Portland (OR), Roseland Theater
This Charming ManThis was a good show, although Morrissey reportedly looked a bit tired and slightly struggled with his voice at times. This may be the reason why he was also not as talkative as he has been known to be. It certainly didn't help that it was very hot and dry in the Roseland Theater. The crowd was appreciative but not the most energetic, again maybe because of the heat or the seated nature of the venue. No one even tried to get on stage.
Irish Blood, English Heart
Black Cloud
Don't Make Fun Of Daddy's Voice
Death At One's Elbow
When Last I Spoke To Carol
One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell
Is It Really So Strange?
I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
Cemetry Gates
Ganglord
Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself?
If You Don't Like Me, Don't Look At Me
Ask
The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
Teenage Dad On His Estate
The Loop
How Soon Is Now?
I'm OK By Myself
/First Of The Gang To Die
The setlist was significantly resequenced and in the process a few changes were made to its content. Encore "Something Is Squeezing My Skull" was replaced with "First Of The Gang To Die", while the lesser known "Because Of My Poor Education" was replaced with a different song from the recently released "Swords", "If You Don't Like Me, Don't Look At Me". The latter song had previously been played only a handful of times, on the Tour Of The Tormentors MMVI.
At some point into the show, perhaps when he walked on stage, Morrissey made a reference to the venue's name by asking "Can you smell the roses?" Midway into the concert he announced "In case any of you are wondering, it's opera... opera..." There was a beam on stage which separated keyboardist Gustavo from the rest of the band, so when he introduced his musicians, Morrissey included a light-hearted reference to him "being off over there" behind it.
Besides the introduction of the band, the show also featured another tradition, a chit-chat between Morrissey and some of his regulars at the front. He asked one fan "Can I ask you a question? How do you get the money to do this?" But then instead of waiting for an answer, he moved on sideways and handed the microphone to someone else who answered "I asked my grandmother for money to go to school, but fuck school! I need to see Morrissey!" Before encore "First Of The Gang To Die", Boz or Solomon's amps were out so Morrissey filled the time by joking with the audience, asking if anyone could sing or play guitar. As he had often done on the Tour Of Refusal earlier in the year, he did the latter song as a medley with his cover of "Swinging On A Star".
There are no significant audio or video recordings of the show in circulation at this point in time.
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