Bridgewater Hall by day
If any of the 4 gigs I've seen on the British ROTT tour were memorable, this one would be it. It's the first - and probably the last - time I will get validated by Morrissey himself at a concert. No, I didn't make it on stage or anything - no one did, to be perfectly honest, as the security guards were something ugly this evening - but I did receive acknowledgment from the man, something I didn't think I'd *ever* get from any of my musical heroes. As Morrissey has meant so much to me over the last 3 years, this gig really takes the cake for me.
I'd also say that this review will probably be the most detailed in terms of the time leading up to the concert starting, partially because Bridgewater Hall was so close to where I was staying and I saw it everyday when I left my hotel to go exploring.
Mozzer's head next to someone else's big head - pfffttt
Morrissey shaking the maracas at the end of "The Youngest was the Most Loved"
Moz and Boz in the red light (no, Roxanne was not involved...)
I paid 67 quid (yeah, I know...:P) for my 6th row aisle ticket, on the right side of the stage. If you've been to a Morrissey gig before, you know that he rarely comes over to stage left during a concert. He likes to hover around stage right or smack dab in the middle of the stage. Maybe it's because he doesn't mind standing right in front of Boz and Gary, and he wants to showcase Jesse and Mike more? I dunno. But having been to 5 of his gigs so far in my lifetime, he's almost never comes to the audience's right hand side of the stage, which is a shame because that's where I was for my first Morrissey concert in D.C., and for the Bridgewater gig too, even though I was close up for both gigs (I had a 5th row ticket for DAR 2 years ago). Given the roughness of security - and not knowing how bad the security is in general, since this was my first-ever run-in with security guards at a rock concert - I don't think I'll be queueing for a standing-only Moz gig in the future. I sustained my first - and hopefully my last - Morrissey concert scars.
Here's the setlist from mozzolo.
First Of The Gang To Die / Still Ill / You Have Killed Me / The Youngest Was The Most Loved / I Just Want To See The Boy Happy / Let Me Kiss You / Girlfriend In A Coma / To Me You Are A Work Of Art / Human Being / I Will See You In Far-off Places / Life Is A Pigsty / Trouble Loves Me / Ganglord / At Last I Am Born / In The Future When All's Well / How Soon Is Now? // Irish Blood, English Heart
I really tried to stretch out the time before I went into the gig, but since my hotel was so close to the hall (literally 2 minutes' walking time from the Premier Inn GMEX) and was so anxious about being up so close during the gig, I went early. This was the only concert they really checked bags for cameras, though once inside, I saw many people with their cameras and security did nothing to stop them. There was even this one guy with the balls to constantly flash his large camera at Kristeen Young during her set. I think he was taking photos during Tiger Army too, but I was so annoyed by the lack of security's interest in him and his camera, I figured everyone and their grandmother would be taking pictures later when Morrissey took the stage.
Before I went to my seat, I got into a convo with Brian, a short, mustached local guy who normally works at Urbis in town but was there at acting as as a medical services' liaison in case anyone got injured at the concert. Superb guy, he was dead surprised to hear that I was from the United States. I came and went several times from my seat and every time I re-entered, he waved me on. Once he came into the hall and noted that I was scribbling furiously into my journal, he said, "you're writing the great novel in there, aren't you?" What I was really doing, my friends, was writing it all down so I'd have something to tell all of you later.
Bridgewater Hall is, as described by my local friends, very posh, reminding me of the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in a lot of ways. Acoustically, I can see how this place is a great little venue for classical concerts. According to Brian, the hall has only been around since 1996, and it's not showing any signs of wear. It all looks brand new. That's before the Morrissey fans got there - haha - but note, Moz only threw one of his shirts to the crowd, I think he knew that if he threw a second, the crowd would go nuts and destroy the place. The faucets in the bathroom have to be the fanciest, sleekest things I've ever seen. To turn on the water, you flip this rod protruding out of a small metal drum that's attached to the faucet. Voila! Let there be water. I also noticed that the toilet paper had paisley print. Can you believe it? I started to have a better appreciation for Kristeen Young at this concert - I thought, well, if Moz likes her music, there must be something more to it that I am missing. When she first took the stage, there were probably only a handful of people in the hall. As you can imagine, she was the last person anyone there wanted to hear. But I have to give her props for mentioning a British fan of hers who wrote to her everyday on her site (awww!) and wearing those up-to-the-knee silver high-heeled boots, just looking at them was painful enough. I still think she's a shrieker though. Her drummer was great, but her voice leaves little to be desired.
