London - Brixton Academy (Mar. 1, 2018) post-show

Post your info and reviews related to this concert in the comments section below. Other links (photos, external reviews, etc.) related to this concert will also be compiled in this section as they are sent in.

Setlist:

The Last Of The Famous International Playboys / I Wish You Lonely / Suedehead / Jacky's Only Happy When She's Up On The Stage / My Love, I'd Do Anything For You / The Bullfighter Dies / Munich Air Disaster 1958 / When You Open Your Legs / World Peace Is None Of Your Business / I Bury The Living / Back On The Chain Gang / If You Don't Like Me, Don't Look At Me / Home Is A Question Mark / Who Will Protect Us From The Police? / Spent The Day In Bed / Jack The Ripper / Hold On To Your Friends / How Soon Is Now? / Everyday Is Like Sunday / Judy Is A Punk // Irish Blood, English Heart

Setlist provided by an anonymous person.


  • Morrissey review: Big mouth strikes with more shock and awe by Rick Pearson (3 of 5 stars, 1 photo by Angela Lubrano) - London Evening Standard. Link posted by an anonymous person.

    42364_london-brixton.jpg
  • Morrissey's quest to be disliked continues - Brixton Academy, review by Chris Harvey (3 of 5 stars, 1 photo by Angela Lubrano) - The Telegraph. Link posted by Famous when dead.
  • Morrissey, Brixton Academy, London — classics and clunkers by Ludovic Hunter-Tilney (2 of 5 stars, 1 photo by Angela Lubrano) - Financial Times. Link posted by Famous when dead.
 
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Like Morrissey himself, his fans are slowing down with age. Times change.

Thirty years ago he wouldn’t have thought it necessary to walk on stage shouting “free speech.” It was taken as read. Now, less so. Education in reverse.
I think it's the youngsters that are different. If you slightly nudge them they feel affronted and don't you dare sway around in the mosh, you'll be pointed at and and ejected.
 
It's funny it looked to me like the ruthless Nazi bombed the England to pieces ,I don't remember any country coming close to USA .READ YOUR HISTORY BOOKS

I take it Pearl Harbor has been redacted from American history books?
 
Jack the Ripper used to get the mosh pit going crazy, fans swarming the stage everyone going nuts. A Morrissey classic, but hardly a whimper from this young crowd. Truly disappointed. Brixton date was added fairly late so I'm hoping the old Moz superfans will be at Ally Pally. I will be!
 
I was at the front, we were all trying hard to pogo and get as excited as we could but it was the people around us complaining. At one point a man violent pushed us all, to the point where it ruined the night and security simply removed him and put him 2 rows behind.

If you don't want to be pushed, don't go to the front - especially at a morrissey concert where you know fans are going to get rowdy
 
Thanks to everyone who has written a review or posted video. From the videos it's clear that Morrissey doesn't sing the high notes/ words in the songs e.g "International". Has he been doing that throughout the tour so far?
 
Watching this, I wonder if the reason the setlist is so heavy on recent tracks is if he can't get to that higher register anymore. Good on the crowd for doing the heavy lifting.
You may well be right, but he hasn't sung the high notes in Playboys for decades. It's notable that even on the Dallas/Kill Uncle gig, Alain was singing those bits for him.


For what it's worth, I always thought this was the definitive performance of this song (or at least the definitive one preserved on film), even with the flaky singing on account of all the leaping around. So much energy and dramatic flailing. They also played it quite a bit faster on this tour, and to me this is how it should sound. All other versions (including the recorded single) seem too slow and plodding and it loses something as a result.
 
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Thanks to everyone who has written a review or posted video. From the videos it's clear that Morrissey doesn't sing the high notes/ words in the songs e.g "International". Has he been doing that throughout the tour so far?

Brixton was the first time he has performed Playboys in years. But Morrissey stopped singing the “International” high note very early on. He sings it in the 88’ Wolverhampton show but Alain sings “international” already at ‘91 Hammersmith. I guess it wasn’t sung in order to preserve his voice. Did Boz sing it in Brixton, or just the audience?
 
