Morrissey @ El Foro, Tijuana 09/20/07

Morrissey, you are forgiven.

First things first, the setlist:

Billy Budd
London
You Have Killed Me
All You Need is Me
Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
In the Future When All's Well
The National Front Disco
Stretch Out And Wait
Why Don’t You Find Out For Yourself
I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
Let Me Kiss You
One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell
Death of a Disco Dancer
Disappointed
I Just Want To See The Boy Happy
The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
Everyday Is Like Sunday
Life Is a Pigsty
How Soon Is Now?
First Of The Gang To Die
Irish Blood, English Heart


Morrissey in Tijuana is something I thought I would never see. He has said in past interviews how he wasn't a fan of the city, yet here he was. The promoters must've ponied up a good amount of cash and were very convincing. El Foro sold-out right before the show. The sound was better than it was at the Embarcadero show. The crowd was 10 tens better and most of them didn't even speak English! The stage invaders were on full force. I think anywhere between 10-15 made it to stage and countless number of others tried. Morrissey even lent a hand out to them. He was really enjoying his fans and the flowers and accepting all gifts. He put a post card of James Dean down the front of his pants so you could see Jimmy's face and it stayed in place for at least 2 songs.

When Morrissey first came out, you could tell that he was a little slow to start. He was gauging the crowd, trying to figure out what the chaos was going to be like. After about 15 minutes, the old Moz came out. He was happy, jumping around, bantering with the crowd, dancing around with his mic cord. He was the Moz I saw back in the day.

He went through 4(?) shirts. He gave out 3 of them and man did they fight for them. I think my favorite part is when he ripped one of his shirts off and you saw the buttons fly! He has lost weight by the way. He's looking a lot better! My favorite shirt he wore was the USA Chivas jersey that he closed the show with. When he threw it out to the audience, they must've fought for it for at least 15 minutes. The winner of the brawl proudly wore it out front. I'm a huge fan of the Chivas (Mexican team). So I was happy. I just got back from Guadalajara and was able to catch a game, so I was on cloud 9.

Morrissey joked around a ton with the crowd. He was quite talkative. He told stories of how he was pulled over by the Tijuana police once he had crossed the border. He told of how he planned on getting a bicycle and selling fruit (melons, watermelons, etc.) on the Revolucion. He asked if anyone recognized the backdrop he was using this tour, which when given the microphone, a fan replied, "I Love You," to which Morrissey mimicked and asked if he was from Puebla! haha It was a very young and handsome Richard Burton by the way.

He played for close to two hours and while it was slow during some parts, he made up for it by playing all those Smiths songs that you hardly ever hear live. He even played three new songs. The first two I liked, but I wasn't impressed. It was the third new song, "One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell" that I really liked and made me move. The band did a great job and were trying to get up close and personal with the crowd. An upright bass was brought on stage and a few other horn instruments as well. All around, the show blew the Embarcadero show out of the water. It was the first show of this leg of the tour and maybe that's what had him all ready to go. I guess we'll know for sure once he starts playing the rest of the gigs. He'll be in Las Vegas tonight.

Morrissey, Morrissey, Morrissey

Word on the street, aka internet is that Morrissey will be touring this summer. He has released the dates to the first part of his U.S. Tour.

The dates below are brought to you by True To You- A Morrissey Zine
www.true-to-you.net


april

Fri 27 STOCKTON, CA : Bob Hope Theater [1,896 cap]
Sat 28 SPARKS, NV : John Ascuaga's Celebrity Showroom [700 cap]
Sun 29 SPARKS, NV : John Ascuaga's Celebrity Showroom

may

Tue 1 OAKLAND, CA : Paramount Theater [2,840 cap]
Wed 2 SANTA ROSA, CA : Wells Fargo Center [1,482 cap]
Sat 5 SPOKANE, WA: INB Performing Arts Center [2,700]
Sun 6 SEATTLE, WA : Paramount [2,782]
Tue 8 SALT LAKE CITY, UT : E Center Ford Theater [3,500]
Wed 9 DENVER, CO : Fillmore [3,600]
Fri 11 OMAHA, NE : Orpheum [2,586]
Sat 12 MILWAUKEE, WI : Riverside [2,304]
Mon 14 ANN ARBOR, MI : Michigan Theater [1,591]
Tue 15 CHICAGO, IL : Auditorium [3,635]
Thur 17 CLEVELAND, OH : Playhouse Square Center [2,837]
Fri 18 COLUMBUS, OH : Palace Theater [2,705]
Sun 20 INDIANAPOLIS, IN : Murat Center [2,889]
Tue 22 ST LOUIS, MO : The Pageant [2,000]
Wed 23 KANSAS CITY, MO : Uptown Theater [2,200]
Fri 25 DALLAS, TX : Palladium [2,800]
Sat 26 AUSTIN, TX : Backyard [5,000]
Mon 28 HOUSTON, TX : Verizon [2,815]
Wed 30 EL PASO, TX : County Coliseum [3,500]
Thur 31 TUCSON, AZ : Music Hall [2,289]

june

Sat 2 PHOENIX, AZ : Maricopa County Events Center [6,500]
Sun 3 SAN DIEGO, CA : Bayside Concerts [10,000]
Tue 5 VENTURA, CA : Majestic Ventura Theater [1,200]
Wed 6 RIVERSIDE, CA : Riverside Municipal Auditorium [1,950]
Fri 8 LOS ANGELES, CA : Hollywood Bowl [17,562]
Sat 9 LAS VEGAS, NV : Pearl [2,352]

According to the website, all the tickets go on sale March 31st except for a few, which go on sale April 1st.

I'm a huge fan of Morrissey and The Smiths. I've been to several concerts and I've never been completely disappointed. Some concerts were better than others, but I always left tipsy and happy.

I know there are a lot of people out there that think Morrissey is done and old news. People think he can't contribute to music anymore. But in all reality, he has contributed so much, that it will never end. He has influenced so many bands that one will never escape. Personally, I don't mind. I can listen to Morrissey and to The Smiths over and over again.

I heard the tickets are $50 each, general admission. I don't think that's too bad. I'm even considering trying to go to both the Los Angeles and San Diego shows.

Hope to see someone, anyone at either the Los Angeles or San Diego shows.