Wednesday, October 29, 1997
Morrissey jams ‘Maladjusted’
MUSIC: Songs from latest record brought followers to Thousand
Oaks plaza
By Mike Prevatt
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Never underestimate Morrissey’s legion of insanely devoted fans.
A half-hour before the ex-Smiths frontman, now solo performer, took
the stage at the oddly-chosen Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza on
Monday night, the at-capacity crowd repeatedly screamed
"Morrissey!" even though they knew he wouldn’t be out for a while.
But they didn’t care.
Despite the disappointingly short amount of time Morrissey
graced the stage, "the Moz," as he is nicknamed in some camps put
his faithful input in an hourlong state of shriek-filled bliss,
touring in support of his recently released album, "Maladjusted"
(his first with Mercury Records). Though the material from his
first four records, usually considered his best by critics and fans
alike, went unplayed, Morrissey and his back-up band were in top
form, and the crowd was willing to acknowledge that at any given
second.
Usually, L.A. fans are known to be mildly enthusiastic at best
when it comes to alternative-rock concerts (not counting the
moshers and stage-divers). There are a few exceptions, such as fans
for such ’80s-’90s gloom-and-doomers as Depeche Mode and the Cure
(who played a show at the Hollywood Legion Hall on Tuesday night)
and, of course, Morrissey. These artists’ fans have a reputation
for buying up large numbers of tickets, generally dressing in
black, bringing flowers and screaming madly for their idols.
Morrissey has the most fanatical followers out of any band in
alternative music, period. Anyone remember that little melee at
Pauley Pavilion in October 1991, where half of the arena bum-rushed
the stage? Security couldn’t handle the traffic of fans getting up
on stage to grope their rock messiah, which clocked at around a fan
every ten seconds or so. What further provokes these fans is
Morrissey’s gleaming satisfaction at such "compliments," as he’s
called them in the past. At the Greek Theater on Oct. 12, his show
was cut short again by a team of fanatics who hopped on stage to
embrace him. You get the picture.
Well, ultra-conservative Thousand Oaks braced itself and
employed enough security to prevent such behavior. Most of the
crowd stayed put, but their actions were typical of Morrissey
audiences. Flowers and shirts flew from the seats to the stage.
Fans waived their pointed fingers and arms in the air and chanted
along with Morrissey in such ways fans of the Clash and U2 did 15
to 20 years ago. And ear-deafening screams followed every song and
started each new one.
Your fleeting Morrissey fan would have been hugely disappointed
by the set list, which left out such Morrissey staples as "Everyday
is Like Sunday," "Sing Your Life" and "Last of the Famous
International Playboys." Morrissey teased the crowd when he calmly
stated, "We’re happy to take requests." As the fans shouted out
various Morrissey classics, he retorted with a deadpan "I don’t
mean songs."
The 14 songs he did play mostly came from his last three studio
albums, which have embraced a somewhat harder sound that some fans
have not exactly embraced themselves. But in the live arena when
Morrissey flails his arms and microphone about, every song is
cheered like it’s a favorite. The harder, less-classic songs
bounced off the auditorium walls with a pleasant aggressiveness and
even a playful angst.
Particularly loud singalongs and screamfests included "Trouble
Loves Me," "Now My Heart is Full," and "Spring Heeled Jim." "Boy
Racer," from the garage-band-mimicking "Southpaw Grammar" album,
could have resonated just as well in the Rose Bowl as it did in the
small Civic Arts auditorium in all its rocking glory, as could the
mayhem-inducing version of the recent single, "Alma Matters." With
every arm movement, the crowd roared in perfect Beatlemania
fashion.
But that was nothing compared to the
home-run-in-the-ninth-inning-of-the-World-Series scream that
followed the first few beats of the Smiths’ classic, "Shoplifters
of the World Unite," a surprise many fans didn’t expect knowing
Morrissey’s reluctance in the past to play material from his former
band. He defied "standard concert practice" by making that the sole
encore song.
After just an hour on stage, Morrissey left with an "I love
you!" and on went the house lights to a theater filled with
disappointment. After paying $28 for an hour, many fans left a
little irked about the time, as evidenced in their short-lived
boos, but none seemed discontent at all with what they saw. After
all, it’s quality, not quantity, right?
Mercury Records
Morrissey recently released a new album, "Maladjusted."