I wasn't planning on going last night (family birthday) but made a last minute decision to get over there (drove as I knew the trains would be out of action). So glad I didn't miss Moz at one of my favourite venues.

It was a great gig. Moz was on form and the set list pretty strong. I was up front near the stage and there was some moshing about and one crowd surfer but mainly just a few drunk lads having a bit of a barge and chanting 'Morrisey' between every song like it was a football match. Although reserved, the crowd were singing along to every word and were really into it, especially the new songs which supprised me. A roar went up for Spent The Day In Bed which I wasn't expecting at all and spontaneous hugging was a thing during Home is a Question Mark and Hold Onto Your Friends.

I liked the inclusion of only one Smiths song as I think he looks so sad and fed up of performing them. Just wish it had been Started Something instead. Also sad there was no Meat Is Murder. Judy Is A Punk went down like a house on fire.

Overall it was a way more structured gig than the one I saw last year in San Francisco. The video screens were slick and better-matched the songs and the bespoke lighting rig with school prefect badge-shapped lights was a nice touch. Moz's performance was really strong and the band polished. Yeah, overall it was really great.

Can't wait for Ally Pally. I'm not bothering with RAH or the Paladium where you have to sit. I like to jump about too much.

BTW, does anyone have a 'setlist' for the warm-up songs? Jetboy, Four Tops and such?
 
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What an odd thread. An anonymous American attacks Britain for no reason based on a post by a Swede who later reveals he identifies as a mango.

Good old Morrissey-Solo.
 
So, this was my first ever Morrissey gig. I turned 21 last week, and have been a fan since about 14/15 (roughly) - I saw Johnny Marr in Bexhill in 2014, and naturally, I have always wanted to see Steven too...

For me, this was something I had to do, and whilst objectively it's hard to call it the best gig of my life (or even the last year), spiritually this one mattered to me a lot. I've slowly become a self-taught musician and Morrissey's been in my head the whole time, so that makes sense when you think about it!

I genuinely teared up when he strutted out to ...Playboys and it was magical watching him do his thing. Equally massive moments included:
  • the spellbinding Jack the Ripper, where the stage flooded with smoke and Morrissey, emerging from the red-lit clouds, was subject to tricks of the light that made him seem (momentarily at least) much younger. I was totally caught up in the moment and as he sang the final, lighter chorus, I couldn't shake these precious few seconds where he looked like a young man in the light.
  • Jacky's Only Happy... - my housemates and I love this song, and we dance around our student kitchen to it all the time. The vocal melody's good fun, and I think it's one of the few occasions where we're treated to a portrait of the artist as a graciously older man - this Girl Least Likely To-esque character study is full of '70s televisual nostalgia and wry snark and I just think it's good fun.
  • the end of Everyday..., where he slid in 'you're the one for me, fatty' to the coda - a very nice touch indeed...
Now all this said, I was in the circle (I've never been into the idea of 'losing my shit' at a gig and being in a mosh; I go to watch the musicians and appreciate the music - if I wanted to go nuts, I'd go and get ketted up in a shed with an amplifier, wouldn't I...), and the previous testimony is correct insofar as reaction was largely muted. There was a good 30/45 minutes where he played Low in High School / World Peace... material almost exclusively, and it was just quite drab. His voice was on top form, so it was extremely aggravating to hear him singing on-the-nose rubbish, but really well. It's in his best interests with the reputation he has as a person, to do something cleverer than he does with his music - I'm not after a Vauxhall & I reunion lap ('well, I wouldn't say no...'), but could we just have a little less ...Bullfighter Dies and more Tomorrow? I'm actually a big fan myself of ...Quarry and Ringleader... and they're recent enough - any of that era would still have been better, in my opinion.

I also didn't need the aggressive videography on a night out - I get the whole bullfighters getting gored thing and police brutality stuff, but let the music speak for itself already.

