I'm Not Going to Become a Vegan But.....

I make it out to fewer concerts than I would like to sometimes, but I usually have a good excuse. Yesterday, knowing my wife would be busy all weekend, I decided at the last minute that I would buy a ticket to go to a show of an artist that I was only a moderate fan of. I didn't know what to expect at all.

Morrissey was in town, and there were some tickets up on ebay selling pretty cheap. I decided it sounded like an interesting way to spend my evening. I listened to the Smiths albums I had on my ipod to get myself a little better prepared. I knew that some of those songs would probably be played....How Soon is Now?, Panic, The Boy With the Thorn in His Side, The Queen is Dead and a few other possibilities based on some recent setlists. I had my arsenal of songs that I know ready, but I wasn't at all prepared for how much I would enjoy that show.

Part of the draw of me to go to the show was the people watching. Morrissey and The Smiths have some rabid fans. They were a band that I had always known of, but all in all, I didn't listen to them that much. I guess I'm really a bit young to have connected with them when the music came out. I have picked up some of the classics over the years, but I had really only listened to them a few times. Aside from the one song that became a hit in my pop radio days of middle school, I had only heard one of his solo songs, and it sounded like that one doesn't really ever get played anymore. It seemed like everyone there last night knew every word to most every song. They were jumping up and down and fighting over his shirt that he throws into the crowd every night. You won't see me doing that ever, but I guarantee that you will be seeing a lot more Morrissey and Smiths in my playlists.

I was amazed at Morrissey's command of the stage. From the minute he came out in a suit in tie until the last song he played, he had the crowd in his hand. His persona made him seem larger than life. I've heard he is quite an ego manic, but boy did it make for a fun show. He had a five piece band set quite a ways back from him, and he spent the show working the front of the crowd into a frenzy. Lots of poses and hand shaking and even a little bit of rolling around on the stage, but it fit the personality he put out there perfectly. It was hilarious to see twenty and thirty somethings getting hauled off by the stage security for trying to get too close to the stage.

I'll never completely relate to the angst of Morrissey of the lyrics of most of those songs, but I had a blast last night. Not being a huge fan lent itself to just getting to enjoy a great show. I didn't go in with high expectations and must-hear songs. I didn't have past shows to compare it to. I just didn't have anything to do and thought it would be fun to go see a "legend", and I wasn't disappointed at all. I came home a much bigger fan than I was when I got there and added all those old Morrissey albums to my want list.