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23 April 2004 The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA
First Of The Gang To DieNight #2 of Morrissey's 5-date residency at the Wiltern in Los Angeles went down well but couldn't possibly compare to the previous night. Morrissey was more distant and made contact - physical or verbal - with his audience slightly less than usual. But his voice was getting better and the band were very energetic. Despite a few attempts, no one made it on stage. "I Like You" and "The Headmaster Ritual" were dropped from the setlist in favour of "Now My Heart Is Full". This meant that the setlist length was shortened by one song, but it was still one more than the near-standard 17-title setlist of this leg of the tour. The new addition "Now My Heart Is Full" was being played for the first time in 2004. As he entered stage with a plant hanging from his crotch zipper, Morrissey greeted his fans with a simple "Amigos!". After set opener "First Of The Gang To Die" he extended his greeting with "Welcome to Act 2 of a 5-act play..." After the crowd favourite "Hairdresser On Fire" he extended his welcome again, but this time with a bit of sarcasm: "...and welcome to an all new set!" Before going into the following number he enquired on the whereabouts of his favourite fan with a simple "Julia?". "How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?" was followed with the confusing introduction: "That was a song from our new cd album called 'How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?'... Yes you too!" Following "A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours" Morrissey started to say something but was interrupted by some fan's shouts: "I should also tell you that the music you heard as you fell into the venue was... What? You know? You really know honestly? You wouldn't if you knew me. I'm not really very nice..." After "Everyday Is Like Sunday" he finally managed to finish what he meant to say before the song: "I was gonna say before that, the music that was playing as you walked in was an American singer-songwriter called Jobriath. Does anybody know Jobriath? Uh what? I'm only a really small person, honestly..." Morrissey self-deprecatingly commented on the audience's appreciation of "I'm Not Sorry" with "Jolly good acting..." then enquired "So how is life in San Bernardino? (repeats someone's answer) Useless?" He then introduced "Don't Make Fun Of Daddy's Voice" with the basic "This song is called 'Don't Make Fun Of Daddy's Voice'." After that number he thanked his opening bands: "We'd like to say thank you to Elefant... who we hope you enjoyed... and also yesterday I forgot to thank the Killers because I'm extremely self-obsessed and I couldn't think of anybody else, so... gab-gab-gab!" New song "I Have Forgiven Jesus" was wittily introduced with "And now just to lighten the mood a bit, 'I Have Forgiven Jesus'." Morrissey didn't seem to be happy with his performance of the latter number because he followed it with "I can also sing that song in tune... but not tonight!" He then asked his most dedicated fan "You okay Julia? Sure?" Before going into the crowd favourite "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" he proceeded with the customary introduction of the band: "Could I please introduce you to the boys in the bland - band!... standing right here is (points to a spot on the stage in front of Boz who takes a few steps forward to reach it) Boz!... standing right here, Gary!... and sitting right there is Deano!... standing right there is Alain!... and standing round here is the wonderful Mikey... and who'd ever believe that they're all miming... Me." After the line "most people keep their brains between their legs" in "Such A Little Thing Makes Such A Big Difference" Morrissey added "some don't!". Over the first few notes of "All The Lazy Dykes" he cryptically said "Wouldn't we if... absolutely love... 'All The Lazy Dyke'..." After "The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores" he started "That song was called 'The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores' which is a statement of fact and... (a shirt lands on stage) Sorry... Boz?" Morrissey then picked up the shirt and looked at it. After turning it around and checking the label, he made a disgusted face and threw it back into the crowd. Following the cover of Raymonde's "No One Can Hold A Candle To You" Morrissey jokingly announced "That was a cover version of a song by Led Zeppelin... who you all love..." When he returned to the stage for the encore his final banter was "Thank you Los Hang-eles, I think I've finally realised the importance of being... Ernesto!" Shortly before the end of encore "Irish Blood, English Heart" he removed the Jobriath t-shirt he had just changed into, threw it into the audience and posed bare-chested for a short time before flying backstage. A bit of footage from this date was shown alongside a short Morrissey interview on CNN the following 9 May.
The Morrissey interview featuring footage from this date can be found tagged at the end of DVDs featuring some other concerts from the era. It can also be found in digital format on the internet.
Do you have information about this concert? Or do you own an uncirculated recording of it? If yes please contribute and get credited.
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