Washington, DC - The Anthem (Oct. 18, 2023) 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:

We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful / Our Frank / Suedehead / Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before / Alma Matters / Half A Person / I Wish You Lonely / Let Me Kiss You / How Soon Is Now? / Girlfriend In A Coma / Darling, I Hug A Pillow / The Loop / Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way? / Sure Enough, The Telephone Rings / Irish Blood, English Heart / Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want / Everyday Is Like Sunday / Jack The Ripper // Speedway

Setlist courtesy of "Right in the Head".


 
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I was there. My god such a weird show (or not??).

There's a few things I found interesting. Mind you this was my first Morrissey show so I'm not actually sure what's considered normal.

There were a few really interesting picks for the setlist. It had, "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful", "The Loop", "Jack The Ripper", "Speedway" and a country cover; I'm not sure which though. Also, "How Soon Is Now" was not played at the beginning, but rather the 3rd or 4th song. He was also about 45 mins late (The show was supposed to start at 8:00).

Some people I met there said he's pretty much always this late for his shows. He got on stage but after a while he became visibly annoyed at something and walked over to the guy operating the fog machines. He whispered something to him and they nodded at each other. The show went on and things became pretty odd. He made sure to point out how big the gap was between the audience and the stage. Someone tried to run on stage (which I know is common at his shows) but weirdly enough he seemed pretty pissed off about it. Another one jumped the security gate and when security walked off he went "Oh c'mon" and walked away.

The later in the show it was the more pissed he seemed to be. He was on the other side of the stage from where i was and he started yelling, "no! no! no!" and asked for security while pointing at someone, He left the stage with the band after like 5 songs and came back a few minutes later in a suit. A song into the encore he began yelling at someone on the other side of where I was and saying "leave!" over and over until security got someone, then abruptly stormed off stage.

Very odd experience but I'm glad I got to witness something like this in person lol. I know he's known for this stuff but this show just seemed like there was tension between him and the anthem or the security guards.
He was telling the security to leave. He was upset with them the whole night and they were being rough with people who got over the barrier.
 
Sounds good and I'm happy that he's healthy and playing shows BUT.... this setlist is deader than the deadest horse is dead. He's going to drag this carcass of songs through NY for four straight shows?!?!?!
The setlist is stale as hell by this point. If he actually plays all four New York shows I expect he'll have to sprinkle in at least a couple of suprises to stop the audience falling asleep. My worry is though that he'll cancel the poorer selling shows instead.
 
The setlist is stale as hell by this point. If he actually plays all four New York shows I expect he'll have to sprinkle in at least a couple of suprises to stop the audience falling asleep. My worry is though that he'll cancel the poorer selling shows instead.
And just how stupid it is to tour this under the moniker "40 years of Morrissey". It makes the ticket buyer expect for something special, but it's just the same old same old. What will the tour title be in 2024? "41 years of Morrissey"?
 
Here's as much of the banter as I could understand. My recording wasn't nearly as good as usual, probably because I was looking at my phone typing in the setlist!

Two a capella lines of Eddy Arnold's "Make the World Go Away": Make the world go away; just get it off of my shoulder.
"We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful"
Thank you. I'm pleased to be here--where am I?
"Our Frank"
You (?) will not be afraid. You have nothing to fear. Relax. Get your rocks off. I can't read your sign, but I'm, I'm sure it's nice.
"Suedehead"
Thank you.
"Stop Me if You Think You've Heard This One Before"
Thank you, thank you. Alright--this is the stage. There's a huge gap between (?) the audience and me, (indistinct)
"Alma Matters"
I realize I'm, I'm very, I realize I'm very weird, but I'm not, I'm not gonna spend the night watching security walk up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down. A very nice flag you have. I see it was censored, it was censored; I wonder why? Ah, we live in strange time. Will we make it? Will we make it? (mumbles)
"Half a Person"
And unfortunately, it IS the story of my life. GOD, help me.
"I Wish You Lonely"
It's very nice of you to drag yourself along here tonight. I'm sure you had, I'm sure you had other things to do, like, uh, washing your hair, clipping your toenails, yes. I think I just about (mumbles). Well, I'm speechless. We shall be married in the spring.
"Let Me Kiss You"
This song has been played in many ways through the ages, and this is one of them.
"How Soon Is Now?"
When you sing a song, it's a bit like taking a lie-detector test. (indistinct) taken; I'm sure you have. But if you're insincere when you sing, you can't get away with it, although, although, many of us do, so. What the hell am I talking about? (indistinct)
"Girlfriend in a Coma"
Thanks.
"Darling, I Hug a Pillow," followed by a piano solo
Thank you.
"The Loop"
Soak (?), probably. Would you please say hello to Camilla Gray (?), to Jesse Tobias, to Brendan Buckley, to Juan Galliano, to Carmen Van den Berg. Who, who am I? I am nothing, nothing. I crawl across this world, across this earth. Not the world, earth, nothing. I have a handkerchief, and that, that, that's you.
"Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way"
You see, we have many strings to our bow, many strings to our bow. Although, my bow. I was on the sofa, I was on the sofa, HA! I was on the sofa--oh, was it? How interesting--both hands shoved into a big bag of Ruffles. Such a perfect moment. Sure enough, sure enough, the blasted telephone rings.
"Sure Enough, the Telephone Rings"
I was telling a really, really boring story last week, whereby we had been invited onto a New York TV show, to sing a song--what else?--and they said "Do you have anything that's 'morning friendly." We probably just said, "Don't be silly." And sent them this song, "Sure Enough, the Telephone Rings," knowing they wouldn't accept it. THEY DID! If a miracle could happen once, it could happen twice.
"Irish Blood, English Heart"
Thank you, thank you.
Are you alright, Trinity (?) Any complaints? No complaints? I love complaints. What one? I meant Trinity.
"Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want," followed by a piano solo
"Everyday Is Like Sunday"
"Jack the Ripper"
The rats, the rats, thousands of rats, millions of rats, with their bulging eyes, they (indistinct) you, rats, rats, rats, rats, rats, rats, rats, rats, rats. I've got you, I've got you, I've got you.