Next was Tiger Army. They're a three-piece from Los Angeles, and this was their first night (taking the place of Sons and Daughters, whose last gig with Moz was the previous night at the opera house. You know, I was really warming up to them. They did a cover of Eddie Cochran's "Be-Bop-A-Lula" (which all good Beatles fans know is the song that Paul McCartney auditioned to get into the Quarry Men). Peppering his in-between banter with self-deprecating humor (gee, WHO does that remind you of?), the lead singer was so charismatic I thought he might jump out from the stage into the audience, as by then, the front couple rows were starting to fill up, some with people with actual tickets up there but mostly people who thought if they hung around and looked like they belonged, they had a chance of staying there. It didn't work out that way, because security made sure later the people that were in the seats WERE the right people. Julia even got kicked out of a seat when a couple approached a guard to tell him that someone was in their seat. I made note of the yellow-shirted security guards, and one "head" guard on our side that looked like the American chef/playboy Rocco Dispirito, if he had one too many hamburgers. I looked above at all the fancy speakers and light fixtures hanging from above, I couldn't believe this was where I was going to see Morrissey perform. Looked more like a recital hall that I might have played piano in, back when I was still taking piano lessons, before I was 12. The wood paneling and the newness of everything was just a breath of fresh air to me. You probably could have eaten off the floor. This was nothing like the Apollo 2 days earlier. No, this was going to be something completely different.
As soon as the lights went down on "You'll Never Walk Alone," there was this terrible scuffling to get to the front via the aisles - I figured if I managed to get up front, I'd stay there, but after being turned back the first time I quit trying, especially with the guards bellowing, "get back to your seats!" and waving their fists. One particularly idiotic kid with a digicam stood in the middle of the aisle and gestured with his hands as if to say sorry (but not really) to the guards, I really wished they'd just boot him bum out of there, as he stepped on me several times and never once turned around to apologize. Another guy, dressed like one of the Specials, said the guards should "f' off" after they'd been through pushing people back into the seating areas from the aisles. He told me to do the same when I put up a fight when he stood in front of me. Now, having actually had a seat, I did not enjoy this, because that meant random people were pushed *into* me who weren't supposed to be there. I don't know why I ended up apologizing to someone else when I had stepped on a woman's foot, since now I realize she was trying to take *my* seat. There was a time where the Rocco Dispirito guy came over, whisking people backwards to where they were supposed to be, and I pulled out my ticket, complaining, "I can't see anything from here! Everyone is standing in my way," and he was actually nice about it. Bless 'im and Brian.
Morrissey started out the show with a brown shirt on. He later ditched it in favor of a light sky blue number, probably after "To Me You Are a Work of Art" or "Life is a Pigsty," I don't remember. For the entire show, you could see he had a necklace of some sort on, and the two rings (both on the 4th fingers of their corresponding hands) were seen as well. Jockeying for position to even see the stage above the hooligans, I barely got my camera off fast enough a couple times to take some snapshots, which you see above. The first one should have probably been deleted, but I wanted it as a record that it was near impossible to get photos from my vantage point, because I could have tried and taken some photos but they would have either not had Moz in them or they wouldn't be clear since I couldn't see what I was taking pictures of.
I rather liked "Human Being" - the New York Dolls cover. It definitely brought the mood of the crowd up, and it's a great rocker in concert. I really got into it, moving my arms to the "yeah yeah oh yeah" chorus. Gonna have to see if I can find someone with that song so I can hear the original, but I thought Moz and the band did it brilliantly. I wish he had done "Playing Easy to Get" that he had debuted at Greenock, but he didn't do it at all in Manchester, so I still have not heard that one live.
