I had nervous jitters on the way to the Waterbury Palace in CT. I broke into a sweat, and was simply in shock. I was on my way to see Morrissey.
As a huge Smiths fan, and fan of the man in general, I was looking forward to just being in the same room as him. It was an honour to even think about being in his presence.
Sitting in my seat, there was a montage of videos on the screen. Ranging from bizarre old b&w films to obscure 70s music videos, finally the curtain went up and lights blinded the audience. There was a voice- female, but not distinctive- saying seemingly random words. "Rape", "sexual harassment", "abortion", amongst many others, this monologue of sorts went on for about five minutes. Then, lo and behold, it ceased.
Morrissey stepped onto the stage.
Accompanied by his 5-piece backup band all wearing shirts that said "BASH", he was a god in his own right. He opened up with "You Have Killed Me", an absolutely perfect tune. The crowd was wild and taking it all in. It was like watching a film, it was so perfect. Every detail was flawless and so rhythmic and smooth. It was nearly surreal in its' absurd excellence.
"Every Day Is Like Sunday" drew in the crowd even more. People were yelling the lyrics at the top of their lungs, losing themselves in the music. The ballad is gorgeous, and was even moreso live. Morrissey's voice was impeccable; he is a truly consistently great musician, which isn't the case for a lot of people whose "prime" has passed. This was when the crowd fell in love with him even more. The energy in the room shifted- there was a sense of togetherness, community, in the way that this song was carried out.
What absolutely did me in to put this performance in my top 10 was when he played "Meat Is Murder". As a hardcore vegan and animal rights activist, it's practically an anthem. However, utilizing the technology of the projection screen, during the tune Meet Your Meat was shown. In protest, people actually sat down. They were "disgusted" with it- only because they had a guilty conscience. I lost it here, tears streaming down my face and I was sobbing so hard my vision was blurry. I was shaking and captivated, moved by the sheer honesty and beauty. Though I'd seen the video hundreds of times before, there was something about seeing it with the song, with the energy, that affected me so much.
However, this was not a reciprocated action. Not only did people sit down, but some didn't even stand back up for the next song. People hated it. They "didn't need to see it", out of their own arrogance and ignorance. It was a punch in the gut to me because all I want to do is to have something like that shake a person who eats meat. They have to see what their diet creates- this monster. And they turned their backs.
From there, the mood of everything changed. Morrissey played more ballads, melancholy and slower, compared to his kickoff show in Boston at the Wang. I honestly believe this was because of the crowd's reaction to the "Meat Is Murder" bit. Regardless, it was wonderful and the band maintained its errorless performance.
"I Know It's Over" was positively magnificent. It rendered me wordless. I do believe that other than "Meat Is Murder", this way my favourite song of the night. Something about it stuck with me. The lyrics, the lighting, it all meshed together. It was well-orchestrated, and I was in awe at Morrissey's pure, immaculate voice and presence.
Doing an encore of "Let Me Kiss You" and closing with "Still Ill", I stayed until the houselights came up. My tears were dried, my expectations were exceeded, and my heart was beating fast. Something about the show grabbed me and never let go- not even writing this can I shake the giddy excitement that I felt before and during the show.
Morrissey is magic.
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