29 November 2009
Seattle (WA), The Paramount

This Charming Man
Black Cloud
When Last I Spoke To Carol
Is It Really So Strange?
Ganglord
I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
Ask
Irish Blood, English Heart
One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell
Death At One's Elbow
Because Of My Poor Education
Cemetry Gates
The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself?
Teenage Dad On His Estate
How Soon Is Now?
The Loop
Don't Make Fun Of Daddy's Voice
I'm OK By Myself
/Something Is Squeezing My Skull
The American segment of the Swords Tour started on an excellent note. Morrissey was very energetic and playful. The health troubles that plagued him on this tour's first leg seemed to now be over. It surely helped that the Seattle crowd was very receptive and appreciative. Over the length of the show, more than a dozen fans made it on stage. Some were quickly removed, but a few lucky ones made it while security was busy with others, and were lucky enough to get a hug out of their idol.

There were no changes made to the setlist, it was identical to the one from the last show of the previous leg.

As he took the stage Morrissey greeted the crowd with the words "Welcome to the gutter..." Set opener "This Charming Man" was very well received so the singer thanked the audience with a gracious "why, thank you..." After "Black Cloud", which was also very well received, he said "It's much harder than it looks..." Then after "When Last I Spoke To Carol" he teasingly asked "Are we distracting you? (crowd cheers) Good..." He emphasised the final line of "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris" by repeating "very plain..." After that song he said "It's a tremendous pleasure to be back in (?)... (to some fan in the front row) Why did you scream? Is that your arm?"

At the very end of "Ask", Morrissey told someone "I know..." then had a public service announcement to make: "I suddenly realised that a few day ago it was Thankskilling... and I hope you weren't tempted to do the unthinkable... Do you realize that... (points at someone filming) Youtube? Do you realize Youtube that table turkey, the turkey on the table, is - did you you realize it's 8% antibiotics? Which loving, caring parents cram in their children's mouths... 8% antibiotics!" The show also featured the traditional chit chat between Morrissey and some of his 'irregular regulars'. One fan who was handed the microphone told Morrissey that the 'regular' next to her was celebrating his 32nd birthday, then handed him a photo. Morrissey had a quizzical look as he put it on the drumkit.

When he returned to the stage for the encore, instead of the usual parting words to the audience, Morrissey proceeded with the introduction of his musicians. He mentioned an upcoming Mr. Universe competition and "the winner may be Boz Boorer... or Solomon Walker... or Matt Walker... you'll be very surprised to see Jesse Tobias... and our new friend Gustavo Manzur... and I can assure, they'll be in the audience..." At least ten or twelve fans made it on stage during the course of the encore. Some were brutally intercepted by security, while others slipped through the cracks and managed to reach Morrissey.

"That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore", "Speedway" and "If You Don't Like Me, Don't Look At Me" were supposedly soundchecked. Of these three songs, only the latter would eventually be added to the setlist, later into the tour.

 


There are no significant audio or video recordings of the show in circulation at this point in time.

 

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