Cox Arena concert becomes a Moz pit of loving fans and tortured songs

James Hebert
ARTS WRITER

16-Dec-1999 Thursday

Morrissey "Moz"

It was not entirely nice, but it was entirely fitting, that as Morrissey knelt toward his fans during Tuesday's concert at Cox Arena, he was batted in the head by a besotted admirer's bouquet.

Hey, love hurts.

That's what Morrissey -- "Moz," to his fans -- has been telling us in nearly every one of his songs over the past 15 years, dating to his earliest days with the much-missed British band the Smiths.

And that's certainly what the Morrissey faithful learned the last time the 40-year-old pop oddity appeared here, when he gave a lazy and petulant (not to mention short) performance two years ago at Hospitality Point.

This time around, the tortured soul formerly known as Steven Patrick Morrissey was on his best behavior. In fact, you might have to make that "formerly tortured soul," because while the songs still wallowed in heartache and self-doubt, the singer seemed bursting with a whole lotta love.

"It's wonderful to see your round happy faces ... and your bodies," he gushed after a rousing rendition of "Boy Racer," the second number in the 16-song, 80-minute show.

"You are very, very gracious. It's touching that you're all here tonight to hear these cheerful songs," he cooed after performing the deeply weird "November Spawned a Monster."

And when he came out to launch into the one-song encore -- a mournful version of the Smiths' "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" -- Morrissey all but consummated the affair, declaring: "With all of my heart, I love you!"

Quite a contrast from his 1997 concert, when he taunted the audience as it shivered in a frigid wind.

Tuesday's show was a tight affair musically, with consistently solid playing by Morrissey's four-piece band and a generous selection of songs that included four from his days with the Smiths.

One of those, the wistful and lyrical "Half a Person," was one of the night's high points. But Morrissey's singing was frequently interrupted by his attempts to drag one audience member or another onstage.

This happened so many times early in the concert that the stage began to resemble the set for a more affectionate version of "The Jerry Springer Show," complete with bouncer extricating lovelorn fans' limbs from about Morrissey's torso.

He was even feeling playful enough to pull a variation on the old "Is that a banana in your pocket?" gag -- producing said fruit from his coat and dangling it mischievously at his midsection during "Boy Racer."

This, predictably, elicited hoots and screams from the crowd of 2,922, similar to the hoots and screams that greeted Morrissey when he removed his T-shirt (twice).

About the only time the singer didn't appear to please the partisan audience was when he performed "Meat Is Murder," the Smiths' mordant meditation on the killing of animals for food.

As the song began, the arena's aisles suddenly grew busy with outward-bound traffic. (Presumably, the departees represented the audience's non-vegetarian demographic.)

Mostly, though, the show was a love-in, a chance for Morrissey to reconnect with his fans, and maybe make amends.

It's possible he recognizes that he can't afford to be too cavalier about his following: With no record deal (his former label, Mercury, has vaporized) and no new studio album since 1997's "Maladjusted," Morrissey is not exactly riding a career crest.

But while there were plenty of empty seats at Cox, there also was plenty of noise, and plenty of people who stuck around to hear Moz lament, Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me . . . Last night I felt real arms around me.

For this night, anyway, it was definitely still more than a dream.

James Hebert can be reached by phone (619) 293-2040, fax (619) 293-2436 or e-mail: [email protected]

Notes regarding the review from Abel:

*no one hit flowers during the show (I gave him two bouquets and saw no one hit him with flowers)

*and no one left during "Meat is Murder"

*and I was the only one to get onstage during 'Half a Person' (and Morrissey didn't stop singing)