MORRISSEY
OCTOBER 22, 2007
HAMMERSTEIN BALLROOM, NYC
WORDS: CAMERON COOK
PHOTOS: ABBEY BRADEN

Anticipation is high tonight at the Hammerstein Ballroom. As vintage footage of Brigitte Bardot and The New York Dolls play on a giant screen in front of the stage, I notice a few people exchanging nervous glances. Rumors have been harsh: tickets to the five night run at the 3,000 capacity Hammerstein have been slow, and Morrissey’s current album, Ringleader of the Tormentors, didn’t achieve the commercial or critical success of its predecessor, 2004’s You Are The Quarry. Could this signal the downfall of one of Britpop’s largest doyens? Seated in the mezzanine, I clenched my hands together and waited.

At 9PM on the dot, the screen falls to the ground and Morrissey and his band of merry men take the stage to the opening chords of “Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before” off of the Smiths’ final album Strangeways, Here We Come, and the crowd completely loses it. All tension immediately dissolves as Mozzer’s status is made clear: all is good and well, and he’s not going anywhere.
Bizarrely, the set contained few bonafide hits, as Morrissey kept away from anything off early classics such as Viva Hate and Bona Drag, instead focusing on slightly more obscure numbers: ‘90s rarities like “The Loop” made appearances, and Smiths songs like the ephemeral “Stretch Out and Wait” and the heavy rocking “London” were brought out as special treats to long-lasting Moz fans. One new song has been making the rounds this tour, a mid-tempo ditty entitled “All You Need Is Me”, which I’m sure will be THE anthem come the next round of tour dates.

The man himself has barely changed since he made THE comeback of the early ‘00s a few years ago. The quiff is graying but still high, he’s still almost insidiously charming and staunch about his beliefs (on McDonald’s: “Their slogan should be ‘Billions and billions killed’, not ‘served’.” On politics: “In an ideal world, it would have to be Obama. He’s got a great voice and great teeth, which no American president has ever had.”). He still whips a mic chord with the best of them, graciously accepts presents from the crowd, and generally possesses his age-old air of maudlinness.

Later in the set, Morrissey finally decides to touch upon his more recent string of hits, as personal manifesto “Irish Blood English Heart” gets an airing out, as well as “I Like You” (one of the biggest singalong numbers of the evening) and, the only song performed from Ringleader, the stomping “You Have Killed Me”. In adequately grandiose fashion, the set ends with “How Soon Is Now”, Morrissey ripping his shirt off and falling to the ground at the song’s crescendo, packing in more drama than a Harlequin paperback heroine. It’s all people can do to not hurl themselves from the balconies in rabid acts of pure devotion. A quick encore of “Last of the Gang to Die” off of Quarry is next, then it’s off to the dressing room with a grateful bow and a wave to the front rows. Utterly fucking brilliant.
At the merch table, the venue is selling black T-shirts that read: “It’s Morrissey’s town, we just live in it.” Some may not agree, but for this writer and the thousands of grinning fans exiting Hammerstein, truer words have never been silk-screened.

Video - Morrissey - "How Soon Is Now"

Set list:
Stop Me if You've Heard This One Before
Tomorrow
Sister, I'm A Poet
London
The Loop
That's How People Grow Up
Jack The Ripper
I Like You
Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself
Stretch Out And Wait
The Word Is Full Of Crashing Bores
Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
Billy Budd
All You Need Is Me
Death of a Disco Dancer
Irish Blood English Heart
Shoplifters of the World Unite
One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell
You Have Killed Me
How Soon Is Now
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Last Of The Gang To Die