cabbage on toast.

Hey all

Just back. First, be in no doubt that I've seen our lad enough times to know when things are right and when not. I enjoyed the show very much - which is perverse considering how much he plainly struggled throughout.

He is not a well man and it hurts me to say so. First 5 songs were so hard to get through I thought he might not make it to the end. Selfishly, I ignored those feelings of worry because IIRSS and Cemetery Gates were songs I was utterly delighted to hear. And I jumped and enjoyed the rest, despite my own jetlag!

But I can't come here and not tell the truth. He is suffering on stage, the band are holding him up as best they can. I desperately wish he didn't have 19 dates to go, I honestly can't see him making them all. He should rest, this tour schedule is insane and I fear something bad will happen. Even if he hadn't collapsed last week I'd still fear for his health. He plays too many shows and clearly doesn't eat well and drinks too much.

I want him around for a long time, he can't keep on like this without consequence. Again, I have seen him many many times and it was not a terrible show. I enjoyed it. But that was because I had to ignore his condition throughout. I am certain people will come on here and say I'm talking rubbish, it was brilliant, he was on top form etc etc. I can only hope they're right - but the 2 people I was with tonight, who had seen him rip the place to shreds at the Troxy recently, were shocked at the state of him. He seemed, as it happens, in a good mood, some funny banter as always. But he was pale and drained of energy. I hope next time I see him live that memory is washed away.

Cheers all

tonight backstage.

Maybe George was sweeping up?

Sorry I missed you at the end, thank you for keeping me company and I hope you enjoyed the show Sonia.

Just got back, all setlists are wrong, he did play ganglord and first of the gang was in the main set with something is squeezing as encore, fine gig and moz looks like he has lost so much weight, he didn't really struggle to much tonight but like someone said I don't think he will get through the full tour unfortunatley, the man needs a rest

I have come home with the cuff from Morrissey's shirt. I am over the moon - considering I was nowhere near where he tossed it.
After the show I stood and watched as about half a dozen people struggled to keep grip of a sleeve. At one point a lighter appeared and I watch amazed as the hallowed cotton went up in smoke. I then intervened. I told them that I would seize the sleeve and cut it into fair sized sections with my car keys.
The security guards were beginning to hover and so I was reluctantly handed the twisted material.
I issued out about ten strips and kept the cuff as my reward for solving the problem. No one objected to this.
Were you one of these people? I am the stout fellow with beard and spikey hair - and a MOZZA tattoo. You all seemed very pleased with my intervention.

Setlist (not sure of the order after First of the gang to die)

This Charming Man
Black Cloud
When Last I Spoke To Carol
First Of The Gang To Die
Ganglord
Is It Really Strange?
I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
Moon Over Kentucky
How Soon Is Now?
Cemetry Gates
TeenAge Dad On The Estate
Ask
One Day Good Bye Will Be Farewell
Irish Blood, English Heart
The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
Death At One's Elbow
Because Of My Poor Education
The Loop
I'm OK By Myself
Something Is Squeezing My Skull

Morrissey and the Lads were all in black tonight.
The stage was built in higher than ususal due to the venue layout.
Morrissey greeted 'Bonsoir' to the audience, started This Charming Man.
When The First of the Gang to Die started the audience went mad that was simply excellent.

Before 'Crashing Bore' Morrissey slagged off Michael Bouble saying his surname boob-lay.

Someone managed to hand a letter to Morrissey.
First handshakes were given during Irish Blood, English Heart.
Really great to have another chance to listen Moon Over Kentucky.

Also Morrissey said something like 'I'm happy out of Universal Music, feel like I'm 16 again'.

Pleased to have Skull back in live.
Look forward to seeing Saturday's Liverpool gig!

This Charming Man
Black Cloud
When Last I Spoke to Carol
Is It Really So Strange?
First Of The Gang To Die
Ganglord
Cemetry Gates
I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
Teenage Dad On His Estate
Ask
Moon Over Kentucky
How Soon Is Now
Because Of My Poor Education
One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell
Death At One's Elbow
The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
The Loop
Irish Blood, English Heart
I'm OK By Myself //
Something Is Squeezing My Skull

Crowd were a bit flat tonight where I was standing. Moz could tell... "and the minutes fly by like hours... and the minutes fly by like hours."

