just hope everyone who went had an awesome time, was wondering if he did any new songs, and what was the pic on the backdrop?

Wow, long set tonight, longest Moz set I've ever seen, two song encore. Songs similar to previous nights...

Panic
First of the gang to die
The youngest was the most loved
You have killed me
Disappointed
Ganglord
I'll never be anybody's hero now
William, it was really nothing
Irish blood, English heart
I will see you in far off places
Girlfriend in a coma
Everyday is like Sunday
In the future when all's well
I've changed my plea to guilty
Let me kiss you
The National Front Disco
Dear God, please help me
How soon is now?
I just want to see the boy happy
Life is a pigsty
ENCORE:
Please, please, please let me get what I want
Don't make fun of daddy's voice

Lots of talking, Ganglord dedicated to Jean Paul de Menizes, Madonna was berated for her new chinchilla fur coat.

Just back. What a great show. Morrissey in tip-top form, making many comments, including reference to Madonna's fur coat. Jamie Oliver also got a pasting. And there was a nice touch when he dedicated Ganglord to Jean Charles DeMenezes.

Set list similar to previous. Dear God was the highlight; Morrissey almost in tears throughout.

Was there with my wife and two children, aged 10 & 11, and they loved it.

Arena not completely full but still a fair crowd, about 85% full.

Can't wait for Manchester.

Long live the King.

What colour shirt was he wearing?

He introduced himself as Russell Brand, which was funny.

Great set list

Please Please was fantastic, can;t imagine that it was this powerful when the Smiths played it.

Tonight was a great gig. Twas far better than Earls court - much rockier set than summer tour, with a more relaxed Moz. A great night.

William and Please Please were glorious.

Wonderful, wonderful night.

There is onlt 3 things wrong with modern england....

1, Jamie Oliver
2, Jamie Oliver
3, Jamie Oliver

Great show tonight, and a good mixture of songs old and new. I was especially pleased to hear” I’ve changed my plea”, a favourite.
Set list is above,( I have too short an attention span to have remembered to write it down.)

Chatty

Fatwas for Madonna and Jamie Oliver
there's three things wrong with modern Britain
one- Jamie Oliver,
two- Jamie Oliver
three- Jamie (noise) Oliver

Julia – you have your friends, and your enemies, and you will always have me!
So you are trapped.

A plug for the new single- look there’s me on the front, and the back, and the front, and,,,,,,etc…..

Introductions for all the band

Where I was sat the sound wasn’t great. I looked down into the pit and thought “that’s where I should be” squashed, trampled and sweaty, on tips of my toes trying to see.
Instead I was trapped among the prematurely retired. The man next to me was on his feet and, irresistibly, within a few songs so was I. But the tap on my shoulder soon came “sit down, we can’t see”. Dancing in the aisles was also frowned upon.
Yes, some people do enjoy themselves by sitting down and occasionally twitching their toes…not everyone expresses their pleasure by jumping up and down screaming “yeeeeeessss!” * sigh *

So with my ears still ringing from tonight I’m already thinking
“Next time…..”
I hope it’s not too far off..

Sinistra

Most of tonight has already been faithfully reported. However as someone who witnessed his first Moz gig back in 1995 (was it that long ago?!) I thought I might add my 2 pennance.

- The new Wembley Stadium looks superb. Looking forward to seeing a few games there over the next few years.
- Not sure if the arena was sold out. There were a few empty seats at the back and standing was a but spacious as well. No that I'm complaining as I could supp and admire the moz at the same time!
- Back drop was good and moz pointing at it during you have killed me
- New songs seemed to kill the momentum of the classics, though not to the extent of the shows in May
- Think Girlfried in a coma was Moz and Johnny's attempt at a girl group hit, ie the "bye bye, baby, bye bye" line at the end
- Getting a beer whilst The NF disco was being played. One song I wanted to hear properly.
- In the future when all's well. Sounded like "In the future when Dioff's well". What's the conection with the spitting Bolton player? Strange.
- Thinking that the Smiths "classics" played tonight was a bit sad. 10 years ago I would have been going mad at such treats but nowadays I would have preferred a bit of Vauxhall etc etc. Moz, follow Weller's example and concentrate on the solo years!
- A proper decent length set for once! And daddy's voice! Fantastic. I'm not moaning. Cheers Moz. Where do you go now though? And introducing yourself as Russell Brand was genius!Was that your idea or your assistants? Only joking....

