In the end, I liked Morrissey! Even though I have never left a concert so… bewildered, shocked or confused. I had to take some time to think about if I like it or not…. At first, I panicked. I didn’t like what I saw; the music didn’t blow my mind, so I was already worried about having nothing to write about it. Then, something happened. Morrissey’s lyrics, his way of articulating the words, the images on the screens, all put my neurons to rotate at maximum speed (even more than Titanic’s engine trying to avoid the iceberg). :)
What Morrissey gave at Palace Hall in Bucharest on Wednesday evening (14th october) was more than a concert. In fact, it had nothing to do with the entertainment concept. It was THE LIFE. That part of life which we often ignore because we don’t like it. After such an encounter, on your way home you find yourself wondering about everything. You can disagree with Morrissey, but you can’t stay indifferent to his message. After all, it’s not just about being a vegetarian/vegan or not, it’s also about not accepting any sort of violence (whether is against humans or animals)! The hardest moment on your way home is when you realize how selfish you really are (like it or not, you’re haunted by this thought for a while).
But... Let’s start with the beginning. I’ve never been a Morrissey fan. I knew him, of course. I've read about him, but I don’t think I’ve listened to more than two or three of his songs till last year. Then, in 2014, he released the album „World Peace Is None Of Your Business”, and Andrei Partoș (a well known, respected journalist from Romania) played it on the radio and the feedback from our public was great. One important aspect: Andrei received the album from a listener who asked him if he can play it on te radio. Anyway, in august 2015, I started to learn more about his music and his career, as we got involved in promoting his concert in Bucharest (we were media partners for the show). Andrei Partoș was playing his songs on the radio (old ones, new ones, from The Smiths and from his solo career), almost every night during his radio-show, and step by step I became ‘friends’ with his music. Frankly, I’ve always admired people who fight with everything they’ve got for their own believes and stay true to those! That is why Morrissey became easy to like. Yet, nothing of what I’ve read or listen to prepared me for what I was to see at Palace Hall.
I was curious about his public, what kind of people they are... Let’s be honest! Morrissey is not a well-known artist in our country. Unfortunately, I don't have friends who listen to his music (all of my friends listen to hard-rock, heavy-metal, thrash, blues, jazz, etc), I haven’t met people who would talk about him (neither praise nor criticize). So… I was really curious about his public. To my pleasant surprise, I have found out from the local promoter that the tickets were selling well (to be honest, when the concert was announced, I thought it gets cancelled).
On 14th October, I arrived at Palace Hall at 7.15 p.m. In the hallway there was a merchandise stall (100 lei a t-shirt). Inside, semi-dark (a few lights were on), intimate atmosphere, the curtain of the room bottom was down, just a few people were looking for their seats. From time to time small groups of 3-4 people were coming in. I was thinking that at this pace we’ll manage to have the same audience figures that we had for Elvis Costello (he sang in front of merely 500 people). I was proved to be wrong. And I am glad! At 8.00 p.m. there were approximately 2.000 people waiting for Morrissey. The concert was scheduled for 8.00 p.m., but I’ve found out from Andreea Andreescu (PR Events) that we’ll have a ’30 minutes movie’ in the opening. A movie?! Hmmm... No one said anything about a movie... I taught it would be about his career. The „movie” started on time, but it turned out it wasn't really a movie, but a collection of videos (songs, interviews, etc). As there was no explanation, I assumed that it was about musicians and well-known people who inspired Morrissey somehow (I’ve read in one of his interviews about his admiration towards New York Dolls). I was expecting to see Marc Bolan as well... but... no luck this time. I know it wasn’t his intention to teach us music history but he could have written for each video what band/artist it was, at least. As you can see there are people, like me, who see him for the first time... :) Anyway…
While the videos were running, the lights were still on. People weren’t that much interested about the videos. Most of them were doing their check-in on Facebook. Morrissey should have forbidden the phones too, not only the meat dishes during concert. The audience age range was 35 – 40 years old. I was surprised to see the protection fence in front of the stage. I haven’t seen that before at the Palace Hall! I admit I didn’t understand that safety procedure, as I have seen photos from other concerts in 2015 and the audience was ‘glued’ to the stage. Anyway, they’d probably thought that the Latin blood is boiling inside Romanians, get passionate and would be all over him. :) Yeah, I know about the „stage invasion”, but it was still weird to see the protection fence at Palace Hall. Before the show started I've asked one of the BGS guards about that protection fence. Bad idea! I'll never forget his frowned face, the cold look in his eyes and the harsh tone in his voice: „go to your seat, please! We were warned about his fans who try to get on stage”. During the show, one person tried to ‘break the protection wall’ and climb on the stage. But you can’t pass BGS guards that easy. The venture guy was ‘thrown’ back into the crowd. Nevertheless, his effort wasn’t in vain. Morrissey went to him and shake his hand. Which was really cool.
