"Fading Fame Aside, Morrissey Still Has His Faithful Followers", Chicago Tribune (Feb. 13)
First with the link
is Chris Reimer:
FADING
FAME ASIDE, MORRISSEY STILL HAS HIS FAITHFUL
FOLLOWERS
By Greg
Kot
Tribune
rock critic
February 13, 2000
During the course of a two-hour interview backstage
at a Chicago concert venue nearly a decade ago,
Morrissey distilled his life to a handful of words:
"I was petrified of anonymity."
Anonymous he may be to most of the world, but
Morrissey is still the only pop star that matters to
his still-thriving cult, which filled the Chicago
Theatre to capacity Thursday. They arrived to
embrace their beloved misanthrope, to hand him
gladiolas and devour his sweat-soaked T-shirts,
which he tossed away every few songs like dirty dish
rags.
Flouncing and flopping whereas most pop heroes
strut, accentuating his misfit status even as he
primped his modified Heartbreak Hotel pompadour,
Morrissey both celebrated his star status and
impaled himself on it.
Now without a record deal, he bathed in momentary
moments of self-pity: "Nice of you to remember
when millions and millions forget." He even
managed a dig at Johnny Marr, his running mate in
the Smiths, suggesting that old wounds still have
not healed. But for the first time on an American
tour he liberally sprinkled his set with songs from
that period.
One of those, "Meat is Murder," produced
the most impassioned performance of the night; only
Morrissey would save his deepest emotions for a song
about slaughtering farm animals. His longtime
four-piece backing band merged droning textures with
baritone spaghetti-western guitars and
neo-rockabilly riffs, providing a canvas for the
singer to etch his considerable personality.
A crooner who suggests Anthony Newley as much as T
Rex's Marc Bolan, Morrissey broke up his languid
melodic lines with growls, purrs and outrageous
phrasing. "Can you squeeze me into an empty
page in your diary," he pleaded, managing to
sound both desperate and condescending during
"Hairdresser on Fire." He is eternally
longing for "the one who never picks you,"
wading through daily disappointment with almost
comical self-loathing.
Yet, though he is often typecast as incorrigibly
miserable, there is something of a knowing smirk in
the way Morrissey goes about his business, an
in-joke shared by his audience, from the defiant
declaration of "Alma Matters" to the
shared faith of "Speedway". As he retook
the stage for the encore to knock off the Smiths'
"Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved
Me," he offered his twisted take on
"Sunset Boulevard": a fading star hanging
on instead of quietly disappearing. "This story
is old --I know -- but it goes on." For
Morrissey and his fans, there can be no other way.
Comments / Notes (16)
"Elusive Morrissey still packs 'em in" - Hamilton preview
Link to article at
canoe anonymously sent:
Elusive
Morrissey still packs 'em in
By KIERAN GRANT --
Toronto Sun
There are two events that invariably stand out for
Morrissey's legion of Southern Ontario fans.
One is the British pop icon's performance with his
now-legendary former band The Smiths at the
Kingswood Music Theatre in 1986. The Smiths' last
show in these parts, it ended when dozens of
enthusiastic punters invaded the stage and
practically tore it apart. (I was out on the lawns,
aged 13, surrounded by a crowd of 14,000 which,
unbeknownst to me, contained my future wife and
countless future friends.)
The other, less-triumphant memory would have to be
Morrissey's 1997 debacle at Massey Hall, where after
a loud 'n' pasty set of solo numbers and a pair of
Smiths classics, he was dragged off stage by a pair
of security guards who, during his encore,
apparently mistook him for a fan. The same crowd
that minutes earlier had been showering
"Moz" in gladioli, chrysanthemums and hugs
-- a tradition at his post-Smiths shows -- followed
with a round of booing.
To the guy's credit, he does make a unique
impression.
Stephen Patrick Morrissey, now 40, will have a
legacy to live up to when he plays Hamilton Place
tomorrow night. Not that the self-styled Oscar Wilde
of pop and spokesman for sexually repressed
bookworms has much to worry about.
For one thing, the Mozzer has already got
supporters' tongues wagging with his decision to
side-step Toronto.
