Barrowlands, Glasgow, UK
I Want The One I Can't HaveThis must have been the roughest gig of the 2002 tour. Concerts in Glasgow are never tame affairs and this was no exception. It started as soon as Morrissey got on stage when a glass of beer was thrown at him (read further). A rowdy audience calls for rough security and this, combined with the presence of a high barrier, made it impossible for anyone with plans of climbing on stage. On the good side most of the audience was very receptive and vocally appreciative, so Morrissey still remained chatty throughout (sometimes in a Scottish accent) and in a reasonably good mood. He kept his soaked shirt on until after "Meat Is Murder" when it was thrown into the audience. The one he changed into afterwards also went the same way at the end of the regular set, so did the encore shirt. So all in all, three shirts were to be fought over, a record for this tour, but nothing compared to the previous Oye Esteban tour.
Suedehead
Little Man, What Now?
Hairdresser On Fire
Speedway
The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
First Of The Gang To Die
Jack The Ripper
Everyday Is Like Sunday
I Like You
Alsatian Cousin
Sister I'm A Poet
Meat Is Murder
November Spawned A Monster
Hand In Glove
Irish Blood, English Heart
/There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
There was no change in the setlist.
As Morrissey got on stage he greeted the audience with a simple "Hello Glasgow!" He didn't have time to say anything else because he was immediately pelted with beer. It took him by surprise, but it wasn't enough to frighten him off stage. He had seen it before - beer, coins, gob - and was able to handle it. Disgusted, he said "Eeeeuuuuwww, that's not very nice, stop! Oh, that's horrible isn't it. Stop-stop-stop-stop! You promise no more? If somebody next to you throws something will you... wop them!? Thank you..."
After set opener "I Want The One I Can't Have" Morrissey could finally greet the audience properly: "It's nice to see you. We are.. we came by Collyhurst and Miles Platting and Failsworth and places you've never heard of, and probably don't want to... and here we are." After "Little Man, What Now?" he asked his favourite fan in the front row "Julia, you're not going to make it through this one, I can tell... Are you okay? (to her neighbour) Is she okay? Ask her! Is she okay? La-la-la-la-la..." After "Hairdresser On Fire" he enquired about the crowd's appreciation of the opening band: "We hope you enjoyed our friends Sack, did you? Five lovely Irish lasses..."
"The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores" was introduced with the line "These... this is my observations on that wonderful modern life that we all lead. You will not disagree, the world is full of crashing bores..." After the song the audience broke into a chant of "Morrissey! Morrissey! Morrissey!" and the object of the attention segued this into his introduction of "First Of The Gang To Die" : "Morrissey!... who will, if everything goes to plan, be the first of the gang to die..." Over the first few bars of the song he said "You look very squashed Julia... I feel responsible..."
Following "First Of The Gang To Die" Morrissey told the audience "Thank you, good acting!" then tried (or pretended to try) to decipher things shouted back at him: "I don't know what you're saying! I really don't know..." This was followed with "It's also very nice to see some of our irregulars regulars who... Birmingham, Bradford, Blackburn, it's just one journey... I was there too and... you may have noticed me singing, (crowd cheers) and I am singing, yes this is the thoughts of Jack the Ripper..." The crowd favourite "Everyday Is Like Sunday" was introduced with "I saw a few (undecipherable) parked outside so some of you will remember this song... I think, Boz..."
After "Everyday Is Like Sunday" the crowd was chanting Morrissey's name to the football tune again and the man teased "And we're not gonna mention the football because we're proud to say we know nothing about it... (crowd disagrees loudly) Jesus! Football, kicker... Just kidding... How are you Boz? (Boz: I'm very well, thank you!) He's very well... My contact lenses tell me that this song is called (Morrissey turns to Alain who says: 'I Like You') 'I Like You'!" As the tour was approaching its end and he was still without a record contract, Morrissey followed the song with the bitter "That song was called 'I Like You' and... if things continue as they are, it will never be released... but we don't mind..."
Before going into "Sister I'm A Poet" Morrissey proceeded with the evening's introduction of the band: "If you can bare applause I'd like to introduce you to four of my very nice friends. They're in the audience somewhere - sorry! Boz!... Gary... Deano... and Alain! And I'm the person your mother warned you about... She was right!" After the song the crowd got chanting again and this time Morrissey said "I don't know why you like me, I never get any Q Awards or anything, so I'm obviously shit... I've never been on, what's that... (feigns ignorance) what's that British award thing called? Which one? No, that horrible British Awards? The Brits Awards? I've never been on the Brits Awards so obviously I'm absolute cobblers..." Then as the audience started chanting again Morrissey this time said "It's a beautiful tune, but look where it's been..."
The vegetarian anthem "Meat Is Murder" was introduced with "This song... Yes, what I'd like to be... this song is originally... well you know where you can stuff your kebab..." After "November Spawned A Monster" Morrissey thanked the audience, said they were "...very gracious..." then replied to Boz "Yes Boz? Everything's happening, nothing's happening..." After a rapturously received "Hand In Glove" he bridged to main set closer "Speedway" with "And just when you think it's safe to dart for the exit..."
When he returned to the stage after a short break Morrissey had a few words for his loving audience before going into the encore: "Thank you Glasgow you've brought a tear to two blood-shot eyes and we're very grateful. Please remember me in your prayers... but if you don't pray, it doesn't matter..." After starting on a bad note the evening ended magically with the whole audience singing along with Morrissey to "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out".
A very good audience recording of the complete concert is circulated on compact discs and in digital format on the internet. This is sometimes seen with artwork under the title "This Is My Life". It is one of the best souvenirs of the 2002 tour, not only for the sound quality but also because of the way the recording captured the energy and enthusiasm of the audience.
A second audience recording is also out there, but it only features 6 songs from this date and is not shared much at this point in time.
Do you have information about this concert? Or do you own an uncirculated recording of it? If yes please contribute and get credited.