Morrissey Will See You in Far Off Places

No panic, but rather excitement on the streets of El Paso as the last of the international showmen made a long awaited return to the southwest stage. Morrissey performed Wednesday night at the El Paso County Coliseum to adoring fans, young and old alike.

The anticipation was palpable in the coliseum as fans were treated to Morrissey's ever present fondness for camp upon the big screen as foreign videos from the 50's and 60's were displayed, culminating in a short silent audition piece for James Dean. An apparent idol of Morrissey's, Dean's handsome face was plastered behind the stage in homage to the late and great.

Kicking off with Smiths gusto in the form of "The Queen is Dead," Moz, the ever consumed performer, belted out his English charm with energy he's maintained for well over 20 years. Backed with a newly revamped band in cleverly suave and identical outfits in the vein of Robert Palmer's classic "Simply Irresistible" video, only unlike Palmer, Morrissey opted for men.

Whipping his microphone cord about as a prop, Morrissey hit a high with "You Have Killed Me," the fast paced single from his most recent album. The song reaches the ranks of favorites such as "Suedehead," "Hairdresser on Fire" and "Jack the Ripper," all notably left off and missed from this particular concert tour.

The El Paso set list was a mix of new and old, combining many of his efforts on recent albums "Ringleader of the Tormentors" and "You are the Quarry," with classic Morrissey songs and songs rehashed from his stint as The Smiths front man. Some argue that when an artist goes solo from their famous band, they should leave the band's songs off their tours, while I argue that Morrissey, being the songwriter and voice of the Smiths has every right to break out with Smiths hits as needed, and fans seemed to agree with cheers when the opening notes of "Girlfriend in a Coma" radiated.

Morrissey fans are an ever eclectic group of black donning, glasses wearing, greaser styled hair pompadoured and often wronged people. They rival the passion of any given hard rock band. Famously, fans often rush the stage at Morrissey concerts, of which he encourages often by reaching out to the front rows often. He even had a brief conversation with one lucky fan front row center, which lacked anything interesting to say, most likely due to nerves and excitement at conversing with a no doubt lifelong idol.

During the timeless rendition of "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want," a young couple in the middle of the floor crowd made out with ferocity. The romance of being Morrissey fan misfits must have overcome them. They no doubt got exactly what they wanted, please or no please. These fans relate to Morrissey and his lyrics on a deeply personal level, they, like him, have been wronged. They, like him, have felt the pain of being an outsider in an ever increasingly clique atmosphere. They, like him, know that mainstream music does not represent them, and call to hang the DJ's who know nothing of their lives.

The pompadoured one crooned "Everyday is Like Sunday," to the ecstatic audience who sang in unison every word. He lovingly sang "Let Me Kiss You" to which many of those admiring would have responded a resoundingly "Yes," using the lyrics: "see someone you physically despise" to poke fun at his slightly larger than 1980's frame by taking his shirt off in a one man male revue. Not only singing his songs, he embraces the art of non verbal communication and cues to enhance his message.

A most definite climax of the night would be Morrissey, Smiths and music fans overall favorite "How Soon is Now," creating a disco atmosphere of 15 years prior with booming guitars, deep voice and strobe lights thundering, nostalgia to the 10th degree.

In general the idea of an encore is rather cheesy and stale. The original intent of an encore would be the audience demanding for more, a purely spontaneous conversion of audience will, appreciation and artist devotion. Now the encore is purely planned, and should be called what it is, a water break and guitar tuning opportunity. Nevertheless, Morrissey returned to perform "Panic" and "You're Gonna Need Someone By Your Side" with fast paced guitar reminiscent of the original Batman theme song. He left the stage on an adrenaline laced high for artist and concert goer alike.

Not one person, in the sadly not sold out venue, was disappointed. They came for a show, they got a show by a musical genius who never gave in to the watered down music industry, maintaining his integrity and originality, not to mention maintaining and generating a devoted following.

Morrissey will continue to tour, and see people in far off places. He may have Irish blood and English heart, but will always maintain an American following. Perhaps he will be the last of the international playboys?