The Boy Racer
Shoplifters Of the World Unite
Heir Apparent
Speedway
November Spawned A Monster
Is It Really So Strange?
Hairdresser On Fire
Half A Person
A Swallow On My Neck
Break Up the Family
Reader Meet Author
Alma Matters
Meat Is Murder
The Teachers Are Afraid Of the Pupils
I Can Have Both
Tomorrow
/Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me

The Spokane audience saw the live debut of two songs, both b-sides from singles lifted off the "Maladjusted" album from 1997. "Heir Apparent" would never be performed live again but "I Can Have Both" was to remain a setlist regular for the rest of this leg of the Oye Esteban tour. Returning to the set was the Smiths' "Shoplifters Of The World Unite", played here for the first time since the 1997 tour. A number of setlist regulars from the first half of the Oye Esteban tour were temporarily dropped. Songs like "Billy Budd", "Now My Heart Is Full", "Lost" or "You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side" would return on later dates, but others like "Sunny" or "Roy's Keen" would not.

Morrissey came out wearing a plum coloured velvet jacket over a green English Martyrs shirt. He greeted his fans with the pun "It's great to be down on the 'Kan!". Set opener "The Boy Racer" segued straight into the returning "Shoplifters Of The World Unite". After that opening pair Morrissey said "I can't believe you're here... I can't believe I'm here!". In "Heir Apparent" the singer slightly changed both occurrences of the line "you think it's so easy" to "you think this is easy". The song was very well received which prompted him to ask "Why are you screaming?". He then apologized by saying "I'm sorry it's taken so long to come here but... nobody's ever asked me to come so..." He followed "Speedway" with the line "So according to your local newspaper I'm an extremely intense British cult figure which... all of which is absolutely news to me because... I thought it was the rest of the world that was intense!"

Following "November Spawned A Monster" Morrissey removed his shirt and apologized: "I'm sorry to be such a show-off but, you know... I've come such a long way that I thought... What did I think?". After "Is It Really So Strange?" he made a few television-related remarks: "Steady on, this isn't the Jenny Jones show, you know... Have you noticed on the Jenny Jones show they clap for anything?... I've noticed, that's my life..." A fan shouted something about Jerry Springer and the singer replied "What? Ah, I love Jerry Springer... I am Jerry Springer! I don't like Sally though..."

Next up was "Hairdresser On Fire" and following its performance Morrissey told someone who was shouting his name: "This is just a nervous reaction, you don't really mean it... you're shy, I know... when you're shy you call people's names out... I do!" After "Break Up The Family" he answered someone else with the questions "What d'you mean 'hang the DJ'? Tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk, what's 'hang the DJ'? (giggles)... Is that my life, hanging the DJ? Oh God... I don't think that's so terribly wrong..." After "Reader Meet Author" he sarcastically asked a fan who was shouting for "Everyday Is Like Sunday!": "Can you shout that louder please?... That never works... In fact nothing ever works..." The vegetarian anthem "Meat Is Murder" was introduced with the line "I know this is a country of prime beef... (someone shouts a snide remark, Morrissey laughs) Oh, stop it, stop it! This is a compassionate song about non-violence..." After the song he replied to someone else's comment with "Yes, but do you know where your nearest slaughterhouse is? I bet you don't... Say what? Take what off?"

After "The Teachers Are Afraid Of the Pupils" Morrissey joked by saying "Look we know we're not as good as Third Eye Blind... and we know that we're not as good as Korn... and we know we'll never make it onto VH1... which is really all that matters..." The next planned song was then introduced with the line "This song is very wishful thinking, it's called 'I Can Have Both'... (turns to a cheering fan) Stop pretending!". In the latter number Morrissey reversed the lines "should I hang around to be inticed inside" and "should I wait and hope to be dragged inside" and replaced a few occurrences of the title line with "he can have both". The song's final chorus was dropped and Morrissey followed the live arrangement's abrupt ending with a repeat of his earlier comment "I am Jerry Springer..."

Before going into main set closer "Tomorrow" Morrissey replied to someone with the words "I've always given up... I'd love to!" Then when someone shouted "yeah!", he mocked them by repeating "YEAH!" When he returned to the stage for the encore his parting words before going into "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" were "Thank you for letting me have you!"

A rather good audience recording of the complete set is available in physical and digital formats, straight from the master recording (recorder: JLW aka leche27), or from one of the 3 inferior transfers that have been seen in circulation. The transfer found under the title "Live In Spokane WA 2K" is quite common. It sounds more muffled than the original as it went through some fan's attempt at remastering. Another transfer lacks "Is It Really So Strange?". Finally the other one was very likely taken from a tape copy and is limited to the right channel.

Do you have information about this concert? Or do you own an uncirculated recording of it? If yes please contribute and get credited.