M was in fine form, his voice sounded great and he really seemed to be 'in the moment' and enjoying himself. Earlier comments to the contrary are simply nonsense.

i can't believe he dropped it for ask? MOZ bring back "nowhere fast" ...

Looking for clips of tonight's show and found this very high quality vid of First of the Gang.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqP1bg6VABo

Don't know how they managed to sneak in an HD camcorder, but good job!

Bonsoir et merci beaucoup. Thank you Morrissey for Moon Over Kentucky, waited for you after the show but was lost. Will fax later this morning . . it is now 03:48hrs.

Stood next to Russell Brand and his 'crew' he was in awe of you too :) Did you see his crochet hat? ;)

Thank you for everything, will see you on Saturday mon beau amor.

IX

Merci beaucoup Morrissey for your bow stage right after Black Cloud. And for Moonlight song . . . waited to see you but was lost . . . fax to you Friday am.

IX

Nice bit of a shuffle of the setlist. When was the last time First of the Gang wasn't the encore?

It's great that Kentucky has been added back, but I hope Nowhere Fast gets reinstated.

Anyone notice the purple poppy he was wearing on his lapel. Its in remembrance of animals killed during war. Nice touch.

Moz was in excellent form.

Putting FOTGTD early in the main setlist really got things going, and it was pretty manic down the front.

It would have been nice to hear 'Nowhere Fast' again, but I can't complain with 'Ask' returning; will never tire of hearing that.

After reading some negative comments about the venue as well, I was pleasently surprised. The token system's a bit pointless, and the stage was a bit detached, but apart from that, it as very good.

Once again, great, great gig.

Only the 6th time I've seen Morrissey in action and I think it'll be my last. Maybe it was the crowd or the venue but the vibe was definately lacking - I was even getting odd loks for singing along and trying to get into it never mind dancing!
I love the new material - esp Im OK By Myself and Skull which the band rocked out (JT was excellent) but Morrissey cant carry off the sheer phyiscality of these numbers live and looked a bit lost on stage at some points.
On the otherhand Moon Over Kentuky and The Loop were a joy. And is anyone else really tired of EBIH - Morrissey obviously was 'Do we have to do this again?'
On a completely different matter does anyone know what the footage of the 'drag queen; was before he came on stage?

Ally Pally was the third time I've seen Mozzer this year and while it was not the best of them (that was the Apollo in May) it was still a terrific evening and a really good performance. It was nice to be back among the main body of fans rather than in the gods, like I was at the Albert Hall.

I thought Moz sounded good and the band were as loud and impressive as ever. They really enjoy playing the louder, heavier songs whch they go at with gusto. The Walker brothers in particular are tremendous.

I enjoyed the setlist although I never thought I'd hear 'Teenage Dad..' live, still it works well and is an effective slower number. It was a shame that 'Why Don't You...' was dropped but you can't have everything.

I hope Moz continues the tour in this interesting and eclectic vein and that his health does not dip. Then he can enjoy a well earned rest over Christmas!!! (Hmmmmm!!!)

