Morrissey Tour November 2016: Reno

November 10, 2016:

When I was a little girl I thought casinos were the most glamorous places in the world. I'm not sure if this was something to do with hopelessly tacky 1980's cinematic imagery, or just an overactive childhood imagination, but casinos seemed to be a world of all flash and dice and sequins. I had, of course, never set foot in a casino at that point in my life, and now I have - I can't exactly say I see the casinos the same way.

Fast forward many (many) years to today and casinos actually kind of freak me out. Maybe it's because I'm such an introvert and I get overwhelmed, or perhaps it's because they are really smoky, or maybe it's even because they boast "all you can eat" restaurants. However - maybe there is some kind of appeal to neon casino tackiness and slot machine whirs, because it's just so very different from most other environments - and a bit, or sometimes a lot - of distraction can be a good thing.

I'm in Reno to see Morrissey and hang out with some of the lovely people I've been travelling with. But - while I'm here, I am going to give casinos another chance.

Morrissey concert poster at the Grand Sierra Resort

Reno is like a mini-Las Vegas. A glimpse of the airport will tell you this much - because there are rows upon rows of Wheel-Of-Fortune slot machines dinging by the flight gates. If you can resist anything except temptation, this might – or might not – be the place for you. There are also taxidermied animals in this airport, which make me rather uncomfortable. I immediately worry about how exactly they ended up here, and hope whatever caused it was natural.

The Grand Sierra Resort holds the venue Morrissey will sing in tomorrow night, so we stay there. As soon as we enter the casino (hotel check in is reliably adjacent to casino floor) we are greeted with posters and screens filled with photos of Morrissey.  I snap a few photos of the Moz posters before heading up to my room. Somehow I snag a room on the 19th floor, and my ears pop on the sky-high elevator ride up. The rooms and the desert views are pretty nice. My theory is that casino hotels (which often don't cost very much to stay in) make the rooms sprawling and lush to give you the impression you are well-off, and therefore you'll believe - incorrectly - that you have money to burn at the blackjack tables. Sneaky.  For this portion of the trip, I've brought high heels, which I haven't worn in years, so tonight I will attempt to wear them. The heels last approximately one hour - and my feet far less than that.

As casinos generally don't like you camping out on their swirling psychedelic-patterned carpets, we have to do list check-ins on the night before the concert. I've snagged number 7, which is my second highest spot ever on list, aside from when I was in Berlin and was 4th. I hear that the venue stage is long - which is rather reassuring as that means it will hold a lot of people in front row.

I do badly at video poker

The casino floor is a pretty fascinating spot for people-watching (even if you don't like people, to be honest) - and everyone from uniformed marines, to women wearing sequined dresses, to a chain-smoking drunk guy wearing a Jesus t-shirt, to children singing "if you're happy and you know it" (a very absurd sight) are present.  It's a surreal mishmash. One terrifically drunk man nearly mistakes a phone booth for a urinal - a moment never unseen.  Chandeliers and chaos.  I try my hand at video poker, and do quite badly. For some reason the zombifying lure of slot machines does little to attract me, and I'm bored before I even begin.  Of course I also feel overwhelmed by all the people, sounds, and flashing lights and decide to go to bed rather early.

November 11, 2016

I wake up feeling much better and so excited to see the concert tonight.  I meet a lot of lovely people, including a teenage girl who has brought an LP for Morrissey to sign. The casino floor becomes a makeshift beauty boutique as we apply makeup to get ready. Today I attend to most of this up in my room, but since I've been lining up for Morrissey concerts, it's not unheard of for me to be seen in public with curlers in my hair, applying mascara.

Everything is wonderful except the moment when a couple approaches the front of the line and asks us if we think Moz will show abattoir footage during Meat is Murder, and at what point during the concert does this happen? They add that the footage is 'a bit much for a Friday night' and their attitude disturbs me.  I explain the reasoning behind the footage - that it shows the horrific reality these innocent animals must endure. The couple claim to be "sympathetic to the cause," and then they simply walk away. I wonder if it hits them that the millions of animals slaughtered for the meat industry don't have any say about their own fates on a Friday night. 

