2 February 2008
Edinburgh (UK), Edinburgh Playhouse

The Last Of The Famous International Playboys
Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
I Just Want To See The Boy Happy
How Soon Is Now?
That's How People Grow Up
Mama Lay Softly On The Riverbed
Billy Budd
One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell
Irish Blood, English Heart
Death Of A Disco Dancer
Life Is A Pigsty
The Loop
Sister I'm A Poet
All You Need Is Me
Stretch Out And Wait
Something Is Squeezing My Skull
Tomorrow
I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want
/First Of The Gang To Die
This was an excellent concert. Morrissey was on top form and very talkative. He had a few microphone problems at the beginning and had to skip lines here and there. He apologised and mentioned his 'attempts at singing'. Some people thought he was having troubles with his voice again and started fearing that he might not go through with the show. However the problems soon subsided or were fixed and the rest of the concert went down perfectly. The audience for the most part was very enthusiastic and welcoming. They danced and sang along to most of the set. Security was very violent, they were seen hitting and punching fans trying to get on stage, but still quite a few people managed to make it to Morrissey, particularly during the encore but also earlier in the set during "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris". Morrissey himself helped a few fans in their attempts.

The setlist was extended by one song with the removal of "Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself" and the return of "Billy Budd" and "One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell".

As the walked on stage Morrissey greeted the audience by asking "Is this East Kilbride? No? Thank God!" The Nutcracker was also playing in two so after a few songs he joked "So you see, it's exactly like the Nutcracker..." He was visibly not very happy with his recent appearance on Jonathan Ross' television programme because before doing "That's How People Grow Up" (the song he performed at the show), he made a face and said "So you weren't too horrified by the Jonathan Ross Show? (crowd cheers)... Somebody said yes! Goodbye..." After the song he sarcastically added "On Monday that song is buyable... but obviously you already have it... Do we bother with record shops... outmoded instruments... What? Vinyl? (pulls funny face) What's vinyl? Say it!"

Following "Mama Lay Softly On The Riverbed" Morrissey proceeded with the customary introduction of the band: "I really don't know why you bother with the Loch Ness monster when you have Boz Boorer... completely de-based, Solomon Walker... on thee drums, Matt Walker... on electric guitar, Jesse Tobias... on everything else, Kristopher Pooley... and I'm somebody else!" The following planned number was also new, and it was introduced with the line "This song, if you can bear it, is another one from our forthcoming s-s-studio album, 'One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell'..." After the song Morrissey chatted with a few fans in the front rows. He asked "Would you like to take the microphone and cheer us all up?" The crowd cheered as Morrissey successively handed the microphone to a few fans who expressed their love for him. When he was done Morrissey just walked away with a puzzled look on his face.

After "Irish Blood, English Heart" the crowd broke into a chant of his name and Morrissey interrupted it to ask "Are you from Falkirk? Is anybody from Falkirk?" Following the Smiths' epic "Death Of A Disco Dancer" he approached the subject of a Smiths reunion by saying: "I should say that I have so much pride and (to someone heckling) Do you mind? I know it's very touching... (back to topic) I have so much pride and love for the songs of the Smiths (crowd cheers)... However I must ask you, if you come by any Smiths cds, don't buy them because all the money goes to that wretched drummer (crowd giggles)... so stick with the ones you have, they will never be, they will never (crowd boos) WHAT! JESUS! LET ME SPEAK!..."

Morrissey had another moment of impatience during the "Auld Lang Syne" outro to "Life Is A Pigsty". As usual he was lying on the floor during that instrumental piece and a female fan started howling along with the tune. Suddenly Morrissey sat bolt upright in cobra pose, stood up and fulminated "It's horrible... you've ruined a perfectly nice song... shame on you... have to interrupt... take names and addresses, phone numbers, beat the shit out of everybody..." A few songs later Morrissey asked someone "Is it Hugh Stetson?... Well... could get an injection or something you know, but..." Following another song he said "I am hugely appreciative in my twisted fashion... What's that lad? What's that? Speak!" Morrissey was handed quite a few gifts over the length of the show, and at some point he said, as he looked at them, "not bad!".

Besides the numerous usual lyric changes in "Stretch Out And Wait" Morrissey also sang "Will the world end in the daytime, I really don't know... or will the world end in the night time, I really don't care..." Then after "is there any point ever having children" he sighed loudly. He introduced new composition "Something Is Squeezing My Skull" by saying "As I was trying to explain in Sunderland, I had gone to my psychiatrist and he said to me 'look I can't stand this anymore, I can't take anymore of it', and his reason was... he said (Morrissey is interrupted)... What?... He said, something is squeezing my skull! Just like that! Something is squeezing my skull! Exactly like that..." After one more song Morrissey said "Every song, like shit slashes... will you take it?"

Before going into "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris" Morrissey encouraged a little bit of stage invasion by saying, in a Scottish accent, something like "You are all getting a little bit frisky... Is that because you are thinking of the chippy?!" A few lines into the song he mocked a fan by shouting "Life! Life! Oh My God!" His encouragements worked because there was a mini-invasion during the latter part of that song. Then during the encore came the full blown invasion which security was barely able to manage. As soon as they were taking care of someone at one end, other people were getting on stage at the other end. Morrissey himself advanced between bouncers and pulled some fans on stage while security was trying to hold them down into the pit. After seeing this, even more people tried to get on. At one point there appeared to be about five people fighting in the middle of the stage.

 


Although most of the show seems to have been recorded by at least one person, nothing significant from this concert has made it to the trading networks at this point in time.

 

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