Los Angeles, CA - The United Theater on Broadway (December 29, 2024) post-show

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Setlist:

All You Need Is Me / You're The One For Me, Fatty / One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell / Shoplifters Of The World Unite / Rebels Without Applause / Black Cloud / I Am Veronica / I Ex-Love You / I Wish You Lonely / Sure Enough, The Telephone Rings / The Loop / Darling, I Hug A Pillow / Life Is A Pigsty / Everyday Is Like Sunday / Jack The Ripper / Speedway / I Will See You In Far-off Places // First Of The Gang To Die

Setlist courtesy of Thewlis (setlist scan).

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• [Morrissey Central] Night 2, another view by Ryan Lowry [photographer] (16 total)
• [Morrissey Central] Even more … night 2 by Ryan Lowry (5 total)
• Photo posted by charlespham27 / X. Link posted by Famous when dead.
  
  

 

[Multi]

But that’s my point about Black Cloud, which I consider more “the middle” and people are all pissy about that.

lol, Black Cloud is not middle tier.

 

[Ashley_TakeABow]

Hit song = a million phones up and recording. New material = no phones and blank stares. Very noticeable.

Sickenly noticeable. This tears my heart in two for live performers, especially ones that have been doing it for most of their lives, like Morrissey. It is so, so sad to me.

 

[DubbalinGirl]

lol, Black Cloud is not middle tier.

Therein lies the issue then. I’d rather hear that than a lot of the Smiths stuff personally. I was psyched to see this back in the playlist.

 

[Multi]

Therein lies the issue then. I’d rather hear that than a lot of the Smiths stuff personally. I was psyched to see this back in the playlist.

yes, the issue is you once again go to an extreme example with the Smiths catalog, while ignoring the massive body of quality solo work that he has to choose from.

 

[gordyboy9]

Morrissey himself cut SHJ from night two because it was embarrassingly bad, yet Gordy is still here saying we are bad people for also, just like Morrissey, hearing how god-awful it was.

As I always like to say, Denial is not just a river in Africa.

one song wwhich hasnt been played in 12 years and you expect the band to get it right first time,even alain said the original band were crap in their first year but eventually they got it right.

 

[Odbmke]

one song wwhich hasnt been played in 12 years and you expect the band to get it right first time,even alain said the original band were crap in their first year but eventually they got it right.

Yes, I expect them to get it right the first time.

They are all professionals and he brags about doing this for 40 years.

I’ve spent a large part of my professional life watching bands rehearse for shows/tours/recording and the fact that they didn’t nail SHJ is an absolute joke.

 

[Young And Alive]

That’s all well and good for him. Would the majority of the audience be paying top dollar for tickets if they knew he was only going to play 1 Smiths song? He does have to please the audience to keep them coming back, and it looks like they’ve fallen off by at least 50% in Moz Angeles in the past few years.

Yeah, they probably would.

The vast majority of Morrissey fans don't use this website. They don't know what's in the setlist before attending shows. Remarkably, some concert goers don't even realise Morrissey has ever included Smiths songs in his set.

These gigs were sold out, as were many of his gigs in the early 1990s when he didn't sing any Smiths songs at all (and wouldn't until 1995).

Morrissey fans go to Morrissey gigs to hear Morrissey songs. If there are any Smiths songs, that's a bonus.

Personally, I'd be even happier to see him include songs from Viva Hate and Bona Drag than I would seeing him sing How Soon Is Now for the umpteenth time.

 

[gordyboy9]

Yes, I expect them to get it right the first time.

They are all professionals and he brags about doing this for 40 years.

I’ve spent a large part of my professional life watching bands rehearse for shows/tours/recording and the fact that they didn’t nail SHJ is an absolute joke.

the last drummer said they practised a hundred songs,mabey the new band didnt get that priviledge.

 

[Surface]

He played two.

But he never was that keen on playing Smiths songs. He rarely played them the first 10 years or so as a solo artist, and afterwards usually only 4-5 max.

The difference is, Johnny needs to play Smiths songs to draw a crowd, where Morrissey has a huge and vast solo career to fall back on.

It's been said many times by people who have attended Marr's gigs that the best crowd reactions are for the Electronic songs he plays rather than Smiths stuff. On average 65% of his set is non Smiths stuff.

 

[Nick1234]

It's exactly as I predicted.

When Morrissey played 5 Smiths songs in his set, people said, "He has to play Smiths songs entice fans to watch the show."

When he plays 1 Smiths song, people say, "He's not playing enough Smiths songs. It's not fair on the fans."

 

[Ryan]

I agree, these aren’t helpful to his career. It’s great that people had fun last night, but that’s the difference between weather and climate— the overall decline is not improved by one fun gig.

If he is gonna make as big a deal about these shows as he did, can’t he at least pull out a significant number of new songs? I mean, wouldn’t that get the fans excited? But yet again, his post 2012 career seems to be all about the announcement, not about the follow through. It’s much more exciting to announce a huge Asian tour than actually playing it….. it’s fun to think about playing Perth than actually going there… it’s fun to announce the vocal without permission…

That would make sense, given it’s a New Year’s Eve show. If you’re going to be lazy 364 days of the year, at least make an exception for this special date, set-wise.

