London - The SSE Arena Wembley (Mar. 14, 2020) post-show

Post your info and reviews related to this concert in the comments section below. Other links (photos, external reviews, etc.) related to this concert will also be compiled in this section as they are sent in.

Setlist:

London / I Wish You Lonely / Jim Jim Falls / Satan Rejected My Soul / At Amber / Morning Starship / Lady Willpower / Once I Saw The River Clean / Half A Person / If You Don't Like Me, Don't Look At Me / Munich Air Disaster 1958 / World Peace Is None Of Your Business / Seasick, Yet Still Docked / I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris / Love Is On Its Way Out / Back On The Chain Gang / I've Changed My Plea To Guilty / Home Is A Question Mark / Never Again Will I Be A Twin / Some Say I Got Devil / Wedding Bell Blues / Jacky's Only Happy When She's Up on the Stage // Irish Blood, English Heart / Jack The Ripper

Setlist courtesy of @NealCassidy

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• Morrissey live in London: the faithful defy lockdown to grudgingly admire a set of career oddities by Mark Beaumont (4 of 5 stars) - NME. Link from Shoplifterromo.
• Morrissey, Wembley Arena review - reminders of greatness by Nick Hasted - the artsdesk.com. Link posted by Ugly Devil (original post).
• The Cult Of Steve: Morrissey Live At Wembley Arena by John Calvert - The Quietus. Link posted by Nerak.
• Live review by Phil Ross (10 photos) - Louder Than War. Link posted by Famous when dead (original post).
• Morrissey plays defiant set to disease- and meat-conscious Wembley Arena - theupcoming.co.uk. Photos by Mike Garnell (11 total). Link posted by Nerak.
  
• Morrissey Performs At Wembley Arena (39 photos by Jim Dyson) - Getty Images. Link posted by Famous when dead.
  
• Image posted by Famous when dead:
  
  
  

 

[Deleted member 29417]

I was there Saturday, not because of what he represents now, but because of what he represented to me throughout my teens, and no poxy virus would have stopped that.

Did he sound amazing.... YES
Was the band tight..... YES

Was it a great concert I would have to say absolutely 100% NO.

The reception he got when he played the ONLY smiths song of the night should have indicated to him the reason most of us were there, sure plug your new album, or your solo stuff, but please ditch the covers of the Pretenders, Melanie et al, we were there because you meant so much to us through those teenage years, you articulated what we felt and at times we felt you were the only friend we had, but to not really please a crowd who were desperate for some of your classics, broke our hearts and if you did it just to prove a point, it shows that all those words and feelings you professed to express were no more than ditties to fill your pockets.

A shame on you Morissey

It wasn't the Smiths song that got the biggest reception. It was Irish Blood. Which is also his biggest hit.

Lady Willpower was surprisingly popular with the old people.

 

[Flibberty]

He played 2 Smiths songs, didn't he?

And Morrissey has now been touring solo for 29 years and The Smiths songs have never been the majority of any show. That has always been about the most recent stuff...

 

[snoddywilko]

I was there Saturday, not because of what he represents now, but because of what he represented to me throughout my teens, and no poxy virus would have stopped that.

Did he sound amazing.... YES
Was the band tight..... YES

Was it a great concert I would have to say absolutely 100% NO.

The reception he got when he played the ONLY smiths song of the night should have indicated to him the reason most of us were there, sure plug your new album, or your solo stuff, but please ditch the covers of the Pretenders, Melanie et al, we were there because you meant so much to us through those teenage years, you articulated what we felt and at times we felt you were the only friend we had, but to not really please a crowd who were desperate for some of your classics, broke our hearts and if you did it just to prove a point, it shows that all those words and feelings you professed to express were no more than ditties to fill your pockets.

A shame on you Morissey

You should be aware that Morrissey has never been a crowd-pleasing karaoke jukebox churning out Smiths hits for casual one-time fans.

He plays the songs he wants to play &, to serious fans who follow him closely & have attended many gigs over the years, this is infinitely more interesting.

The opportunity to hear songs like At Amber, Half A Person, Seasick, Yet Still Docked, I’ve Changed My Plea To Guilty are worth the price of admission alone, in my opinion.

“to not really please a crowd who were desperate for some of your classics, broke our hearts and if you did it just to prove a point, it shows that all those words and feelings you professed to express were no more than ditties to fill your pockets.“

It doesn’t show this at all - it just shows that Morrissey has always been true to himself. He sings the songs he wants to sing, expresses what he truly feels - rather than trying to second-guess his audience & aim to please every individual (which would be impossible) - and his true fans love, respect & appreciate him for it.