The artists came on the stage at 20.35. The audience stood up (and stayed that way until the end) giving him a very warm welcome. Their enthusiasm weakened after a while but there were people who danced and sang all through the concert. One girl was very funny, after hearing Morrissey sneezing a couple of times (or at least, it seemed that way), she took out of her bag a C Aspirin pill, looked at her friends and asked them: „Should I go to give it to him?” Yeah, sure! Good luck with BGS! :)
As I’ve said before, first impression wasn’t quite in his favor. I didn’t like nor understand it, I couldn’t ‘connect’ to his music, I didn’t find his voice appealing, his lyrics made no sense to me, he looked weird on the stage (playing with mike’s cable too much, moving chaotically, jerkily…). But... After 3 songs, his music was overpassed by the visual, the lyrics and Morrissey’s way of pronouncing the words has captivated me completely. With every song I became freer, as if somebody was taking a burden from my shoulders.
It is the first show I see in which all communication channels (interpretation, lyrics, video, pictures, lights, stage movement and music) are efficiently used to send the artist’s message. During the concert I remembered one of Alice Cooper’s statements: „In the 60s or 70s, it was easy to shock, now you can’t do that anymore”. Well, now I know you still can! Morrissey understood that there is no need to be subtle nowadays. If you have something to say, say it straight! You brutally ‘deliver’ your message to the public. It is well known that the artist fights for animal and human rights. Therefore, he took the chance to show us the ugly truth. We saw uncensored images from slaughterhouses (you can’t forget the look of slaughtered animals), police forces who were attacking men, women, people in wheelchairs or who were ruthlessly shooting people or animals. He didn’t forget about Spain’s bull fights nor Great Britain’s Royal Family. The videos were really shocking and their message was amplified by the music and by the words that sometimes sounded like cannon fires. Many spectators (maybe too many!), in order to avoid watching the videos, stared at the floor or opened their Facebook. Or maybe it was just their habit. After all, this is what we always do: we’ve got used to turn our head and walk away when we don’t like what we see. We no longer have the courage to face the ugly truth.
There wasn’t any ‘dead time’ in the show! Morrissey didn’t lose his audience not even for a second. You get born with such a charisma, you don’t acquire it. I‘ve seen an artist completely ‘free’, who takes responsibility for his words, gestures or phantasms. I went to the concert of an artist little known to me but I left there with the joy of having have met the leader of a generation.
I was also impressed with Morrissey's band: Jesse Tobias (guitarist), Boz Boorer (guitarist), Mando Lopez (bass player), Matt Walker (drummer) and Gustavo Manzur (keyboards, acoustic guitar, accordion). Morrissey enthusiastically presented his colleagues, telling us where they are from.
I was expecting the Palace Hall to be full with thousands of animal lovers. Morrissey has dedicated his career to his belief ; from the beginning he has fought for animal rights. But I was proven again that the love for animals and mankind is just a fashion in Romania. If it’s about a walk on Capital’s boulevards (a’ protest’ walk) there are thousands of people there just because is ‘cool’ to be seen to such a ‘meeting’. But when there is something meaningful, when they get the chance to see an artist who unconditionally supports this cause, then the Romanian animal lover would rather have a quick bite at McDonalds from where he posts on Facebook some tearful message asking others to save the animals. Shame on you guys! We got used to say „it's his fight”, when it really is EVERYBODY'S FIGHT! Thank you, Morrissey for pointing that out!
14th October 2015 was a very special evening for me. I’ll be happy if Morrissey returns in Romania. I would like to go to another concert of his!
Suedehead
Alma Matters
Kiss Me a lot
You have Killed Me
Speedway
Ganglord
Staircase At The University
World Peace Is None Of Your Business
How Soon Is Now?
I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris
Istanbul
Reader Meet Author
Oboe concerto
I Will See You In Far Off Places
First Of The Gang To Die
The Bullfighter Dies
Meat Is Murder
Everyday Is Like Sunday
The World Is Full With Crashing Bores
What She Said
The Queen Is Dead
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