I've checked out this site off and on for the past 5+ years and just recently registered. Mainly to defend (by writing in my observations of the Portland show) Morrissey after reading some posts because he cancelled his San Francisco concert. Anyway, now I'm ready to write about my Portland experience. I've not seen him tons of times like other fans. I've seen him at the Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa, CA, 2 nights at the Wiltern, the Universal Amphitheater, the Hollywood Bowl and the Paramount in Seattle. There might have been another show here or there I missed.
So now, I get to see him at 50+ years of age and I was not disappointed. That voice is still there and given the fact that he had been going through a bleeding ulcer, I was happy that this concert went ahead as rescheduled. Seeing that there was no barricade and the fact that it was theater style seating, I asked one of the ushers if the crowd can just stand up and rush the stage. I was told, "No, only the people sitting in the pit (20 or so folding chairs laid out between the front row and the foot of the stage) can stand at the stage." Upon hearing that, I was resigned to watch the show from a very decent seat in Orchestra A, Row J, 3 seats from the aisle.
After 2 or so songs, he asked to crowd to come closer so that we can "smell his cologne." That gave me and another guy in my row a reason to make our way to the front only to be stopped by an usher at row 1. She told a group of us 10 or so people to stay put. Well, there was a moment in the 3rd or 4th song, where the lights dimmed almost as if to give the crowd the cue to come forward and sure enough, there was a bit of a surge and we rushed the stage past the poor helpless usher who was asking her co-workers for help. I was probably 4-5 people away during the Wiltern concerts and now I was literally at the stage with only one person between me and the stage.
Seeing Morrissey perform from that perspective was incredible because of the fact that you can see the expressions on his face, but of course losing the perspective of seeing him work the whole stage. Anyway, given his recent bout of being ill, I thought he performed quite well, still amazing vocally, and was very thankful of the crowd and seemed appreciative of his continued following. As I mentioned in a previous post, there were times he reached for a tissue/handkerchief during the show and turned his back on the crowd. He also kneeled and bent down a few times as well. The friend I went with also noticed this and afterwards voiced her concern about his health and worried about him. So saying all that, if he was not playing at 100%, I was grateful and thankful that he managed to do that. Not sure if others caught that he ended with Still Ill and then called in sick for his next concert in SF. : )
Okay...now for my amazing moment. After seeing him several times, I finally got to shake the man's hand! Yes, close enough to reach up and shake his hand! Also, I was able to record a video of the handshake on my cellphone while I was doing it! Now the funny part afterwards. My friend and I were looking at the video and at the moment he shook my hand, I froze the image to see his thumbnail painted a light green color! That made us chuckle since I didn't know he painted his nails. Second amazing moment, he handed me the microphone and I was able to say, "Best lyricist ever!" In retrospect, I should have said, "Morrissey, I of course am a big fan. I want to say that I'm also a huge Beatles fan and I want to tell you that I think you're a better lyricist than Lennon and McCartney!"
Okay...that's it. Thanks for reading my ramblings about my concert experience
