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1 May 1991 M.C. Vredenburg, Utrecht, Holland
Interesting DrugAs the tour progressed, Morrissey's new musicians were getting better and better. Song performances were improving with each new show. Morrissey must have been happy with this concert because he selected live recordings of songs from this set for release as b-sides (see 'official releases' further down). Morrissey was very energetic, he danced frantically throughout most of the faster songs. At some point into "November Spawned A Monster", he sat on the floor to shake hands with fans in the front rows. This didn't last long however because he was pulled towards the audience and had to be helped back up by security. He collapsed to the floor again during the song's instrumental bridge, but this time to illustrate the drama, making sure he stayed out of reach. At the beginning of "Sing Your Life", he picked up a tambourine and shook it for a few bars before throwing it into the audience. In "Pregnant For The Last Time", besides the usual lyric differences, he also sang "Bad advice for the last time and people being so nice for the last time" in place of the studio version's "Tiny stripe socks for the last time / Pokes and prods for the last time". Before "Our Frank", after saying "very kind thank you...", he booed. After the performance of Morrissey's debut solo single "Suedehead", everyone left stage for a break. They were soon called back by the audience chanting Morrissey's name. Upon returning on stage the man asked the crowd "Does this mean one more song?" before the band launched into the cover of the New York Dolls' "Trash". After another short break, Boz reentered stage by himself and started playing the opening notes to T-Rex's "Cosmic Dancer". Morrissey came back just in time to sing the first words while his other musicians sat on the drum rise. After that everyone returned to their usual positions for set closer "Disappointed" which saw a handful of fans climb on stage as a last chance to touch their idol. Morrissey then ripped his shirt open, threw it into the audience, said thank you and that was it. This concert was recorded and broadcast on Dutch radio station VPRO. The tracks were resequenced and in the process "Interesting Drug", "Suedehead" and "Trash" were dropped. The concert broadcast was preceded by a Morrissey interview.
It seems that a more complete version of this gig is available on a cd-r titled "Cosmic Dancer" (not to be confused with the 7" bootleg with the same title). This one only lacks "Mute Witness" and is in the proper order. Sound quality is unknown, but believed to be good. Given the content, the source is surely not the radio broadcast. It may be the DVD audio (DVD info found below), or perhaps an otherwise unavailable audio audience recording. A bootleg cd titled "Bona Fide Drag" includes only "Disappointed" from this gig. It was probably taken from the official release on the "Pregnant For The Last Time" single. It also includes 10 songs from 26 February 1995, 3 songs from London on 4 October 1991, the studio version of b-side "Skin Storm" as well as the KROQ radio sessions of "There's A Place In Hell For Me And My Friends", "My Love Life" and "Sing Your Life". An audience recording of the full concert is circulated on DVD bootlegs (recorder: possibly Jean Pierre). The footage was filmed from the balcony, is steady, and of reasonably good quality. Some of the older VHS bootlegs lack the last 4 songs. This full concert footage is also found 'improved' with the audio from the "Higher Education" bootleg cd mentioned above instead of the original audio.
Do you have information about this concert? Or do you own an uncirculated recording of it? If yes please contribute and get credited.
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