Morrissey at the Hollywood Bowl

My first concert at the Hollywood Bowl was Morrissey in 1992. Times were different then. Morrissey played for about an hour and change and no Smiths songs were played. Ticketmaster also wasn't as greedy back then as they are now. The bowl show in 1992 sold out in a record 23 minutes. This is mindboggling considering that there was no online ticketmaster site back then. I couldn't help but smile when I saw Morrissey's name on the marquee with "Sold Out" placed underneath.

Kristeen Young opened yet again at almost exactly 8:00. She did a better job compared to Gallon Drunk who opened back in 1992. The crowd was receptive and applauded most of her songs. The bowl was not a fully capacity since it was a friday night and traffic was horrendous. Kristeen used a wah pedal on her keyboard during one of her songs which gave her piano tone a cracked psychotic tone. They played their usual forty minute set.

"Hooray for Hollywood!" Morrisey quipped as he dashingly appeared on stage. The crowd was truly electric. Their were a ton of cameras setup onstage and I spotted a steadicam filming during the show. I hope they captured the magic of this night. A large screen was showing different angles of Morrissey and the band all night. It was like watching a DVD. Morrissey wasn't as chatty but he was in a good mood and his voice was in top shape. The only small complaint I have was that the music was not loud enough. I was in Section D and I didn't even need my earplugs. I can only imagine it was a faint whisper in the back of the bowl. Morrissey added some of his usual banter including that many famous people have graced the stage at the Hollywood Bowl including himself. He also mentioned that the bowl was the hippest place to be except for the Cat and The Fiddle. The version of "How Soon is Now?" was epic. I can not wait to see how it turns out on DVD because I still get shivers thinking about it. The pounding of the bass drum by Matt Walker at the end of the song combined with the feedback was outstanding. Another highlight of the show was the sheer number of Smiths songs played. I always joked with my Morrissey friends about the Smiths song cap in that Morrissey never exceeds four songs per night. The Smiths cap was busted tonight as those lucky people in attendance received six songs which maybe a record for this decade. By ending the night with "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" was simply magical. I hope I get a Morrissey Live at the Hollywood Bowl DVD for Christmas.

Morrissey at the Hollywood Bowl (6/8/07)
(Max Capacity 17,562)
"The Queen Is Dead"
"The Last Of The Famous International Playboys"
"Ganglord"
"The National Front Disco"
"Let Me Kiss You"
"All You Need Is Me"
"The Boy With The Thorn In His Side"
"Irish Blood, English Heart"
"Disappointed"
"I've Changed My Plea To Guilty"
"Everyday Is Like Sunday"
"In The Future When All's Well"
"I Will See You In Far Off Places"
"Girlfriend In A Coma"
"First Of The Gang To Die"
"I Just Want To See The Boy Happy"
"You Have Killed Me"
"That's How People Grow Up"
"Life Is A Pigsty"
"How Soon Is Now?"
"Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want"
"You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side"
"There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"