Three questions:
Does Moz particularly attract a yobbish element?
Has this always been the case?
If he does attract yobs, why?
I'm not trying to start an argument - just mulling things over and thinking out loud - and I'm definitely not saying that all Morrissey fans are yobs (I'm obviously a fan myself and the Liverpool show was ruined by *one* person out of 8000, most of whom had come along to enjoy a great show and not cause any trouble).
I know there are worse audiences (I've heard from people who've been to Oasis concerts and - even if their music were better - nothing
would convince me to go to one of their shows.) However, out of the bands/singers that I'm fans of, the Morrissey audience is definitely
the most yobbish.
I'm not sure to what extent this has always been the case - When I started going to Moz gigs in about '95, it was definitely rough in the sense of crowd movement and surging forward - and after a tour, you'd usually have horizontal bruises across your body, marking the barrier height at each of the different venues but (while I may be remembering it through rose-tinted glasses) I don't remember as much drunken thuggery. You'd get some thuggish security guards but there weren't as many scuffles between security
and the fans - although that's probably simply because fans were allowed up on stage to hug Moz, whereas now this has, understandably, been stopped. Maybe, since this change, some people go into the gig with the idea that they need to use violence and force to get to Morrissey and that mentality affects the way they behave throughout the gig?
On the one hand, I can remember an early Moz quote where he said that Smiths audiences didn't spit but brought flowers instead, seeing that rejection of thuggishness as a positive thing. However, his lyrics have always contained an attraction to violence, even in the Smiths era (although he's perhaps embraced it more openly in the post-Smiths era). Do you think this affects the audience he attracts and/or the way his audience behave during a gig?
There's also the idea of there being a particularly passionate relationship between Moz and his fans which I think some parts of the audience believe justifies them in doing anything to express that passion i.e. using violence to push and punch their way to the barrier (even though they obviously weren't passionate enough to queue up all day like the people they are attacking...).
I don't want to single out any particular part of the audience as there are good and bad in all groups but do you think the Moz revival (ie Quarry onwards, where it was suddenly cool to like Moz again) has changed the atmosphere at Moz concerts?
The biggest change I've noticed in terms of the audience demographic is the return of former Smiths fans. I've met a lot of (mainly nice) people who liked the Smiths, hadn't been to a Moz concert or really followed his career since the Smiths split but now that a) he's playing quite a few Smiths songs and b) it's acceptable to like him again, they are coming to his solo shows. Greater popularity/media attention (compared to the wilderness years after Maladjusted) has probably also attracted more casual audience members (particularly to a show like Liverpool which wasn't sold out and, where I believe touts were selling tickets at low prices). What effect do you think casual and nostalgia concert-goers are having on the audience? Is it significant that Moz had a missile lobbed at him when he switched from playing a well-known, Smiths hit to a recent album track? (i.e. Did someone get bored and fed up with a track they didn't know?)
Thank you for starting this thread. It is a breath of fresh air!
I do feel that this 'element' has become more prevalent in recent years. Talk of this being his possible last tour (something I have heard EVERY year since 2001) and a retained reputation as a performer who can (sometimes) produce a heart-wrenching 80 minutes has definitely increased the curious 'casual observer' demographic.
But, this boorish element is not entirely limited to Morrissey! I stopped going to see Bloc Party. Because, once they became better-known, I was absolutely appalled at having to argue and stand my ground with an increasing number of staggering-drunk, coked-up cocky little pricks. I do not relish, and will NEVER accept being actually physically shoved out of the way by someone (who is half my age) every ten minutes, because he wants to load his nose with a narcotic that's inevitably going to make him even more of a wanker.
In my opinion, in recent years, gigs have become the new 'clubbing'. I, very curtly, told a very young 'fashionista' to "f*** right off" at The Roundhouse last year because she was bellowing down her phone (merely inches from my face) for several minutes whilst Morrissey was playing 'Something is Squeezing My Skull'. She obviously knew very little of the material and, being bored, felt that her time would be better spent telling her friend that she was at a Morrissey gig, rather than actually experiencing the said event....
I believe that the 'Celebrity' of Morrissey is now becoming as important to these Casual Observers as the music. If not more so....People are becoming more obsessed with picking up a signed vinyl, catching a thrown shirt, or shaking the man's hand than actually hearing him sing 'The More You Ignore Me' or 'Satan Rejected My Soul' again!
I feel my heart sink whenever people arrive at close to 9pm and steadfastly begin aggressively shoving their way to the front. And it now happens every single bloody time that I see Morrissey. He has become something akin to a Sideshow spectacle for some people.... I AM aware that these things have always happened. But, they used to be a rare occurrence. NOT something that happens every time I venture out to see a band play live.
I have seen The Pixies play several times since their reunion in 2003. Having loved them since a friend brought back a copy of 'Surfer Rosa/Come On Pilgrim', I relish seeing them play. But, NOTHING prepared me for the joyous amusement I felt when I saw them at Alexandra Palace. Witnessing several audience members fleeing speedily in droves when they launched into 'Vamos'. Pain etched on their little white faces... But, I find audience members courteous and friendly at those gigs. People seem to be more enamoured with the music than with anything else...The Kings Of Leon are another band where people will listen to the only track they know ('Sex On Fire') and talk through the rest...I am ever-bemused that people will spend up to £42 on a ticket and talk throughout the performance!!!
But, there could be several reasons for this missile being thrown in Liverpool. I have been drenched several times at gigs over the years. The last time at the first resheduled Morrissey Brixton night in June. I sincerely believe that the (beered-up) perpetrator of my soaking was just simply over-excited. His reflex was to launch his beverage when Morrissey walked on stage. Not AT anyone. He wasn't aggressive. Just unable to hold his alcohol....As for this guy...Was he reacting to a similar-style soaking? With the intention of getting revenge on the person who drenched him? Did he mis-judge and hit Morrissey? We will never know. I do, however feel deeply sorry for everyone who missed out on what promised to be a great night. The ethics of whether he should have played on will always be mere conjecture. I don't claim to have an answer. I was very disappointed when he postponed The Troxy and the three Brixton nights. But, I loved every second of them when he finally played them.
However, I suspect that I will not be attending my usual six or seven Morrissey gigs per year from now on. The shine is fading for me. Plus, there are only so many Smiths songs, that I hold dear, that I can stand to hear murdered night after night....But, that's just my humble opinion!!!
