Rotterdam (Holland), WATT
This Charming ManThis was an excellent show. After a bunch of cancelled dates and one concert for which he was still struggling with his voice, Morrissey was finally really back on track. The man was in a good mood, energetic and playful. He wasn't very talkative at first, but after a few numbers he became more chatty. The audience was very receptive and appreciative. At times it looked like everyone in the crowd was singing and dancing. No changes were made to the setlist.
Irish Blood, English Heart
Black Cloud
How Soon Is Now?
All You Need Is Me
How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?
Ask
I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
Girlfriend In A Coma
When Last I Spoke To Carol
Seasick, Yet Still Docked
Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself?
I Keep Mine Hidden
Something Is Squeezing My Skull
One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell
Sorry Doesn't Help
Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others
The Loop
I'm OK By Myself
/First Of The Gang To Die
Over the length of this show Morrissey made few local references. He introduced his band as the Shocking Blue (surely the Dutch band he is most fond of), and at some point supposedly said "I've seen the Dutch play cricket recently... but nobody is interested..." Before going into the encore he sang a few line from the song "I See A Star", originally done by Dutch band Mouth & MacNeal. Morrissey's most remembered banter of the evening was delivered following "Seasick Yet Still Docked": "So the reason why I'm here in this rock club is because - because I'm here not in some ornate theatre with beautiful seats - is because I'm a hairy-assed rocker!" Then over the opening bars of "Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself" he added "I'm not hairy-assed!"
Morrissey improvised a few lyric changes in "All You Need Is Me". He sang: "You ask me what the hell will I be when I grow up to be a man, haha, very funny!" and "I'm sorry, it's me". He rarely made any changes in "Seasick Yet Still Docked", but on this date he pointed out that "I'm still scavenging through life's very constant lulls". He ended "I Keep Mine Hidden" by shouting "I'm forever blowing bubbles", which is the title of the West Ham United anthem. He interrupted his singing at some point in "Sorry Doesn't Help" to ask someone "What?" then went and shook their hand. Further into the song he added emphasis to a line by singing "Sorry won't bring my love into my arms, EVER! EVER! EVER-EVER-EVER!" Now and then on the previous two legs of this tour Morrissey had been known to do encore "First Of The Gang To Die" as a medley with Big Dee Irwin's "Swinging On A Star". He had not done this so far on this leg, but on this date he sang two lines from the latter at the end of the former.
There are no audio or video bootlegs of this show in common circulation at this point in time. The 10 audio files (making up 11 songs or excerpts of songs) found on the internet under this date were actually ripped from fanmade videos found on Youtube.
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