He doesn't do interviews. He hasn't released an
album since 1997's disappointing Maladjusted, and so
far, he's without a label for his next record, which
is said to be a Mexican-themed affair.
Of course, all this pales next to past
controversies.
Clean-cut and impossibly eloquent, he made celibacy
and vegetarianism sexy in the '80s. He later drew
fire for his clumsy commentaries on immigration --
the claims were somewhat justified given the
"ironic" ambiguity of tunes like Bengali
In Platforms and National Front Disco.
In 1997, former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce
successfully sued him for #1 million of unpaid
royalties. Joyce now plans to write a book on The
Smiths, though, according to what Joyce told Select
magazine, "It won't be a vitriolic rant."
TERRITORIAL REACH
Still, tomorrow's concert is nearly sold out,
suggesting that Moz has maintained quite the
territorial reach, or at least that he's worth a
wintry drive to the Hammer.
"It was his idea to play outside Toronto in
another market," says Steve Herman, president
of concert promoters Core Audience. "He has
lots of fans in the Niagara Region, and there was
talk of a show in London. I think he just wanted to
play a different place for a change."
Comments / Notes (12)
Brazilian dates; Santiago, Chile now on sale
From Marco:
Hi, just
to let you know that Angela (from morrisseytour.com)
e-mailed me with news about the new dates for South
America Tour.
The dates are now as follows:
3/23 Monterrey, Venue TBA
3/24 Guadalajara, Aud B Juarez
3/25 Mexico City, Aud Nacional
3/28 Santiago, Estatdo Chile
3/30 Argentina, Luna Park
4/01 Curitiba, Forum
4/03 Sao Paulo, Olympia
4/04 Sao Paulo, Olympia
4/05 Rio, Metropolitan
4/08 San Salvador, Gimnasio Nacional
From Alejandro:
The
tickets for the Morrissey concert in Chile
are now on sale in a music store called "Feria
del Disco". They started selling the
tickets today at noon (February 14, Valentine's
day). I was there at first time in the morning, and
the person in charge told me that I was the first
person to buy a ticket!!!
From Charles Byron:
This was
published on today’s newspaper La Nación (www.lanacion.com).
I’ve just called the venue and they told me that
maybe the tickets would be on sale next week.
"MORRISSEY:
The English singer Morrissey will be performing in
Buenos Aires for the first time on March 30th at the
Luna Park Stadium. The artist led in the 80s, with
guitarist Johnny Marr, The Smiths and then followed
a solo career. His first album as a solo artist was
"Viva Hate", released in 1988 and
re-released 10 years later in 1998 with some bonus
tracks"
Comments / Notes (2)
Support for next four shows
From Nick:
According
to the Jam
music site - the opening act for Hamilton is
Hawksley Workman. You can read a bit about him here.
I've heard some of his tunes and he's pretty good.
He worked on John
Southworth's last album, 'Sedona Arizona' (which
I really enjoyed) and he recently released a solo
disc. Those opening act horror stories from the
American dates had me spooked but I think Hawksley
will be just fine in Hamilton.
From Leigh:
The
ad in this week's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
says that New
Invisible Joy will be opening for Morrissey
here, they are local...*sigh*
From I'll Never Learn:
According
to WFNX in Boston, the support for Morrissey
at Avalon will be The Sheila
Divine.
Comments / Notes (4)
Boston afterparty at Upstairs Lounge (Feb. 19) still on
From Derek:
Hello
everyone. Firstly, please accept my apology for the
misinformation given regarding the Morrissey Post
Concert Party at The Upstairs Lounge on Saturday, 19
February. It starts at 9P and ends at 2A. Our
manager did decide against having the band, though.
I'm not sure why, really. But, as the DJ for that
night and every Saturday, let me assure you it is
STILL very much on. We will be giving away some
goodies and the crowd is always very likeable.
E-mail me if you need any further information or
grab me outside the Avalon prior to Saturday's show.
I'll be handing out info there. Sorry for any
inconvenience and much thanks to Josh in Long Island
for bringing this to my attention.
Comments / Notes (49)
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* return to Morrissey-solo |