Support of fans proves crucial as Morrissey plays to packed house

MUSIC: Crowd stays excited despite technical glitches, forgotten lyrics

By Michael Ross Wacht
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Rows of pompadours milled about, anxiously awaiting the grand pompadour of the evening. Yes, Morrissey was back in town, and he played to a packed Universal Amphitheatre on Mar. 2.

As the evening began, the lights dimmed and disco pin lights flashed on outlining in capital letters "Moz Angeles," a testament to Morrissey's love for his new home and to his confidence in his ability to woo the crowd.

As the theme music from James Bond's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" piped in over the PA system, Moz sauntered onto the stage dressed in skin-tight pleather pants and jacket, and struck muscle poses for his screaming fans. By the time "Ouiji Board" began, a downpour of flowers, letters and boxing gloves splashed across the stage floor and across the faces of Morrissey and his band.

The first few minutes of the show set the tone for the rest of the evening, and Morrissey's connection to his fans was apparent during the show. Between songs, he lamented and made sarcastic remarks regarding his independent status, and the crowd would respond with cheers and supporting calls of "We love you!" During songs, he took time to dip his hand in to the crowd and smile as fans gave him flowers and trinkets.

Morrissey crooned a variety of songs picked from his many albums and included some Smiths songs into the set as well. After an eerie rendition of "Teachers," the set turned red and pulsed with every beat of "Meat is Murder." The mixture of light and sound brought out the feeling and power of the song, but the effect was dampened when Morrissey stopped the vocals during parts of the song because he forgot the lyrics. The crowd forgave him, however, and helped sing the words for him.

Morrissey has based his entire career around his faults, wants, fears and despair, and these aspects of his music and character have given him a human quality, unlike some of the other music stars who have an unaccessible and unreal persona.

Perhaps that helped the crowd stay excited through the numerous times that Morrissey would stop singing due to his constant battle with the sound from the monitors. Even though the second half of the show had its share of technical difficulties with the sound, Morrissey took it lightly and let the crowd sing when he couldn't.

Despite the fact that Moz couldn't hear himself, his voice that poured out of the speakers was pure gold. After years of touring, Morrissey still puts 100 percent into his singing. Songs like "Now My Heart is Full," "Hated for Loving" and "Billy Budd" lost none of their magic that was captured on "Vauxhall and I." Combined with changing backdrops full of movie stills of Steve McQueen, Kirk Douglas from "Champion," and football logos, the presentation proved impressive.

As the lights came up and the sounds of Frank Sinatra's "My Way" wafted over the departing crowd, fans cast aside the nagging criticisms from the music press, who said that without a label or promoter, Morrissey was finished. Friday evening's performance shows that an artist with a very dedicated fan base can survive on his own.