One last critique - I've always thought the criticism of Jesse Tobias on this website is really harsh, but f***ing hell, the man is an idiot. Playing lead parts with a capo on the fifth, changing really great parts to make them easier etc. etc. - this is a professional live band. You can't go fudging notes and mucking around like he was. The tone was admittedly, exceptional on Jack... and a few others, but Jesus - someone sack that man. The lead guitarist in my university band is probably better :lbf:

Overall then, a good night and a special experience personally. Some things baffle the mind - e.g. it's not bad, but why does he do that Pretenders cover?! - but then, what do you want?

It was him. It was really him. I was dying to see a show, and at long last, I have. With that singular ambition in mind then, I can at least finally that 'now, my heart is full.'

Well, full-ish, anyway :lbf:

P.s. I continue to love the more positive corners of this fan community - the reportage and well-wishing (when actually present) make being a fan that much more fun.
 
Well, since we can no longer identify with a country or a gender I identify myself as a fruit and of all the fruits out there I see myself as a mango.

Don't you mean fruitcake?

And rather than mango it's preferable to say persongo.
 
What an odd thread. An anonymous American attacks Britain for no reason based on a post by a Swede who later reveals he identifies as a mango.

Good old Morrissey-Solo.

He should be proud to be a Swede as they have a delicate, sweet flavour, a great texture and are very versatile. The vegetable that is.
 
Okay here is my whistle stop review of Brixton. Moz came out and powered into Last of the Famous, which is a nice treat! Not played since 2012/13 from my recollection, and on greatest hits tour of course. Crowd loved it and there was good energy in the standing, again full to capacity despite adverse weather, couldn't see the seats so no update on fullness (said sold out on the sign outside). Then we went into the classic routine we've seen in Leeds, Newcastle, brum. Pacing was good at most points, again a few petty squabbles around me, pushing and phones being held like landing beacons again the culprit! He was much chattier than in Leeds, thabked the crowd for the 4th London show, "in reverse order". Notably, only one smiths song, having dropped started something, how soon is now was gorgeous, very nice rendition into everyday, which was then riffed into a few squirrelled lines of you're the one for me fatty, again. Then the roof came off with Judy is punk, which the punks next to me, again having barged late on, enjoyed immensely, until two of them got dragged over the barrier. Then a hurried Irish blood, no shirt toss, blazer was back on, no blame on moz for that because it was freezing outside and fairly cold in. Surprised he didn't spend the day in bed ;) apologies. You can't really ask for more than that, Judy was the first time played in England, always been in Japan, Mexico, us previously. Overall, I would rate this as the best of the tour so far, although we've lost a song somewhere compared to numbers before, Aberdeen, Nukehastle. And it was better than numerous shows of recent past, it was better than hull, it was equal to Manchester, it was worse than o2 in 2013. All in all, super impressed. Nice night X
Wow, Judy is a punk first time in England! Brilliant, I loved that, my highlight of the gig!
 
So, this was my first ever Morrissey gig. I turned 21 last week, and have been a fan since about 14/15 (roughly) - I saw Johnny Marr in Bexhill in 2014, and naturally, I have always wanted to see Steven too...

For me, this was something I had to do, and whilst objectively it's hard to call it the best gig of my life (or even the last year), spiritually this one mattered to me a lot. I've slowly become a self-taught musician and Morrissey's been in my head the whole time, so that makes sense when you think about it!