I've just got back from the concert - it was great. I chose to be seated on this occasion and what you gain in civility you lose a bit with the atmosphere. The section of the audience who stood on the floor would have experienced the concert at a much higher level of participation. And it really did look electric down there.

He was on top form and in very good both vocally and physically - and seems to have shed quite a number of pounds since '02.

Outside, on the way in, I noticed a woman who I presumed to be Julia Riley - reddish shoulder length hair and spectacles. I have never seen a picture of her but I presumed it was her. I know this sounds very cheesy - but I almost considered asking her for her autograph! And this from someone who wouldn't dream of asking Mozzy to sign a t-shirt or cd or whatever.

Morrissey, as is now customary, referred to her has having "...friends on one side and enemies on the other! And that's the way it is."

I find it fascinating that he namechecks her at every concert - she must mean a lot to him. The woman he addressed did not seem to be the woman I saw at the head of the queue - she seemed to be dead centre of the stage and the woman he addressed was stage right from my sight line.

Anyway, thoughts of Julia came to mind as I came home. What a fascinating if somewhat predictable life she has lived. I really have to psyche myself to go concerts - rarely go but saw Moz on the 2002 tour. Does she ever get concert fatigue?

Julia, from what I've read previously on here, is the first person at the door (she must arrive a 12 noon each time) stands there for hours on end, the doors open she rushes to the front of stage keeps her place for another three to four hours before Moz comes on and performs for nearly two hours. And has done this consistantly for every concert at every venue at every city for god knows how many years. Where does she get the stamina from?

Julia deserves admiration. If she attracts enemies it must be because of envy. She doesn't seem to have to work so she can spend most of her time seeing Moz perform at all his concerts.

To me seeing Morrissey is an event - the date, the time, the place are all treasured details in my mind. For Julia, seeing Morrissey perform is practically like the usherette's noon to midnight shift at the local mulitplex cinema, but without the labour.

It's duty with joy but without the pay cheque.

'true-to-you.net' reveals nothing about her. If you have any experience or knowledge of her (preferably in the best possible light of course - no bitching please - I just want to know what makes her tick)I'd be pleased to hear what you have to say.

I'm sure if she wrote a book it would make very interesting reading. Does she take notes or do all the concerts just simply mash into one long single haze of memory?

Morrissey has tremendous stamina, and Julia physically can equal him for the amount of standing she chooses to do.

I think she should be canonized for such unerring devotion.

St. Julia - the patron saint of highly devoted fans.

Excellent show, his best since that amazing show in Brixton 2002.
For me the highlight was "Disappointed", i still cannot believe that it's been 15.5 years since i saw him for the first time in the same venue doing that song, gee how time flies :-(
The Quarry after show party was nice as well (I wore that vintage Moz union jack shirt), shame that sound was shite...
Anyway here is one video i took:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akRW980pxF4
More will follow tomorrow.

Feel free to visit my website:
http://www.karelalin.plus.com/smiths/

Enjoy!

Karel.

There was a comment on the poetry of Robert Frost that I missed,

and thanks from Morrissey to all those present "in earnest"
since "I have recently realised the importance of being Earnest".

I too was surprised to see people wandering off to buy drinks, my attention was focused as intently as possible on the music throughout.

Goinghome, were you there, if I'd known I'd have said hello!

If the set-list printed above is correct, Moz has actually taken aboard some of the criticism levelled at him this year. 23 songs, 90 minutes. That's a heck of a lot more than we got in April. Good on you, Mozzer!

great gig! superb setlist and very chatty..
met 18 yr old chap from oxford who surprised of his knowledge on moz...
also there was this short arse girl up the front
who didn't like to be bumped, if you are reading this next time go to the balcony!