 

[Famous when dead]

 

[smiler]

 

[Redacted]

Morrissey himself cut SHJ from night two because it was embarrassingly bad, yet Gordy is still here saying we are bad people for also, just like Morrissey, hearing how god-awful it was.

As I always like to say, Denial is not just a river in Africa.

The personal allegiance to Morrissey is so bizarre, it's a cult. People should be able to criticize him, his band, his shows whatever without people acting like your attacking their mother. They take it so personally, wonder what's missing from their lives. Wonder what tonight's set will be, and I will bet no BOT announcement and I would be happy to be wrong about that just so people will stop whining about it.

He has said numerous times that he is utterly selfish when it comes to putting together his setlists.

He sings the songs that mean the most to him at any given time. That is why he sticks with the same setlist gig after gig after gig. Songs are only chopped when he tires of them - not when the fans do.

He has had around five or six Smiths songs per gig for about 20 years now. That's not bad at all. Clearly, at these late December shows, he's more interested in his solo catalogue and so is giving Smiths songs a rest. That's fine. He co-wrote them and if he isn't feeling it right now, there's no point including those songs to please the fans only to phone it in whilst singing.

Don't get me wrong, personally this set list doesn't grab me at all. But I consider Morrissey giving 100% singing the songs he wants to be the lesser evil - as opposed to a setlist I like, which Morrissey doesn't, where he's going through the motions.

Most fans will always prefer the Smiths material and the 80s and 90s solo material over everything since 2004, and that's OK. But put yourself indo Morrissey's shoes. Everything since 1982 has been his lyrics. There is a story behind every song, and they are all very personal and powerful to him. Logically, he is going to feel more emotional towards the songs he has written more recently, because they will be more relevant to his life now as opposed to songs like Reel Around the Fountain or My Love Life. That is why he wants to sing the newer songs.

I don't think people should pay him so he can sing songs he likes, a lot of artists play songs they are sick of playing because the audience wants to hear it.
One of the best shows I ever went to was the Elvis Costello Revolver Tour. He had a giant wheel that people from the audience came up to spin and he played the song it landed on. There was probably 100 songs on it and he played almost 40 songs. It was a great night, there was even a proposal on stage and a cage people could dance in.

 

[Redacted]

Agreed. If I paid hundreds of dollars to see Morrissey and he just played one Smiths song and not even one of the best ones, I’d be very disappointed. I guess the latest kerfuffle with J Marr really soured him on the Smiths. Luckily, Marr does excellent versions of the Smiths songs people want to hear. Moz seems to have given up on the Smiths and left it to Marr to carry on. J Marr has a fighting spirit and i don’t doubt he will use his energy to do bigger and better things in 2025. They really are complete opposites.

Another good point, considering what he charges for tickets, he should be playing what the audience wants to hear. Johnny is just so far ahead of him now, his career is going great, no scandals, no public outburts. I would honestly rather just see him now.

 

[Light Housework]

The personal allegiance to Morrissey is so bizarre, it's a cult. People should be able to criticize him, his band, his shows whatever without people acting like your attacking their mother. They take it so personally, wonder what's missing from their lives. Wonder what tonight's set will be, and I will bet no BOT announcement and I would be happy to be wrong about that just so people will stop whining about it.

I don't think people should pay him so he can sing songs he likes, a lot of artists play songs they are sick of playing because the audience wants to hear it.
One of the best shows I ever went to was the Elvis Costello Revolver Tour. He had a giant wheel that people from the audience came up to spin and he played the song it landed on. There was probably 100 songs on it and he played almost 40 songs. It was a great night, there was even a proposal on stage and a cage people could dance in.

You’re a slavedriver, to want Morrissey to do what others want him to over what he himself wants to do of his own volition. Wow. Are you serious? What do you like about Morrissey as a person?

 

[Odbmke]

You’re a slavedriver, to want Morrissey to do what others want him to over what he himself wants to do of his own volition. Wow. Are you serious? What do you like about Morrissey as a person?

There is something between having 100 songs ready at a moments notice with a crackerjack band and playing Loop/Ripper again and again with J. Tobias.

And having worked with bands my entire life, there is also something to be said for songs that the band wants to do because *they* like playing it, and it makes *them* excited to go out night after night…. Like the Loop/Ripper seem to be. But *that* being said, he has such a huge catalog, it seems weird to play only one single from 88-97, which is the golden period a lot of people with disposable income remember fondly.

 

[Light Housework]

There is something between having 100 songs ready at a moments notice with a crackerjack band and playing Loop/Ripper again and again with J. Tobias.

Well, I’m glad Morrissey has the backbone to please himself.

 

[Redacted]

There is something between having 100 songs ready at a moments notice with a crackerjack band and playing Loop/Ripper again and again with J. Tobias.

YES!!! There is, that Elvis Costello shoe was absolutely epic knowing we could hear any of those songs and he was so great with the audience. Morrissey can't be bothered.

 

[Ryan]

Well, I’m glad Morrissey has the backbone to please himself.

Would be good if he also had the backbone to apologise for canceled shows or ones that were not refunded at all.