I genuinely teared up when he strutted out to ...Playboys and it was magical watching him do his thing. Equally massive moments included:
  • the spellbinding Jack the Ripper, where the stage flooded with smoke and Morrissey, emerging from the red-lit clouds, was subject to tricks of the light that made him seem (momentarily at least) much younger. I was totally caught up in the moment and as he sang the final, lighter chorus, I couldn't shake these precious few seconds where he looked like a young man in the light.
  • Jacky's Only Happy... - my housemates and I love this song, and we dance around our student kitchen to it all the time. The vocal melody's good fun, and I think it's one of the few occasions where we're treated to a portrait of the artist as a graciously older man - this Girl Least Likely To-esque character study is full of '70s televisual nostalgia and wry snark and I just think it's good fun.
  • the end of Everyday..., where he slid in 'you're the one for me, fatty' to the coda - a very nice touch indeed...
Now all this said, I was in the circle (I've never been into the idea of 'losing my shit' at a gig and being in a mosh; I go to watch the musicians and appreciate the music - if I wanted to go nuts, I'd go and get ketted up in a shed with an amplifier, wouldn't I...), and the previous testimony is correct insofar as reaction was largely muted. There was a good 30/45 minutes where he played Low in High School / World Peace... material almost exclusively, and it was just quite drab. His voice was on top form, so it was extremely aggravating to hear him singing on-the-nose rubbish, but really well. It's in his best interests with the reputation he has as a person, to do something cleverer than he does with his music - I'm not after a Vauxhall & I reunion lap ('well, I wouldn't say no...'), but could we just have a little less ...Bullfighter Dies and more Tomorrow? I'm actually a big fan myself of ...Quarry and Ringleader... and they're recent enough - any of that era would still have been better, in my opinion.

I also didn't need the aggressive videography on a night out - I get the whole bullfighters getting gored thing and police brutality stuff, but let the music speak for itself already.

One last critique - I've always thought the criticism of Jesse Tobias on this website is really harsh, but f***ing hell, the man is an idiot. Playing lead parts with a capo on the fifth, changing really great parts to make them easier etc. etc. - this is a professional live band. You can't go fudging notes and mucking around like he was. The tone was admittedly, exceptional on Jack... and a few others, but Jesus - someone sack that man. The lead guitarist in my university band is probably better :lbf:

Overall then, a good night and a special experience personally. Some things baffle the mind - e.g. it's not bad, but why does he do that Pretenders cover?! - but then, what do you want?

It was him. It was really him. I was dying to see a show, and at long last, I have. With that singular ambition in mind then, I can at least finally that 'now, my heart is full.'

Well, full-ish, anyway :lbf:

P.s. I continue to love the more positive corners of this fan community - the reportage and well-wishing (when actually present) make being a fan that much more fun.

An interesting read. Yes, his choice of covers and his clinging to them regardless has often been baffling. I like Elvis, but You’ll Be Gone made no more sense as a cover version than Song Of The Shrimp might have done. Even if it means a lot, why open with it?

Morrissey is one of the very few artists around today who can get away with an entirely self-penned set. If he wants to pay tribute to artists he admires chuck them on the pre-show song list. In all the years I’ve only ever thought wow once when I heard a Morrissey cover and that’s the live segue of Subway Train into Everyday Is Like Sunday. That’s a really beautiful thing in my opinion.

After all these years you’d think a professional band under Boz’s guidance must be able to turn their hand to a good seventy or so Morrissey written songs quite quickly, and Morrissey doesn’t need Judy Is A Punk to up the tempo. He has a back catalogue of thirty-five years packed full of his own songs which can do that, and better.
 
What an odd thread. An anonymous American attacks Britain for no reason based on a post by a Swede who later reveals he identifies as a mango.

Good old Morrissey-Solo.

On a thread about a concert experience
 
Jack the Ripper used to get the mosh pit going crazy, fans swarming the stage everyone going nuts. A Morrissey classic, but hardly a whimper from this young crowd. Truly disappointed. Brixton date was added fairly late so I'm hoping the old Moz superfans will be at Ally Pally. I will be!

:rock: THIS!!!
 
An interesting read. Yes, his choice of covers and his clinging to them regardless has often been baffling. I like Elvis, but You’ll Be Gone made no more sense as a cover version than Song Of The Shrimp might have done. Even if it means a lot, why open with it?

Morrissey is one of the very few artists around today who can get away with an entirely self-penned set. If he wants to pay tribute to artists he admires chuck them on the pre-show song list. In all the years I’ve only ever thought wow once when I heard a Morrissey cover and that’s the live segue of Subway Train into Everyday Is Like Sunday. That’s a really beautiful thing in my opinion.