(encore)
Each band member returns to the stage and says a few words, most of which is in Spanish that I can't possibly translate.​
It depends on what you're looking for, I suppose, but could we, could we have a HUGE hand for somebody who was very unwell today, but she's done very well, Fatan (?). Oh, Washington, so much to answer for.
"Speedway"
He repeated "steady, steady, security, steady" to the bouncers and stage invaders.
Humming after the "shut, good and proper" break, before the engine starts up.
 
I was there. My god such a weird show (or not??).

There's a few things I found interesting. Mind you this was my first Morrissey show so I'm not actually sure what's considered normal.
This was very normal.
There were a few really interesting picks for the setlist. It had, "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful", "The Loop", "Jack The Ripper", "Speedway" and a country cover; I'm not sure which though. Also, "How Soon Is Now" was not played at the beginning, but rather the 3rd or 4th song. He was also about 45 mins late (The show was supposed to start at 8:00).
He started at 8:37. HSIN was the ninth song.
Some people I met there said he's pretty much always this late for his shows. He got on stage but after a while he became visibly annoyed at something and walked over to the guy operating the fog machines. He whispered something to him and they nodded at each other. The show went on and things became pretty odd. He made sure to point out how big the gap was between the audience and the stage. Someone tried to run on stage (which I know is common at his shows) but weirdly enough he seemed pretty pissed off about it. Another one jumped the security gate and when security walked off he went "Oh c'mon" and walked away.
He was happy about the stage invasions. He was annoyed at the security guards trying to prevent them.
The later in the show it was the more pissed he seemed to be. He was on the other side of the stage from where i was and he started yelling, "no! no! no!" and asked for security while pointing at someone, He left the stage with the band after like 5 songs and came back a few minutes later in a suit. A song into the encore he began yelling at someone on the other side of where I was and saying "leave!" over and over until security got someone, then abruptly stormed off stage.

Very odd experience but I'm glad I got to witness something like this in person lol. I know he's known for this stuff but this show just seemed like there was tension between him and the anthem or the security guards.
There was definitely tension between him and the security guards, which is totally normal. He loves stage invasions, but the guards are paid to prevent that kind of thing. You'd think that he'd have something in his tour rider about it, though, since his shows are famous for invasions.
 
Here's as much of the banter as I could understand. My recording wasn't nearly as good as usual, probably because I was looking at my phone typing in the setlist!