I had the most wonderful evening! I took my 10 year old daughter to our 3rd gig this year. London Palladium was fantastic, but this was something totally different. The Arena was lit up beautifully, and the water fountain outside was spectacular, my daughter had a lot of fun dancing on the buttons changing the colour and rythm of the water whilst I drank my (small) bottle of wine that I was going to smuggle in until I noticed a bag check at the enterance.
The Arena wasn't completely full which upset me a bit. Tried to watch Kristeen Young (managed the first 2 songs) then left to have a beer. I find it very hard to understand what Morrissey sees in her. Met a very nice man (Chris) outside by the beer kiosk with his 9 year old son (Jack) that had travelled from Manchester that morning. Lovely to find somebody to talk to and have a beer with whilst waiting for Morrissey to come on stage.
Morrissey was on top form tonight. The band were just fantastic, they seem to get better and better each time I see them. The lighting was beautiful, purple, green and orange.
There was a red balloon drop in between "How soon is now" and "See the boy happy" which was a nice touch. I looked down at the crown below in the Mozz pit and wished I was there, as they seemed to be having a great time, but I couldn't because I had my daughter with me. As soon as he came on stage we both jumped out of our seats to sing "Panic", but sat back down again when we realised thay nobody else had done the same. (The girl sitting next to me didn't move a muscle or sing one word all night) I wonder why they bother coming.
"Let me kiss you" was one of my favourites, but then again, he really didn't disapoint me in anythng he did. Vocally, he was on top form. Plugged his new CD in a very humorous way. Slatted Jamie Oliver and Madonna (He said that he thought she was an intelligent person, but now I know different) . Had a lovely thing to say to Julia about being loved and hated but she will always have him (I was so jealous!!). I was on cloud nine as I left the Arena but soon fell off after taking upto 2 hours to get home on the tube.
Such a fantastic night had by both my daughter and me. The man is in peak condition and I look forward to the next gig.

The clips shown before he came on were amazing - especially the one of James Dean doing a wardrobe test for East of Eden. The bizarre just comes as standard at Morrissey shows. It was an excellent show and was just what I needed after a bad day. I will listen to Tormentors again now with renewed interest (although he didn't sing the 2 songs I really don't like). Pigsty went down a storm and the lighting effects were stunning.

A comment on the difficulties of getting acostomed to bifocal contact lenses..
"don't look down...but of course..."

An obstacle-strewn path I fear I may soon be forced to follow.

Sinistra

We thought the sound was great in the seats (block N7)and Morrissey was fantastic. Quite a few people dancing in front of us including the actress 'Jane Horrocks' - (no sign of David Walliams though who we spotted at the Palladium gig) - they were asked to sit down intermittently by security but were soon up again. 'How soon is now' - definitely a highlight and also 'Life is a Pigsty'. Top Form Old Chap !!

does anyone know if cameras have been allowed at any of his gigs? i got mine confiscated at grimsby so didnt take one to nottingham last tuesday, but saw people taking pics??
im going to manchester on the 23rd and wondered whether to risk taking it or not??
jane.

if you havent already done so, then vote for mozza, greatest living icon, theres a link on the main page of this site.
lets have bill oddie eat his nasty comments about morrissey!!!

ok..was just wondering if anybody took note of waht the video screens were showing.i seem to remember brigitte bardot,a 70s eurovision clip(obviously a moz fave),rambling david johanssen and who was that twisting?

What was the opening line he said as he began the show? Some kind of rhyme that ended in Wembley.

What was the Quarry aftershop party like? Many people there?

What a horrible venue. The foyer is basically a long clinically cold soulless corridor selling bland beer and dead animals in baps. As for the concert, Moz's voice sounded near perfect and the ban were great - was it being filmed for a DVD release? As always though, have my doubts about the setlist. First half, wonderful choice of songs, crowd going wild, atmosphere reaching a crescendo of excitment; second half, too may slow songs, atmosphere deflating rapidly, people looking at their watches and wondering, have I left the iron on? Highlight: has to be National Front Disco. Very surprised though that alot of the crowd either didn't recognise it or, more probably, were too embarrassed in these politically correct times to be seen to be singing along. Moz, my one request before you retire: please, please, please sing What Difference Does it Make live.

if anyone knows please educate me. i've always loved morrissey's intro tapes, from romeo+juliet to betjeman and the fantastic church bells at the albert hall. his current production is really deranged and evil, dim searchlights stalking the crowd (very suitable since the beautiful wembley arena has a what can only be described as a concentration camp-style control tower attached).

plus this mad piano - gorezki or ligeti or something??