Firstly, anyone who came away thinking Moz was struggling throughout the set are just plain wrong. Last night was my fourth show and I have to say, his voice is sounding incredible - the best I’ve heard. As for the venue, I didn’t really know what to expect. I’d heard mixed things (mainly negative), but I thought it really wasn’t that bad. Ok I do prefer the more intimate shows, but I thought the sound was actually very good, Morrissey’s vocals were crystal clear. I journeyed down to London to try my luck with the touts…oh dear is all I have to say on that. A real bunch of unpleasant people out last night. It got to half 7, and they still had the audacity to look at ME like I was scum of the earth for offering £20 which was only really what I was prepared to pay, having spent lots on gigs recently. However, a very very very kind gentlemen offered me a spare for nothing, as his wife couldn’t attend. Absolute legend. Don’t think he’s on the forum, but he made my night. I felt a bit bad taking a ticket for nothing, so we agreed on a tenner. More than happy. The audience were great I thought, very up for it, and in very good spirits where I was. I went crazy when First Of The Gang started early in the main set, not so much for the song itself, but for the fact it had been demoted as an encore at last. I spent the rest of the gig in anticipation for the final song, wondering what It would be. It was a long shot, but when he came on for the encore and said something about driving home safely, I was praying for There Is A Light. Very long shot indeed. Oh well. Was nice to have a new encore of Skull, however, it didn’t really work for me as a final song, mainly I think because Moz sings it in a lower key now. The original packs more punch. Highlights for me were Teenage Dad, One’s Elbow, and a blistering One Day Goodbye. I’ve always loved One Day, but having seen it live 3 times, it really has become a song I look forward to hearing most - stunning performance every time. Loved the quip about Guy Fawkes, something along the lines of “on this day (way back when), Guy Fawkes was…….a genius!” Doll and the Kicks were fabulous as always. Overall a great great night, and an excellent show. Glad I chanced it.

I blogged it here: http://lightupvirginmary.blogspot.com/2009/11/live-morrissey-at-alexandra-palace.html [blogspot.com]

I was at Brentwood on Tuesday and thought the smaller venue provided great intermacy; did any one attend go to Brentwood and AP last night, and what do you consider better night? Loved his opening line of "Do you smell adventure, here at the Thrift Green Trotters Running Club!"

I was the girl who was standing behind you, did you get your handshake? I do hope so. VIVA MOZ

manchester was 9.20 ish , is that about average ,i was wondering for liverpool tommorow, ?????????

judging by the videos on Youtube (great HD quality -- thank you!) he's looking slimmer and quite dapper. He does seem to be pushing himself to the limit a bit. Voice sounds good.

it was great, although the crowd was a bit lame...

does anyone know who the man on the background screen is, (pointing with the finger on the crowd) ?

and who was the guy in the video before morrissey entered the stage, who was dancing so very strange and funny ? with the yellow shirt and the weird tie... it was just before Morrissey came on stage I think...

Morrissey at the end of this superb show said . .

'Thank you for being . . . MacBethian,'

Morrissey - sweetness, forgive me, have just realised what you were saying! :)
Have had so little sleep the last month am almost 'sleep walking'!!! :)
And how I searched for you too at that huge Palace . . .

Thank you my Lord Morrissey, thank you for being . . . Shakesperian, the modern day living Shakespeare of our time, mon beau amor.

With all my heart, I thank you . . . .

MacBethian . . . xxx

IX

I would just like to say that I have analyzed YouTube and I am very very worried. No, I am concerned and my heart is broken. Although I read Liz’s comments yesterday, I have not been able to concentrate or think properly … until now. Even now, I cannot think. However, I have to get this off of my chest and throw it to all of you internetters, true supporters … and even the so called ‘fans” . Something is very wrong with Morrissey, and serious. But then as I told BrummieBoy aka Einstein in private, when Years of Refusal came out and well BrummieBoy knows what I experienced. And I know, that BrummieBoy isn’t going to share with you, well the so called “fans”. The intuition when I first put on the CD.

I am not going to be on here because well I am going to be on here … But if you so called “fans” are going to sling mud at Morrissey because I write my feelings about My Baby, then I can’t be the excuse for you “fans“ to manipulate Morrissey and stir up controversies. For example, in September I believe certain people, I believe it was Picadilly … but then maybe it wasn’t Picadilly. What I’m trying to say is this boy/girl wrote on these boards that Morrissey was writing to me directly on here. I had to emphatically state that this was untrue. But it is for these reasons, like for some reason, unknown to me, people just slag off directed at me. My haters, of which there are many.