Two a capella lines of Eddy Arnold's "Make the World Go Away": Make the world go away; just get it off of my shoulder.
"We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful"
Thank you. I'm pleased to be here--where am I?
"Our Frank"
You (?) will not be afraid. You have nothing to fear. Relax. Get your rocks off. I can't read your sign, but I'm, I'm sure it's nice.
"Suedehead"
Thank you.
"Stop Me if You Think You've Heard This One Before"
Thank you, thank you. Alright--this is the stage. There's a huge gap between (?) the audience and me, (indistinct)
"Alma Matters"
I realize I'm, I'm very, I realize I'm very weird, but I'm not, I'm not gonna spend the night watching security walk up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down. A very nice flag you have. I see it was censored, it was censored; I wonder why? Ah, we live in strange time. Will we make it? Will we make it? (mumbles)
"Half a Person"
And unfortunately, it IS the story of my life. GOD, help me.
"I Wish You Lonely"
It's very nice of you to drag yourself along here tonight. I'm sure you had, I'm sure you had other things to do, like, uh, washing your hair, clipping your toenails, yes. I think I just about (mumbles). Well, I'm speechless. We shall be married in the spring.
"Let Me Kiss You"
This song has been played in many ways through the ages, and this is one of them.
"How Soon Is Now?"
When you sing a song, it's a bit like taking a lie-detector test. (indistinct) taken; I'm sure you have. But if you're insincere when you sing, you can't get away with it, although, although, many of us do, so. What the hell am I talking about? (indistinct)
"Girlfriend in a Coma"
Thanks.
"Darling, I Hug a Pillow," followed by a piano solo
Thank you.
"The Loop"
Soak (?), probably. Would you please say hello to Camilla Gray (?), to Jesse Tobias, to Brendan Buckley, to Juan Galliano, to Carmen Van den Berg. Who, who am I? I am nothing, nothing. I crawl across this world, across this earth. Not the world, earth, nothing. I have a handkerchief, and that, that, that's you.
"Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way"
You see, we have many strings to our bow, many strings to our bow. Although, my bow. I was on the sofa, I was on the sofa, HA! I was on the sofa--oh, was it? How interesting--both hands shoved into a big bag of Ruffles. Such a perfect moment. Sure enough, sure enough, the blasted telephone rings.
"Sure Enough, the Telephone Rings"
I was telling a really, really boring story last week, whereby we had been invited onto a New York TV show, to sing a song--what else?--and they said "Do you have anything that's 'morning friendly." We probably just said, "Don't be silly." And sent them this song, "Sure Enough, the Telephone Rings," knowing they wouldn't accept it. THEY DID! If a miracle could happen once, it could happen twice.
"Irish Blood, English Heart"
Thank you, thank you.
Are you alright, Trinity (?) Any complaints? No complaints? I love complaints. What one? I meant Trinity.
"Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want," followed by a piano solo
"Everyday Is Like Sunday"
"Jack the Ripper"
The rats, the rats, thousands of rats, millions of rats, with their bulging eyes, they (indistinct) you, rats, rats, rats, rats, rats, rats, rats, rats, rats. I've got you, I've got you, I've got you.

(encore)
Each band member returns to the stage and says a few words, most of which is in Spanish that I can't possibly translate.​
It depends on what you're looking for, I suppose, but could we, could we have a HUGE hand for somebody who was very unwell today, but she's done very well, Fatan (?). Oh, Washington, so much to answer for.
"Speedway"
He repeated "steady, steady, security, steady" to the bouncers and stage invaders.
Humming after the "shut, good and proper" break, before the engine starts up.

Looks like he was on good form.
 
Morrissey doesn’t actually like to play his highest chart successes anyway. In the US, that happens to be “The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get”.

Madonna has many chart topping hits.
Morrissey definitely doesn’t— at least not in America
In a way, It’s comparing apples and oranges.
True. And he’s actually playing 11 singles and some really classic album tracks this tour and people still complain…

I remember seeing him during Oye Esteban and we only got 4-5 singles mostly.
 
Here's as much of the banter as I could understand. My recording wasn't nearly as good as usual, probably because I was looking at my phone typing in the setlist!