After almost 40 years as a songwriter & singer, his back catalogue is deep & rich, & it’s foolish to expect him to come out and tiredly rehash the same few obvious Smiths classics just so that you can selfishly relive something of your teenage years.

Your reaction to seeing him live, finally, - after how many decades? - tells me that you are not a fan who has really followed Morrissey, doesn't really understand him, & expects him to still be who he was 35 years ago. With such unrealistic expectations, you only have yourself to blame for your disappointment.

 

[LilithB]

It wasn't the Smiths song that got the biggest reception. It was Irish Blood. Which is also his biggest hit.

Lady Willpower was surprisingly popular with the old people.

Sorry but I didn't say it got the biggest reception, but you could see/hear from the crowds reaction that it was tangible they wanted more of those than "chain gang" etc., and as for the encore....

But hten obviously I'm not a "true fan" I guess

 

[Deleted member 29417]

Sorry but I didn't say it got the biggest reception, but you could see/hear from the crowds reaction that it was tangible they wanted more of those than "chain gang" etc., and as for the encore....

But hten obviously I'm not a "true fan" I guess

I couldn't see or hear that. It's a really great live set. Someone wanted Speedway & a drunk left singing Hairdresser on Fire. I didn't hear any Smiths yearnings.

The only thing I would say is that it probably wasn't great for the people in the back seating area because he would have been a dot.

 

[Anonymous]

You should be aware that Morrissey has never been a crowd-pleasing karaoke jukebox churning out Smiths hits for casual one-time fans.

He plays the songs he wants to play &, to serious fans who follow him closely & have attended many gigs over the years, this is infinitely more interesting.

The opportunity to hear songs like At Amber, Half A Person, Seasick, Yet Still Docked, I’ve Changed My Plea To Guilty are worth the price of admission alone, in my opinion.

“to not really please a crowd who were desperate for some of your classics, broke our hearts and if you did it just to prove a point, it shows that all those words and feelings you professed to express were no more than ditties to fill your pockets.“

It doesn’t show this at all - it just shows that Morrissey has always been true to himself. He sings the songs he wants to sing, expresses what he truly feels - rather than trying to second-guess his audience & aim to please every individual (which would be impossible) - and his true fans love, respect & appreciate him for it.

After almost 40 years as a songwriter & singer, his back catalogue is deep & rich, & it’s foolish to expect him to come out and tiredly rehash the same few obvious Smiths classics just so that you can selfishly relive something of your teenage years.

Your reaction to seeing him live, finally, - after how many decades? - tells me that you are not a fan who has really followed Morrissey, doesn't really understand him, & expects him to still be who he was 35 years ago. With such unrealistic expectations, you only have yourself to blame for your disappointment.

"and his true fans love, respect & appreciate him"
"Your reaction to seeing him live, finally, - after how many decades? - tells me that you are not a fan who has really followed Morrissey"

Jesus. What a load of sanctimonious, conceited, egotistical bullshit. This isn't a religion.

 

[A. Non. A. Mous]

Laughing emoji's do not make a valid argument.

That can also be said about 99% of your posts with absolute certainty. Nice work, @Photo!

 

[NealCassidy]

Anyone there to hear the Smiths should have enjoyed 'London' in particular...?

 

[Anonymous]

Not quite. The Quarry arena run in 2004, and the Ringleader December 2006 arena tour were about the same size if not bigger and sold better.

Well I'm sure Morrissey Central announced the Feb/Mar 2018 tour as his most successful ever. You are also correct re the success of the 2004 Quarry & 2006 Ringleader Tours in that they're up there with his most attended run of shows.

 

[Anonymous]

I was there Saturday, not because of what he represents now, but because of what he represented to me throughout my teens, and no poxy virus would have stopped that.

Did he sound amazing.... YES
Was the band tight..... YES

Was it a great concert I would have to say absolutely 100% NO.

The reception he got when he played the ONLY smiths song of the night should have indicated to him the reason most of us were there, sure plug your new album, or your solo stuff, but please ditch the covers of the Pretenders, Melanie et al, we were there because you meant so much to us through those teenage years, you articulated what we felt and at times we felt you were the only friend we had, but to not really please a crowd who were desperate for some of your classics, broke our hearts and if you did it just to prove a point, it shows that all those words and feelings you professed to express were no more than ditties to fill your pockets.

A shame on you Morissey

He played two Smiths songs...'London' which opened the show & 'Half A Person'.