After all these years you’d think a professional band under Boz’s guidance must be able to turn their hand to a good seventy or so Morrissey written songs quite quickly, and Morrissey doesn’t need Judy Is A Punk to up the tempo. He has a back catalogue of thirty-five years packed full of his own songs which can do that, and better.

Yeah absolutely. That Dolls segue is fantastic on ...Sunday; works less well imo on Munich... but hey-ho - you're right, in short haha
 
I take it Pearl Harbor has been redacted from American history books?
We are talking Mainland, hell we have thousand of islands everywhere.. can we get back on topic. .the fact is we are people (americans) just like the English...and suppose to be allies...sorry for my part in this stupid conversation when it should be about London gig
 
So, this was my first ever Morrissey gig. I turned 21 last week, and have been a fan since about 14/15 (roughly) - I saw Johnny Marr in Bexhill in 2014, and naturally, I have always wanted to see Steven too...

For me, this was something I had to do, and whilst objectively it's hard to call it the best gig of my life (or even the last year), spiritually this one mattered to me a lot. I've slowly become a self-taught musician and Morrissey's been in my head the whole time, so that makes sense when you think about it!

I genuinely teared up when he strutted out to ...Playboys and it was magical watching him do his thing. Equally massive moments included:
  • the spellbinding Jack the Ripper, where the stage flooded with smoke and Morrissey, emerging from the red-lit clouds, was subject to tricks of the light that made him seem (momentarily at least) much younger. I was totally caught up in the moment and as he sang the final, lighter chorus, I couldn't shake these precious few seconds where he looked like a young man in the light.
  • Jacky's Only Happy... - my housemates and I love this song, and we dance around our student kitchen to it all the time. The vocal melody's good fun, and I think it's one of the few occasions where we're treated to a portrait of the artist as a graciously older man - this Girl Least Likely To-esque character study is full of '70s televisual nostalgia and wry snark and I just think it's good fun.
  • the end of Everyday..., where he slid in 'you're the one for me, fatty' to the coda - a very nice touch indeed...
Now all this said, I was in the circle (I've never been into the idea of 'losing my shit' at a gig and being in a mosh; I go to watch the musicians and appreciate the music - if I wanted to go nuts, I'd go and get ketted up in a shed with an amplifier, wouldn't I...), and the previous testimony is correct insofar as reaction was largely muted. There was a good 30/45 minutes where he played Low in High School / World Peace... material almost exclusively, and it was just quite drab. His voice was on top form, so it was extremely aggravating to hear him singing on-the-nose rubbish, but really well. It's in his best interests with the reputation he has as a person, to do something cleverer than he does with his music - I'm not after a Vauxhall & I reunion lap ('well, I wouldn't say no...'), but could we just have a little less ...Bullfighter Dies and more Tomorrow? I'm actually a big fan myself of ...Quarry and Ringleader... and they're recent enough - any of that era would still have been better, in my opinion.

I also didn't need the aggressive videography on a night out - I get the whole bullfighters getting gored thing and police brutality stuff, but let the music speak for itself already.

One last critique - I've always thought the criticism of Jesse Tobias on this website is really harsh, but f***ing hell, the man is an idiot. Playing lead parts with a capo on the fifth, changing really great parts to make them easier etc. etc. - this is a professional live band. You can't go fudging notes and mucking around like he was. The tone was admittedly, exceptional on Jack... and a few others, but Jesus - someone sack that man. The lead guitarist in my university band is probably better :lbf:

Overall then, a good night and a special experience personally. Some things baffle the mind - e.g. it's not bad, but why does he do that Pretenders cover?! - but then, what do you want?

It was him. It was really him. I was dying to see a show, and at long last, I have. With that singular ambition in mind then, I can at least finally that 'now, my heart is full.'

Well, full-ish, anyway :lbf:

P.s. I continue to love the more positive corners of this fan community - the reportage and well-wishing (when actually present) make being a fan that much more fun.

Imagine being on ket during the midset lull. I think the horse tranquiliser elements would come to the fore...

Nice review and nice to see he's still attracting fans.
 

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