Anyone know what that piano intro music is?

Can someone tell me has he ever performed this song live before?

The reason I ask, is that on my way back from Wembley the intro to the above song was the songtrack to my journey home even though he obviously didn't perform it.

I was listening to 'Malajusted' yesterday so that explains that, but I'm certain 'Satan..,' would be great a song performed live.

Although I enjoyed the show last night, I don't think Morrissey was in top form. He moves around the stage and poses decidedly less than he used to and his passion has simply diminished. The increased chattiness creates less mystery and I actually felt last night (near the front of the floor) like I was watching Morrissey lead a Morrissey sing-along. At some points I could not even hear him singing and at times he let the audience finish lines for him. It is great to be with a crowd having so much fun but the butterflies I used to feel when watching him even as recently as 2004 were not there last night.

In addition, although the band sounded excellent, I thought the tempo on the Smiths songs and earlier solo work was far too slow. Girlfriend in a Coma was especially painful.

All that said, it was still a good show and I always welcome the opportunity to see him. Maybe age takes the butterflies away altogether. We'll see how GMEX goes.

The setlist has improved-still too dominated by the TORMENTORS too much for my liking-glad to hear Everyday is like Sunday and NF disco-glad to see the ticket touts took a pasting-hence the empty seats-it seems the Ebay speculators also took a bit of a bashing too-Thats where I got my tickets on the cheap-2 Standing Tix at half price...can't be bad. I've seen Morrissey 4 times this year and wish soo much he'd use more of his early Solo Work-I remenber going to his early Solo gigs and the energy and the songs were much better-but most of all was the Atmosphere which seems for me to missing on this Tour-as for now it's all soo comfortably numb-When I hear in these postings that "I went to the gig with my 7 year old son and he luved it" -I start to think the End is near for Mozzer-all we need now is bean bags and armchairs-as he says himself in the future when all is well-we can look forward to a long long sleep.........

Does anyone know what the music was that was played before Moz came on? The first song sounded a little psychedelic, almost Lou Reed like towards the end. Also the last song, which I thought might be a recent James Maker song? I know one was Jobraith.
Also there was a cool image on the drum, of a man and woman on a motor bike. Where is this from anyone? These little things are quite important.
This concert was ace. I was just taken away in a wave of emotion. Somehow I ended up two rows from the front, amongst the devoted. I remember being right at the back in 1991 for the 'Kill Uncle' tour, so it was lovely being at the front for this. Every song was special. My friend was really crying when 'Please, Please, Please...' was being performed. I stood there with my hands to my face. It was too wondrous. We needed this, as the first night at The Palladium was weird. People were a bit dead, and we felt really down about this. That night I came wearing my vintage 1960's mohair suit, with my friend looking like a funky Margaret Rutherford. We really thought people might get into the spirit of it, but people came in things that they'd wear doing the garden, and looked at us like we were freaks.
But this put it all right. People really showed their devotion. Plus Kristeen Young was brilliant. I know some people have been unkind, but I the music is strange and beautiful.
This is the first comment I've put on, so no horridness please...
some people can be very nasty on here, and should be ashamed.

Does anyone have any footage of the opening videos and music?..

Oh yes, you lucky things. Sounds like you all had a great night. Thanks for the news and here's hoping that 2007 will .......

bring more torment.

best,

Strawberry.

spotted with 5 or so 'friends' near the south entrance looking a bit sheepish. bit odd really

It was a good show...but not a great one.

However, this wasn't down to Morrissey. The performance and set were great...

It's down to the change in the audience over the last five years. London Morrissey gigs have always been rough, but in the past they were rough because people wanted to get near to Morrissey, to get to the stage or to get a piece of the shirt. But now they are just rough for rough's sake...so thanks to the person standing Boz-side of the stage near the first exit who felt the need to throw their beer in the direction of me and my wife. Lucky for you that it was dark and no-one pointed you out when I turned around, otherwise you'd be wearing your bollocks for ear-muffs.