 

[Handsome Devil 1]

Get over it.
The blinkers are falling off, people are getting wise to it all now.
The past is the past.
These venues are far to big for him now.
Ditched by the label’s he can’t afford decent Stage, Support act, Lights, Screens, etc.

Its all gone “Basic Budget Airline” or shall we just say Ryanair.
Just look at the package.
Video support act
A smoke machine
Lots of shit merch
Black curtains
Performing covers
A projector showing images created by fans on their iPhone.
If only he could charge you all for taking a piss

Sorry but he should have gone out when he was on top.
It all looks sad and cringe.

??

sorry but dont agree , he is on top . Voice as good as ever and i couldnt wait to get in and see him and all those people saying it shouldnt have taken place well bollocks to you. If you dont want to go then dont go but dont stop others who do. Radio stations wont play his stuff and the press cant wait to persecute him . You just cant have an opinion anymore . Long Live Morrissey

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry but I didn't say it got the biggest reception, but you could see/hear from the crowds reaction that it was tangible they wanted more of those than "chain gang" etc., and as for the encore....

But hten obviously I'm not a "true fan" I guess

Chain Gang got a great reception and singalong from crowd.

 

[Anonymous]

It wasn't the Smiths song that got the biggest reception. It was Irish Blood. Which is also his biggest hit.

Lady Willpower was surprisingly popular with the old people.

'the old people' ....that's a bit of a ridiculous generalisation.

 

[snoddywilko]

"and his true fans love, respect & appreciate him"
"Your reaction to seeing him live, finally, - after how many decades? - tells me that you are not a fan who has really followed Morrissey"

Jesus. What a load of sanctimonious, conceited, egotistical bullshit. This isn't a religion.

I didn’t say it was a religion.

I said the person clearly didn’t follow Moz, as they would’ve known what to expect if they did.

What do people think Morrissey should do? Ask each individual in an audience of many thousands what they think he should play? No. That would be ridiculous. He plays what he plays & if you don’t like that then don’t go; stay at home & play your old Smiths albums.

 

[BookishBoy]

I really enjoyed the show, although it definitely sagged in a couple of places.

On the plus side, this particular section:

Seasick, Yet Still Docked / I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris / Love Is On Its Way Out / Back On The Chain Gang / I've Changed My Plea To Guilty / Home Is A Question Mark

...was probably the best six song sequence I've ever seen him play (including Smiths shows). His voice (and the band) - just majestic.

And imagine being so legendary/wilful/stubborn/cool/cruel/uncaring* that of the 31 career Top 20 UK singles you've had, you choose to play precisely 1 of them.

*delete as appropriate

 

[Deleted member 29417]

It's not Sunday any more Anons - I'm not hungover enough to argue with you.

It's the Stereophonics who have gone viral as Evil Petri Dishes of Doom for their Cardiff gig anyway. Won't harm them - they don't seem to have any other controversy (or anything) in their background.

 

[BookishBoy]

https://www.nme.com/reviews/morrissey-london-wembley-sse-arena-live-review-2625977

Very positive review of the show in the NME. (Typing that with a straight face is really difficult!)

 

[Deleted member 29417]

I really enjoyed the show, although it definitely sagged in a couple of places.

On the plus side, this particular section:

Seasick, Yet Still Docked / I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris / Love Is On Its Way Out / Back On The Chain Gang / I've Changed My Plea To Guilty / Home Is A Question Mark

...was probably the best six song sequence I've ever seen him play (including Smiths shows). His voice (and the band) - just majestic.

And imagine being so legendary/wilful/stubborn/cool/cruel/uncaring* that of the 31 career Top 20 UK singles you've had, you choose to play precisely 1 of them.

*delete as appropriate

I didn't think it sagged at all - but bear in mind I'm used to the theatre (& MEETINGS) so I can sit through a 3 hour Coriolanus or a 4 hour conversation about how to tell the public we're not doing anything about their bins while making it sound like we're doing something about their bins.

 

[ACTON]

It's a wonder Moz didn't do PANIC and change the lyrics a bit. It's featured on the Coronavirus Isolation playlist on Spotify.

 

[Deleted member 29417]

https://www.nme.com/reviews/morrissey-london-wembley-sse-arena-live-review-2625977

Very positive review of the show in the NME. (Typing that with a straight face is really difficult!)

When are they going to give up the trash about His Terrible Opinions? I don't need blind dedication - I just need to know that he's more than the hysterical pull-quotes the press have been using to demonise him.

Still, I'm glad I wore my badges. Left-wing representation!