Manchester - O2 Apollo (Oct. 4, 2022) 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:

How Soon Is Now? / We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful / Our Frank / Knockabout World / First Of The Gang To Die / Irish Blood, English Heart / Sure Enough, The Telephone Rings / Rebels Without Applause / The Loop / Frankly, Mr. Shankly / I Am Veronica / My Hurling Days Are Done / Half A Person / Bonfire Of Teenagers / Everyday Is Like Sunday / Never Had No One Ever / Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want / Jack The Ripper // Sweet And Tender Hooligan

Setlist courtesy of Thom Haydon.

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• Photo posted by @thomhaydon / Twitter. Link posted by PaulyPaul.
  
  
• Photo posted by @JeanieLove1955 / Twitter. Link posted by NealCassidy.
  
  
• Review: One for the purists as Morrissey returns for his first Manchester gig in six years by Andrew Bardsley (4 of 5 stars) - Manchester Evening News. Link posted by JoeSellMozza.
• Morrissey fans queue for nearly 24 HOURS overnight outside Apollo with sleeping bags - Manchester Evening News.
• Morrissey Live At The Apollo, Manchester – What Happened? by Helen Millington (4 photos) - RGM. Link posted by Famous when dead.
• Photos (3 total): lisalovegoodphotography / Instagram. Link posted by Famous when dead.
  
  
• Morrissey: 02 Apollo Manchester – live review by Ryan Walker (15 photos). Link posted by Malarkey.

 

[MozandMarr'sNewsagents]

Apparently Moz's Dad was in the crowd!

 

[Lovesandhates]

Apparently Moz's Dad was in the crowd!

His sister Jackie was there as well.

 

[Famous when dead]

 

[BookishBoy]

Morrissey seems to be so haunted by the phantom liberals he feels are responsible for the decline of his career that he's turned into something of a reactionary paranoiac. I don't believe I've ever read anyone calling for an empathetic treatment of the arena bomber, which makes the final refrain of the song especially perplexing.

I do know what you mean about "Go easy on the killer" - the only way I can get it to make sense is if Morrissey's referring to some of the very slack decisions that were made about Abedi in the days/weeks/months/years before his attack. As summarised in a BBC News article about the Inquiry into the bombing:

Abedi was never stopped or questioned when travelling to and from the UK despite MI5 knowing he was a long-term extremist with multiple terrorist connections.

But if that's what he means, then it's clunkily phrased.

As for the song itself, I'm not sure to what extent I agree with the sentiment behind it, but I find the vocal melody of the verses - and Morrissey's voice when he sings it live - to be almost overwhelming.

 

[snoddywilko]

I do know what you mean about "Go easy on the killer" - the only way I can get it to make sense is if Morrissey's referring to some of the very slack decisions that were made about Abedi in the days/weeks/months/years before his attack. As summarised in a BBC News article about the Inquiry into the bombing:

Abedi was never stopped or questioned when travelling to and from the UK despite MI5 knowing he was a long-term extremist with multiple terrorist connections.

But if that's what he means, then it's clunkily phrased.

As for the song itself, I'm not sure to what extent I agree with the sentiment behind it, but I find the vocal melody of the verses - and Morrissey's voice when he sings it live - to be almost overwhelming.

To me, the “go easy on the killer” line isn’t Morrissey’s voice, it’s the voice of the people singing “Don’t look back in anger.”

At the end of the live version he sung in Manchester, he ended on the word “No!” which I believe is his voice.

Therefore, he is saying: “DO look back in anger, DON’T go easy on the killer!”

 

[Famous when dead]

I do know what you mean about "Go easy on the killer" - the only way I can get it to make sense is if Morrissey's referring to some of the very slack decisions that were made about Abedi in the days/weeks/months/years before his attack. As summarised in a BBC News article about the Inquiry into the bombing:

Abedi was never stopped or questioned when travelling to and from the UK despite MI5 knowing he was a long-term extremist with multiple terrorist connections.