Two a capella lines of Eddy Arnold's "Make the World Go Away": Make the world go away; just get it off of my shoulder.
"We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful"
Thank you. I'm pleased to be here--where am I?
"Our Frank"
You (?) will not be afraid. You have nothing to fear. Relax. Get your rocks off. I can't read your sign, but I'm, I'm sure it's nice.
"Suedehead"
Thank you.
"Stop Me if You Think You've Heard This One Before"
Thank you, thank you. Alright--this is the stage. There's a huge gap between (?) the audience and me, (indistinct)
"Alma Matters"
I realize I'm, I'm very, I realize I'm very weird, but I'm not, I'm not gonna spend the night watching security walk up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down. A very nice flag you have. I see it was censored, it was censored; I wonder why? Ah, we live in strange time. Will we make it? Will we make it? (mumbles)
"Half a Person"
And unfortunately, it IS the story of my life. GOD, help me.
"I Wish You Lonely"
It's very nice of you to drag yourself along here tonight. I'm sure you had, I'm sure you had other things to do, like, uh, washing your hair, clipping your toenails, yes. I think I just about (mumbles). Well, I'm speechless. We shall be married in the spring.
"Let Me Kiss You"
This song has been played in many ways through the ages, and this is one of them.
"How Soon Is Now?"
When you sing a song, it's a bit like taking a lie-detector test. (indistinct) taken; I'm sure you have. But if you're insincere when you sing, you can't get away with it, although, although, many of us do, so. What the hell am I talking about? (indistinct)
"Girlfriend in a Coma"
Thanks.
"Darling, I Hug a Pillow," followed by a piano solo
Thank you.
"The Loop"
Soak (?), probably. Would you please say hello to Camilla Gray (?), to Jesse Tobias, to Brendan Buckley, to Juan Galliano, to Carmen Van den Berg. Who, who am I? I am nothing, nothing. I crawl across this world, across this earth. Not the world, earth, nothing. I have a handkerchief, and that, that, that's you.
"Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way"
You see, we have many strings to our bow, many strings to our bow. Although, my bow. I was on the sofa, I was on the sofa, HA! I was on the sofa--oh, was it? How interesting--both hands shoved into a big bag of Ruffles. Such a perfect moment. Sure enough, sure enough, the blasted telephone rings.
"Sure Enough, the Telephone Rings"
I was telling a really, really boring story last week, whereby we had been invited onto a New York TV show, to sing a song--what else?--and they said "Do you have anything that's 'morning friendly." We probably just said, "Don't be silly." And sent them this song, "Sure Enough, the Telephone Rings," knowing they wouldn't accept it. THEY DID! If a miracle could happen once, it could happen twice.
"Irish Blood, English Heart"
Thank you, thank you.
Are you alright, Trinity (?) Any complaints? No complaints? I love complaints. What one? I meant Trinity.
"Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want," followed by a piano solo
"Everyday Is Like Sunday"
"Jack the Ripper"
The rats, the rats, thousands of rats, millions of rats, with their bulging eyes, they (indistinct) you, rats, rats, rats, rats, rats, rats, rats, rats, rats. I've got you, I've got you, I've got you.

(encore)
Each band member returns to the stage and says a few words, most of which is in Spanish that I can't possibly translate.​
It depends on what you're looking for, I suppose, but could we, could we have a HUGE hand for somebody who was very unwell today, but she's done very well, Fatan (?). Oh, Washington, so much to answer for.
"Speedway"
He repeated "steady, steady, security, steady" to the bouncers and stage invaders.
Humming after the "shut, good and proper" break, before the engine starts up.
So he’s gonna be on Good Morning America I assume. Maybe that will help sell some more tickets for the last 3 shows.


Edit: This is just a thought, the whole thing could have been a joke, he likes to make jokes to set up “Sure enough…”
 
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True. And he’s actually playing 11 singles and some really classic album tracks this tour and people still complain…

I remember seeing him during Oye Esteban and we only got 4-5 singles mostly.
Oye Esteban was a GREAT tour.
 
The setlist is stale as hell by this point. If he actually plays all four New York shows I expect he'll have to sprinkle in at least a couple of suprises to stop the audience falling asleep. My worry is though that he'll cancel the poorer selling shows instead.
Stale to read on this site or stale to see and hear at the concert?
 
He's going to drag this carcass of songs through NY for four straight shows?!?!?!

He'll probably do just that.

Watching the clips, it seems like a pretty good show to me. But do be mindful of the fact that you're watching a functioning alcoholic. Morrissey is, and always has been, a cerebral, idiosyncratic and desperately shy individual. It's widely known that alcohol fuels his performance, his public persona, his art even.

He hasn't made a secret of this, and neither have his drinking cohort over the years. Noel Gallagher lives in awe of Morrissey's capacity for vodka, for example.

And no judgement from me, btw. His stage demeanour, his banter, his charm is hugely aided by being intoxicated every night. See the banter post above for obvious and often hilarious soundbites.

Yes it takes its toll over the years, of course. The lyrics become a little lazy, the worldview becomes a little hazy.

Truculence, controversy, self-sabotaging. Placing too much faith in a certain parasitic relative to handle PR. Clapping and shouting on planes. Falling out with integral band members. Fixating on conspiracy theories and genuinely believing that the world is against him. Writing incoherent fiction. Alcohol is a significant factor in all of this.

So at this stage in the game, it would be a huge ask to expect Morrissey to create, tour, deliver without a drink. Or to reinvent himself or write a song that doesn't have its title in the first line of the first verse. Or curate and deliver a novel setlist.

Alcoholics need continuity and routine to function. They cling to what they can do, and Morrissey still does it well - all things considered. His voice is holding up too.
 

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