So the moment you've all been waiting for. You may have already read this as part of the "Bridgewater Incident." Jesse banged the cymbals at the start of "At Last I Am Born" and I looked down at my watch. I thought, the concert is going to be over soon, and he's only going to linger for a slow song, and it won't be during IBEH at the encore - he hadn't done "How Soon is Now" yet so I knew there was still time, but it was unclear to me HOW much time I had. I decided then and there if I had to get to the stage, it had to be during this song. I should have probably gone for it during "Trouble Loves Me" but frankly, not being able to see the stage was a major problem, I figured there was no way to get up there, I had to wait until security pushed people back from the aisles. So finally, it seemed like my big moment. There weren't too many people milling in the aisle. I didn't run to the front. I walked, very slowly, so the guards could see me coming, necklace in my hand. I had decided before the show that night that I was going to do my best to give Morrissey a heart necklace that I've had since I was 12. I doubted it was going to be easy and more likely I'd have to chuck it over people's heads.
Although I have my moments of being blue, I also have good thoughts about the meaning of life. I don't feel so alone in this world anymore, because I've listened to Morrissey's lyrics and know he's been through and thought the same things I have. There are boatloads of Morrissey/Smiths fans who say "he/they saved my life," and in this case, I think he really did save my life. He never knew, until now. Or so I think.
Back to Bridgewater Hall. So there he was, singing "At Last I Am Born." This is a song I'm not entirely sold on yet, but he must like it an awful lot to be singing it every gig on this tour. Jesse had already moved his huge cymbals out of the way and grabbed his guitar. Morrissey, as usual, was preening, stopping to pause every once in a while, and a big cheer went through the crowd when he shook hands with nearly everyone in the first two rows of the left side and center portions of the audience. Damn! I internally growled to myself, knowing that if I were close enough, I'd be up there with them, Moz pumping MY hand. I knew my time, despite what the Stones sang, was not on my side. I knew by looking at my watch that the concert wasn't going to go on for much longer. I steered myself with the "it's now or never" mentality, continually telling myself, as soon as the aisle's free, go for it. At least it wasn't a crazy jump-up-and-down song like "Still Ill," which I definitely would not have a fighting chance to get closer with all the bobbing bodies.
So the time had come. I purposely strode down the aisle with purpose, but slowly, and you know what? Morrissey saw me. I know this sounds crazy, here is this man that we're all in love with the man for so many reasons and means so much to us. I was already coming down the aisle - being nice and NOT rushing the stage, thinking that this was the proper way to get up to the guards and *ask* them if I could give something to the man. It should have been obvious by my stature and size that I was not attempting to storm the stage. Frankly, I didn't really care if I even touched him, all I wanted to do was present him with my small gift.
What I hadn't planned for was the overzealous aisle folks behind me, who surged right into me from behind as soon as Moz spent any time stage left. I should have predicted this, but time and planning had gone out of the window. I was already getting lost in the pushing and shoving match between the yellow shirts and even though I shouted "Morrissey!" as loudly as I could, hoping, in vain, that he'd hear me, I knew he couldn't just stop in the middle of a show. I know, I know. He can't do that. But he should have, maybe he thought I was larger and could protect myself, if I was trying to make it through the throng at the front. I don't know. But it was very uncomfortable getting manhandled in a bear hug by one guard and nearly getting shoved onto my bum by another. But before I almost lost my footing, I knew my time was up. This was it. With all the might I could muster while being in that bear hug with a guard, I threw that necklace with my left hand - strangely, I'm stronger in that arm even though I'm right-handed - but I never saw where it landed. At first I was worried that it'd not made the stage at all, because since it was dark, no one in the front would have even seen it on the floor. (Even when we were leaving, some people had found guitar picks on the ground that other people had missed.) But at least one person at mozzolo said that he was later seen twirling a necklace with something hanging from it and wondered where he'd gotten it - that was mine! The same person said he put it down next to Matt's drum kit, so maybe the roadies picked it up later. I hope he'll write me an email or something, wouldn't that be cool? My ex-boyfriend suggested that he might show up on my doorstep one day and surprise me. Now *that* would be a story to tell your grandchildren! I'll let you know if he ever contacts me. Maybe he'll want to know the story behind the necklace and why it was so important that I give it to him that night.
I was on such a high after what happened, I couldn't sleep. I knew I'd be screwed the next day, when I had to pack my suitcase and get a move-on to the airport and head for London. But *how* does one sleep, after Morrissey himself acknowledges you at a gig?
My last night in Manchester. I have to say I really enjoyed it - mostly because of what it meant to Morrissey and the Smiths, and so many others...but by this time I was ready to roll on...to London.
originally posted 05/21/06
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