Some of you may know me, and I am a really, really nice person and I love Morrissey more than anything. More than anyone in the whole wide world. But if my presence here is going to cause him more controversies than I shall have to speak to him in other ways. I can, I must, I will, I do. Can you see the Black Cloud …

I would just like to say that after my analysis of YouTube and what Liz had written, I am extremely concerned. Morrissey has seeped into my blood, my heart, my head (which is throbbing BTW) -- more than ever. You have no idea how serious his condition is. But then I do. I think that the DNA that absorbed into my sweat from his shirt in Boston, the first time when he got sick, and I was there. And he gave me the shirt, the baby blue, well not really baby blue - maybe, it was drenched with his sweat, and now I have the same symptoms.

I hope that you all are happy now. And I would like to end this by saying to Morrissey - I Love You now even more than I ever have. You have no idea how much you mean to me. The only person that matters to me in my heart is Morrissey. The only man I love is Morrissey. As you are all well aware by now, I am in pieces (just like the way you “fans” and fans rip his shirts into pieces). And I am not saying that Morrissey gave me in a matter of speaking SISMS because of the symptoms that I am experiencing. No, but if he did then I would, well if I had to do it all over again, then I would still wrap the D & G around me drenched in his sweat for four hours approximately on the way home -- again. Tight.
Because I love him with all of my being. I need to see Morrissey. I Love Him Sooooo Much. I think Morrissey needs to understand that I couldn’t even remember the lyrics to Life is a Pigsty the night that he collapsed on stage. When you are really really upset, you forget lyrics. Well, I do. I haven’t slept. The dream has gone but the baby is real. My baby is real, and I love him. The dream isn’t gone. Nev-Ahhhhh.

I watched the videos, he looks his age, but not in poor health. Excellent voice and energy. Can't wait for Oakland show!

The first time I heard Ganglord played was at Ally Pally on 1st May, 2006 and I loved it. It was great to hear it again at the same venue. Could easily have been a single but it is a gem of a b-side.

I don't really like Ally Pally as a venue but it is a beautiful building and a wonderful location high up on a hill with a superb view of the whole of London. It was also bonfire night in UK so it was a great place to see the many displays that were firing all over the city. A huge firewroks display takes place at Ally Pally each year so Sat 7th Nov is when it will occur this year.

I guess it is such a vast and ornate hall with amazing rose windows that the sound is never that good there. It is also a bit misleading because most the site isn't really used for the concert. There is a vast food/drink area where merchandise is also sold and then the hall is beyond that. But even then the back half of the room is curtained off so it doesn't end up being that large after all.

That aside, Morrissey was great tonight. That was my 5th show this year and I was happy with how it went. I really enjoyed it. It was good to be able to see him and get into the show. At RAH I was so far away and it felt strange. He was also very good there with Nowhere Fast and Cemetry Gates being a feature for me. How Soon Is Now? was superb at RAH also. Loved the inclusion of Death At One's Elbow too. Because Of My Poor Education is the best of the Swords songs performed.

Looking forward to a future release on a new label.

There was some talk that not alot of tickets were sold, is this true?

Show cancelled after 2 songs afte Moz hit on head by plastic bottle. What a wetter!!!!!!

I loved the show. The band and Morrissey were as good as always. I wished I could give my present to him by had, but I coudln't reach closer the stage even when I was at right at the front on the right hand side. Sorry Morrissey I had to throw the present to your feet. A guy from the crew took it backstage, I they gave it to you.

Ganglord is a great song.

Because all I hear is repetitive squawking!

Will you be quiet if I throw you a cracker?

same old of course, with minute changes if any

you say this everytime.

lovely bit of crooning on that tune
ganglord is a decent tune
better than some of the other tat on swords

ganglord is an absolute belter, the repetitiveness is one of the beauties of the song, and the way it grinds you down with the punishing drums and bassline is just like the beating a 'ganglord' would dish out, except for when the key changes when he turns to save to him, masterful.
keep up the good work

This is true

He played Moon Over Kentucky tonight for one.

no he didn't mong.

Why? Its one of his best solo songs, whether album tracks, singles, or b sides.

Is it because its so good that you can't bear to hear it? Seriously?

He didn't play Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself. He played Moon Over Kentucky (my friend thought it was called Moon Over Kent).
He followed it with How Soon Is Now.

Solid song all around, keep it on the set list~