The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA
First Of The Gang To DieAfter a break of one night Morrissey returned to the Wiltern to resume his five-date residency there. Show #4 went well but it wasn't the most memorable of the tour. Morrissey and his musicians were at their best, but the audience, bar the first few rows, was not the most energetic or ehthusiastic. There were still quite a few attempts by fans to make it on stage and two female ones were actually successful. Both shirts Morrissey wore during the concert, one for the main set and one for the encore, were thrown into the crowd to be fought over. For some reason Morrissey didn't introduce the band like he usually did on this tour. There was no change in the setlist content or order.
Hairdresser On Fire
The Headmaster Ritual
Don't Make Fun Of Daddy's Voice
Jack The Ripper
How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?
The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
Such A Little Thing Makes Such A Big Difference
I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday
No One Can Hold A Candle To You
I'm Not Sorry
Subway Train/Everyday Is Like Sunday
A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours
All The Lazy Dykes
Irish Blood, English Heart
/Hand In Glove
The show was filmed by a crew, possibly for a future DVD release or to potentially provide extra footage for the release of another date. However none of this has surfaced. Instead the superior 22 May 2004 birthday concert in Manchester was released in 2005, under the title "Who Put The M In Manchester?".
As he came on stage Morrissey's greeting to the audience was "Buenas noches, buena dia(?)" After set opener "First Of The Gang To Die" he said "Really we've known you before, how can you bear it?" After "Hairdresser On Fire" he searched the first row for his favourite fan: "I can't say another word until I know where Julia is (crowd boos)..." He then introduced "The Headmaster Ritual" with "...and the past is a very strange place..." Future b-side "Don't Make Fun Of Daddy's Voice" was introduced with the line "Thank you... because... as we all know, you can do anything, but don't make fun of daddy's voice..."
Before going into "Jack The Ripper" Morrissey joked "And I'd like to say that I too lost my virginity to a Morrissey song... last night! It's all worth the fun, for a change..." After the song he collected various gifts from fans: "This is for me I'll take it, thank you... Is this for me? Thank you... Nothing else? Shut up! (makes funny noises) This is erm... yes, life goes on and we have a new album and..." Between "How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?" and "The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores" he introduced both songs in one line: "That song was called 'How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?'... and of course Family Feud, Wheel Of Fortune, Jeopardy, the world is full of crashing bores..." Over the opening bars of the latter he said "I'm fine Julia..."
Before going into "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" Morrissey replied to someone's shouts of love with "You know, if you really knew me, you wouldn't like me... I'm really not that nice, honestly, please believe me..." After the song he looked for someone called Marilyn: "I just wonder if Marilyn is here tonight? Marilyn? No? Where is she? She's in the bar? (giggles)..." The Raymonde cover "No One Can Hold A Candle To You" was introduced with the line "So, as I said yesterday or the day before or the month before, this song is about a candle... but not just any candle!" After the song Morrissey asked "Did I sing that song in tune? Miracle..." then "Do I look as if I (?)... it's amazing!"
After "I'm Not Sorry" Morrissey said "That song was called 'I'm Not Sorry' and it's from our new album which is called 'You Are The Quarry' which roughly translated means 'I Am The Quarry'..." Also from the new album, "All The Lazy Dykes" was introduced with the line "This song of course, written out of love, 'All The Lazy Dykes'..." Morrissey's final words before going into encore "Hand In Glove" were more or less the same as they had been on the previous two dates: "Surprisingly, you only live once and... I have of course realised finally the importance of being... the importance of being Ernesto!"
An average sounding audience recording of the complete concert is circulated on physical bootlegs and in digital format on the internet (recordef: D.Hamblen). Collectors should be aware that this is available in two versions: original and 'remastered', the latter being louder but also sounding inferior (the job might have been done from a MP3 source). They should also be aware that recordings of 23 April and 24 April are incorrectly circulated under this date.
A video recording of the concert is also out there (recorder: Jam), but it is not really shared at this point in time. It was filmed from the balcony and doesn't feature the full concert.
Do you have information about this concert? Or do you own an uncirculated recording of it? If yes please contribute and get credited.