Cleveland (OH), Playhouse Square Center
The Queen Is DeadThis was one of the best concerts of the mid-west segment of this American tour. Morrissey was obviously enjoying himself, he was playful and gave a memorable performance. The band was at their best. There were a few minor sound problems near the beginning, but they were quickly fixed. The crowd was very receptive. Security was lax at first, but during the encore when some fans tried to get on stage at almost the same time, a few of them were violently tackled to the ground. There was no change in the setlist.
First Of The Gang To Die
The Youngest Was The Most Loved
You Have Killed Me
Disappointed
Panic
Let Me Kiss You
I Just Want To See The Boy Happy
I Will See You In Far Off Places
The National Front Disco
At Last I Am Born
Irish Blood, English Heart
All You Need Is Me
I've Changed My Plea To Guilty
The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
Drive-In Saturday
Everyday Is Like Sunday
Ganglord
Life Is A Pigsty
How Soon Is Now?
/Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want
/You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side
As he took the stage Morrissey's first words to the audience were "Is it safe to say hello? Oh there you go!" At the very end of "First Of The Gang To Die" he pretended to sneeze. He was probably not satisfied of his (or their) performance of the song and jokingly told the audience "Well what do you expect for seven dollars?" After "You Have Killed Me" he told his most dedicated fan "Very surprised to see you here Julia, very surprised... Can you remember the last Cleveland? Ha ha ha ha! Can you remember the last Cleveland? (shushes the audience, she answers something) Are you sure?" He then handed the microphone to her neighbour and asked her "Can you remember?" She answered "seven years ago", which was incorrect so Morrissey took back the microphone and groaned as he walked away.
Besides all the usual lyric changes in "Disappointed" Morrissey also sang "young boy, yes you!, I wanna help you" and "each thug must blossom and grow". He then introduced "Panic" by saying "Now, what the hell to say about the past? Well, nothing really..." At the end of the song he added the final line "hang the DJ, anywhere, anytime..." Before going into the next planned number Morrissey introduced his band: "Customary cheers please, if nobody minds, for Boz Boorer... for the newest wonder of our world, Solomon Walker... for his brother Matt Walker... and before you, here, just here, Jesse Tobias... and, would you believe, born and braised in Cleveland... yet still living! Michael Farrell... and I've... I've really just come to pester the shit out of you, stand back!"
Following "Let Me Kiss You" Morrissey said "Thank you for still actually being in the building, it's very very kind of you..." After "I Just Want To See The Boy Happy" he explained "So, we are actually doing a complete tour of your country (crowd cheers)... and as you'll be able to tell by our incredible presence in the music papers of America - zero, as usual - and at this time - now this gets very interesting - this time we decided to do the entire tour by road because, as we all know, flying is such a horrible experience now. So we're avoiding American Airlines, we're avoiding United Airlines, because (fan shouts something) yes, very well said! (back to topic) to be an airline passenger these days is to be guilty... Okay, your turn! (he hands the microphone to a lesbian couple in the front row who explain that they're expecting a baby for January) You're gonna have a baby in January? It's amazing! You're together? So the daddy was? Nobody! (they answer 'artificial insemination!', Morrissey quips) That's the way to do it, if you must do it!" Morrissey then gave the microphone to another fan and said "Alright, your turn..." The fan thanked him for 20 years being the soundtrack of her life. Then Morrissey just said "Shucks!" and the band launched into the next planned song.
After "I Will See You In Far Off Places" Morrissey asked "So for the next US president will be?...." New composition "All You Need Is Me" was nonchalantly introduced with the line "We are back in the very familiar situation of not having a record label (crowd boos)... Yes! However we have a new song which is called 'All You Need Is Me'..." The Smiths classic "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side" was quickly introduced with the words "It was long ago, and it was far away, thank God..." After the David Bowie cover "Drive-In Saturday" Morrissey asked "Was it passable? (a few shouts from the audience) Only three people said it was... Well that was a cover version, which is somebody else's song..." He was waiting for someone to shout the name of who originally recorded the song. He told someone "No, try again!" then, to some ridiculous answer, he replied "I heard that!"
After "Everyday Is Like Sunday" Morrissey solemnly announced "To give, is the reason I live..." Before final number "You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side" his parting words were "Thanks for your time, thanks for being here... God bless you and... and nothing more really..."
A good but muffled audience recording of the complete concert is circulated on bootlegs, particularly in digital format on the internet (recorder: Josip).
Do you have information about this concert? Or do you own an uncirculated recording of it? If yes please contribute and get credited.