris
- Sister, I’m A Poet
- The Loop
- Death Of A Disco Dancer
- Stretch Out And Wait
- Dear God, Please Help Me
- How Soon Is Now?
- First Of The Gang To Die
Jack the Ripper, Sister I’m a Poet, and the Loop… that is the trifecta of awesome Morrissey b-sides, very cool.
You know, I envy you so much, I missed my only chance to see him ever, about a year ago, in Mexico City… I wish I could live in NY…
In any case, I like your blog, a lot, haven’t read it in months. Juts wanted to say hi.