Oh, and to the drunken lady in denims who insisted on telling everyone that she'd seen Kristeen Young as support before and she's shit, Morrissey gets on stage at 9.00ish, why not get yourself some more bartime instead?

I won't mention the number of people who turned up to see Morrissey via their mobile phones...

I used to think that boorish fashion slavish chavs were in the minority at Morrissey shows, but now I'm not so sure.

Sorrow of Stamford Bridge

I hadn't originally planned to go to this concert, having already booked for Manchester on the 23rd, and also having seen him twice earlier in the year, but I decided that it would be stupid of me not to go really when I adore his music so much. Besides, I felt it was fated as I wasn't wearing any leather, had my Exit T Shirt on (where I saw him first), and hadn't eaten any meat that day, which was clearly a subconcious homage to him and indicating that I was meant to be there. Spotted a ticket for £25 on ebay, and arranged to meet the guy, Leo, who was selling it, leaving work early (I was too excited to focus anyway) and spending the journey listening to Bona Drag, ROTT and Viva Hate (extended version) on my Ipod. Sadly, the people commuters around me also had to listen as I kept breaking into song, such was the joy in my heart!

Arrived early and was standing outside, infront on the fountain. I was really happy and danced away (you might have seen me perhaps?) and had a cheeky Smirnoff Ice while I waited (cheers to the lads with the bottle opener). While I was waiting, a lovely woman approached me and gave me a ticket for free as she had a spare - if you read this, thank you so much! I waited for Leo anyway and told him I'd been given a ticket, but gave him £10 anyway for his trouble. He seemed alright with that.

Got inside and had a look at the merchandise and bought myself one of the snazzy light blue skinny fit T shirts, with the crest logo on. Obviously my next move was to go straight into the toilets so I could put it on.

Went for a beer and while being served the man next to me was called "Maam" by the girl serving - at least that's what I heard, so I said to him, "I think she just called you Maam, either that or she said 'Man'!" The other girl serving seemed to think it was funny and we made deep and meaningful eye contact, which made an already good evening better (you can't beat a little bit of eye flirtation with a stranger)!

Went in to see Kristeen Young's set, which wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and I did actually like the single, "London Cry". She reminded me very much of Kate Bush, which is probably why I liked her, but I don't understand why she seems to think wearing beer can plastic hoops on her arms is good - they just look stupid! Other than that, I wish people wouldn't be so nasty to the support act. Ok, we'ree not going to like anyone as much as we like Morrissey, but if he started earlier, he'd finish earlier - it's not like he'd do a three hour gig is it? So please can we play nicely and not harrass the support!

Enjoyed the video clips played while we waited for Morrissey - I must confess to being rather partial to Europop myself so it was quite a treat. That's real pop music and we don't have anyone in this country making stuff like that... probably because it's a bit cheesy, but we all need cheese in our lives! Except Vegans of course.

When the curtain dropped I felt such a rush of happiness and anticipation. And when he walked on the crowd around me surged forwards to get that tiny bit closer! I was to the right hand side of the stage, as you look at it, about two people from the barrier and it gave me a wonderful view as he seemed to spend quite a bit of time coming to our side. This also allowed me to get a few decent pics on my phone (one came out so well, I've used it for my desktop background).

The set list was really good, I really enjoyed the old songs, but felt the newer stuff was sounding better than ever. Highlights for me were "Everyday is Like Sunday", "Life is a Pigsty", "The National Front Disco" and... oh, just about all of it really!

Moz seemed to be in a really playful mood, introducing the band and then himself as Russell Brand, and sliping in his alternative lyrics to keep us on our toes ("Diana Dors you'll never be"). He seemed very relaxed, pleased to see us all and genuinely happy.

It was a really well performed show and I don't mind him talking more than he used to, at least he has something i

Read the rest of this comment...

There are some more lovely comments and photos up on Mikey Farrell's blogsite - www.michaelkevinfarrell.com - including this dated 6th December:

"In the UK
Back in the United Kingdom and we've spent so much time here in recent years that I feel comfortable. London is a second home and certain neig