Troutdale Review

What a road trip!

I am back from my trip to see Morrissey in Seattle and Troutdale and currently wading through laundry.  As you know, I don’t tend to pack lightly, and now I am stuck with the unglamorous task of trying to wash all the clothes I have apparently worn over the past 5 days. I’m beginning to sound terribly high maintenance, aren’t I?

This review will be quite emotional for me because this show was the most beautiful night of my life.  Let me temporarily go back to a week ago, to try to convey the mindset I had been in for a very long time.  A week ago, I believed nothing good could ever happen for me, because I had been through an exceptionally hard year.  When things go wrong for you continually, and you’re prone to depression, you begin to entirely believe you are doomed. It is a cycle, and it is incredibly hard to escape.  Now, I don’t want to get too dark here because I want to keep this blog enjoyable. However, I want to give you the emotional backdrop to convey how much this experience meant to me.  I have spent a lot of time listening to this song, hoping so much for something amazing and deeply meaningful to come true for me.

Tuesday night was a dream come true for me.  To get to see Morrissey in concert, and so close up made me realize that good things could in fact happen for me.  The next day, driving to Troutdale, I did start crying a few times because I couldn’t believe how lucky I was.  When we arrived in Troutdale the night before the show we looked around the venue and had veggie burgers at the pub on site.  The atmosphere was immensely different from Seattle as it was quite rural.  Anyway, on to the night of the show:

It was already fairly crowded when we arrived around 6 because people show up early (doors were 5pm) to get good spots on the lawn. However, we were in the reserved section in the THIRD row.  I noticed a few people were standing at the barrier, mostly regulars with wristbands.  There were still a lot of spaces at the barrier, though, and I noticed not everyone at the barrier was wearing the wristbands, so around when the videos started I decided to take a chance, leave my third row seat, and go and stand at the barrier as well. THIS IS THE BEST DECISION I HAVE EVER MADE. Thanks to those who gave me tips on how to get to the front as well, I am always in your debt. 

When the New York Dolls video switched to Lypsinka I took my letter for Morrissey out.  I knew this could be my only chance to ever get it to him. When he walked out with the band I could not believe how close we were.  We were on Jesse’s side of the stage.  I did not take many pictures because I wanted to experience the show fully, but the ones I got I’m very pleased with. 

“Welcome to our picnic, I am the menu,” he said, I think after the opening song, Suedehead. 

 Setlist:

1. Suedehead

2. Alma Matters

3. Staircase at the University

4. Ganglord

5. Speedway

6. World Peace Is None of Your Business

7. Kiss Me a Lot

8. Stop Me If You Think That You've Heard This One Before

9. I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris

10. Mama Lay Softly on the Riverbed

11. Istanbul

12. Yes, I Am Blind

13. The Bullfighter Dies

14. First of the Gang to Die

15. I Will See You in Far Off Places

16. What She Said/ Rubber Ring

17. Everyday is Like Sunday

18. Now My Heart is Full

19. Meat is Murder

Encore

20. The Queen is Dead

Morrissey sounded absolutely gorgeous again. The band was tight. I just feel this amazing glow in his presence that I have never felt at any other time in my life.  The experience is so profound.  As I’ve been saying, there are no words to do it all justice.  This is a strange thing for someone who enjoys writing, like I do, to admit, and perhaps it’s because I’m still a little in shock. It hasn’t all sunk in. But I feel at a loss for words to describe how powerful seeing Morrissey live is.

The space between the barrier and the stage at this show was far enough that it made handshakes a little harder, I think, because he had to lean over quite a bit, so there weren’t as many as in Seattle, only a couple maybe.  Earlier in the show he accepted a card from someone at the other side of the stage.  However, I began to stretch my arm out far so he would hopefully notice me holding my letter.  Just after Bullfighter he gave me a gorgeous smile (to let me know he noticed me I think).  I almost couldn’t believe it: was Morrissey just smiling at me?  The woman behind me was in disbelief herself and exclaimed, “He just smiled at you!”  My knees trembled, so thank goodness for the barrier to lean on.  I am tearing up just thinking about it.

Then, during First of the Gang to Die, he started to come over in my direction.  I held the letter out for him, stretching as far as I could, and he knelt down, still smiling at me.  I’ve never felt so happy or safe in my whole life.  He tried so hard to reach it from me, my heart was touched in way I didn’t know possible: I could feel it so warmly in my chest. He took my letter and began holding it up, unfolding it, and looking at it while he was singing, before putting it in his pocket.  It was and will always be the most beautiful moment of my life.  I cannot compare it to anything.  It meant the world to me. 

There was a stage invasion just after and I have no idea how the girl scaled the barrier because it was so high. I’m not that short and it came up to almost my chest. I have some delicious bruises at the backs of my upper arms from the barrier that I hope don’t get better for a while. I’ve never felt so attached to a set of bruises in my life.

Every song was glorious. Now My Heart is Full and Speedway always flood me with emotion. The footage during Meat is Murder is always agonizing to see, but so important for the message it sends about the horrors of the meat/dairy industry. I'm certain he converts people to Vegetarian or Vegan at every show. There wasn’t a shirt toss this time. Before the encore, Morrissey compared the royals to a Nazi regime again and said that the US was lucky not to be under a “boil family.”  I love it when he speaks his mind in this way.

It was the best night of my life on the best week of my life.  It made everything I’ve gone through worthwhile.  It was a dream come true. 

When I arrived back in Canada, the sky was a grey wall of rain.  No, I didn’t really want to come home.  “The rain falls hard on a humdrum town…” poured through my car’s speakers as I was nearing my street.  Coincidence? More than likely.  But more importantly, now my heart is full. 

Thank you Morrissey!