State Theater, Detroit, MI
A Swallow On My NeckThis concert was a success. Morrissey was in good spirits, energetic and talkative, even when beer was thrown at him or when he was being heckled (read further). The audience was very receptive and quite a few fans successfully made it on stage. The first one to make it there was called a "brave boy" by Morrissey. The drum kit still said "Semisorry", an anagram of Morrissey's name. The setlist was almost the same as the one from the night before, but "Alma Matters" was reinstated to bring its length back to 17 songs.
I Am Hated For Loving
Ouija Board, Ouija Board
Billy Budd
Is It Really So Strange?
Lost
Now My Heart Is Full
The Teachers Are Afraid Of the Pupils
Half A Person
Boxers
Tomorrow
I Can Have Both
Meat Is Murder
Hairdresser On Fire
Alma Matters
Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
/Shoplifters Of the World Unite
New walk-on music was introduced on this date. For the first time Morrissey and his band came on stage to the James Bond theme instead of the drum intro from "The Operation". This would remain until the end of this tour. Morrissey's opening line was "We're cheap... we're British... we smell... and we're all yours!". After set opener "A Swallow On My Neck" he said "nice to see your (?) cheeks..." After "I Am Hated For Loving" he teased the audience and when they reacted, he said "Yes, I can hear you!".
At the end of "Ouija Board, Ouija Board" someone threw a glass of beer on stage and Morrissey was splashed with some of it. This prompted him to comment "Do you have anything better?... I never feel welcome 'til somebody throws beer at me... and that goes for wherever I go: the supermarket, church... the stage is really slippy now so I can't move around, which is horrible, but thank your friend! And if you're stood next to the person who threw it, please throw something at him or her..."
In "Billy Budd" Morrissey updated a line to "now it fifty years on". He also sang "so what! they turned me down". The Smiths' "Is It Really So Strange?" was introduced with the line "This is for all those of you who are old and clever swines, you're stood at the back and reading... we remember you..." After the song he thanked the audience and when they cheered back he emphasized "Oh no, thank you!"
After "Lost" Morrissey shouted "Oh for God's sake!" in a rough voice as an answer to someone heckling him. Besides all the new changes in the new slow acoustic arrangement of "Now My Heart Is Full" he also sang "I just can't explain so why should I try to". After the song he cryptically said "When I told you we would teethe... well we've more teeth than we even imagined when I said we would teethe..." He then offered someone the microphone: "Would you like the microphone?"
After "The Teachers Are Afraid Of the Pupils" Morrissey teased "It must be absolutely horrible to be known as hockey-town..." To someone who answered back he replied with the question "Could you say that slowly?" Not straying from the subject, he changed a line in "Half A Person" to "Sixteen, clumsy and shy, I went to Detroit and I..." After the song he joked "The only difference is, you probably haven't noticed but... I'm no longer 16... (in a little girl voice) I'm 17!... Oh God..."
After "Boxers" Alain started to say something into his microphone and Morrissey said "Alain would like to say a few words, but he doesn't know any..." He then told the audience "You don't have to clap everything you know, if we play something that you don't like, you know, tell us..." When he thanked the audience after "Tomorrow" he extended it with "all of you!". When a fan shouted something to him about flowers, he replied "They're not my flowers!... only flowers..." During the break halfway into "I Can Have Both" he said "I told you!"
After changing into a West Ham Boys Club t-shirt Morrissey asked "I suppose you have no idea what West Ham means, really... No!... Somebody say no!?..." He then followed this with the introduction for "Meat Is Murder": "This song is called 'Burger Off'!" After the song he added "So the moral is... the next time somebody tries to drag you into Murder King, Just! Say! No!" After "Hairdresser On Fire" he teased "I always keep my word, whoever gets the t-shirt can have me... which is hysterically funny..." After "Alma Matters" he joked "And if you know what that song means, please telephone 1-800-962... it's (?)..." Before going into encore "Shoplifters Of The World Unite" he declared "In our cheap British hearts, we love you..."
A fair audience recording of the complete concert is circulated on bootleg compact discs, sometimes with artwork under the titles "Detroit 2000" or "We're All Yours". This is also circulated in digital format on the internet, in at least two different transfers of similar quality. It must be said that one of these has some of Morrissey's banter edited out.
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