But if that's what he means, then it's clunkily phrased.

As for the song itself, I'm not sure to what extent I agree with the sentiment behind it, but I find the vocal melody of the verses - and Morrissey's voice when he sings it live - to be almost overwhelming.

The National Review article suggested:

"Against feckless public response to tragedy, Morrissey pinpoints the thoughtless way pop culture can be misused to anesthetize the populace. This is as challenging as “The National Front Disco” except that the new tune elegizes youth culture’s demise. Its solemnity brings back that woeful moment when Rolling Stone’s inexcusable August 1, 2013, cover glamorized Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a precursor to the British press’s absolving of Salman Abedi. Morrissey’s chorus of “Go easy on the killer” seethes with righteous anger."

As an explanation.
I don't recall any press 'absolving' at the time, but Morrissey may well have paid more attention than myself.
Regards,
FWD.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

I do know what you mean about "Go easy on the killer" - the only way I can get it to make sense is if Morrissey's referring to some of the very slack decisions that were made about Abedi in the days/weeks/months/years before his attack. As summarised in a BBC News article about the Inquiry into the bombing:

Abedi was never stopped or questioned when travelling to and from the UK despite MI5 knowing he was a long-term extremist with multiple terrorist connections.

But if that's what he means, then it's clunkily phrased.

As for the song itself, I'm not sure to what extent I agree with the sentiment behind it, but I find the vocal melody of the verses - and Morrissey's voice when he sings it live - to be almost overwhelming.

No one is literally going easy on, or went easy on ‘the killer’ or a specific ‘killer’.

From the point of view of Morrissey and/or the character in the song, someone is pointing out that they ( I assume government, media possibly) are going easy on terrorism ( as you pointed out from the MI5 example).
In other words he could also have sung ‘go easy on terrorism’. But that’s not as poetic.

And to not be naturally angry about the tragedy and to not use that emotion of anger as motivation to change laws, then this tragedy or other acts of terrorism are unfortunately bound to happen again.

 

[snoddywilko]

Interesting. I think that's possibly too generous a read and it requires a bit of blurring of the past and present tense to really make it work. It's clunky either way. For a subject allegedly so dear to Morrissey's heart, he could've spent more time writing something worthwhile. It reeks of "first draft good enough" and seems almost embarrassingly built around the crude "seen her / arena" half-rhyme.

To the others parroting Morrissey's delusion that no one was angry or that the collective emotion should be channeled into the changing of laws: what exactly is the suggestion here? Make terrorism more illegal? Further erode civil liberties and activate an even more intrusive surveillance state in the UK than the one currently in place?

Or perhaps find a way to atone for the centuries of violent British imperialism and bolstered Zionism that lead "us" here? I suspect Morrissey has little interest in exploring the latter.

Nobody is parroting an illusion that nobody was angry about what happened at the MEN arena; simply offering a possible interpretation of the refrain of the song.

 

[liquidtmd]

Very nice compilation from Apollo

Not nice, I had to stand behind in this vicinity of this arsehole filming pretty much the whole gig - few girls around me got cheesed off too

Few clips? Cool! Having phones shoved blocking views for the whole gig? There's no rules against it but its beyond annoying behaviour tbh

 

[NealCassidy]

Danny Moran: handbags at town hall, the cut-throat business of watching Morrissey, anger and the Irk - About Manchester

Above the murmurs in a city centre coffee shop Alan Good’s excuses are refreshingly bold. “Sorry I’m late,” the Lib Dem man says. “I was up ‘til six last night in The Eagle.” That’s the Bloom St leather bar where the he tops up his municipal allowance pulling pints at the weekend. It’s Monday...

aboutmanchester.co.uk

 

[Mozzer1980]

Quite interesting fan report from Manchester .

 

[Redacted]

I have not looked to see if this entire first hour video is on here, but here it is. You can really see Alain, which makes it extra good.

 

[Famous when dead]

 

[Famous when dead]