Just before doors we get wristbands that allow entry to the venue's lounge 15 minutes early and 2 drink tickets. I decide to hold off on the drinks until after the show and that familiar nervous, excited energy is flowing through my limbs. I always feel a bit like I'm at the starting line of a race. There are two doors to the floor of the venue, which always inspires anxiety in queuing concertgoers, but Morrissey's security is awesome and helps to ensure only one door will be opened so that we can enter safely in order.

Past doors there is a narrow dark hallway that leads to a small series of steps down to the floor. The little steps are uneven and I go flying over the bottom two; however, I remain unscathed and this actually gives me a bit of clearance. Cool! I nab a great spot on front row Boz’s side and the pre-show ritual begins. I know all the words to "Wanting To Die" - and Anne Sexton's dark eyes haunt as she recites the last lines of her poem on the special language of suicide. Funky 70's fireball "Nutbush City Limits" always ramps up my excitement and I can't imagine anyone will ever look as smashing as Tina does in a red pantsuit. The pre-show videos invoke a vast spread of emotion and are a mini preview for how seeing Morrissey in concert feels - joy and despair - and everything in between.

Reno barrier view

Tonight Morrissey opens with Shoplifters - but with some special lyric changes. As the band drives into the chorus - Morrissey sings "Trump-shifters of the world, unite and take over." As an audience, we cheer and catch on quite quickly, singing along "Trump-shifters" ourselves. He also changes "6 months is a long time" to "4 years is a long time." And - he's right. 

Next up is Alma Matters and a friend beside me stretches her arm out for a glorious Moz handshake - it turns into a group handshake with me and a few others. It is absolutely lovely. The young girl I met earlier also gets her album signed further into the show. I've never seen anyone interact so much with their audience as Morrissey does - and it means the world to us.

Setlist for Morrissey in Reno, November 11, 2016 (via setlist FM):

1. Shoplifters Of The World Unite
2. Alma Matters
3. Speedway
4. Ganglord
5. Jack The Ripper
6. Kiss Me A Lot
7. I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
8. World Peace Is None Of Your Business
9. Everyday Is Like Sunday
10. Suedehead
11. Ouija Board, Ouija Board
12. One Of Our Own
13. Irish Blood, English Heart
14. The Bullfighter Dies
15. The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
16. Meat Is Murder
17. How Soon Is Now?
18. You Have Killed Me
19. What She Said
20. First Of the Gang To Die

Encore:

21. Judy Is A Punk

"Jack the Ripper" blows me away every time I see it live. I remember when I first watched "Who Put The 'M' in Manchester?" a few years ago, I would think to myself how it would make my life to see it live one day. Tonight, as Morrissey emerges out of thick billows of heady fog, he casts a transfixing dark outline, grasping and clutching as he moves forward. He is raw emotion - a struggle of passion and pain - and I feel completely engrossed in the moment. 

Crash into my arms
Photo by @mischievousnose w/ edit by @sadglamour

While I'm doing my best to spend the night in every precious moment, little etchings of the past strike me in strange chords at certain times. As Morrissey sings "How Soon Is Now?", I think of how just a couple of Novembers ago, I was in a deep depression and I used to listen to this song on solitary walks along the seafront. At the time, the simple fact I dragged myself out of bed seemed to be something. As it was a Canadian November, the sky and sea were steeped in sombre shades of grey; there was very little colour to anything and the surroundings matched my mood. But Morrissey's words spoke to me and urged me forward: "I am human and I need to be loved." I became more engrossed in the music than the dismal drizzly rain of my humdrum town, and whatever corroded my heart was somehow channeled into strength.  During that time I often forgot I was human, and my confusion about the world made me feel so isolated - but Morrissey was like a wise and caring best friend that helped me get through each day. And now, this November, I am in Reno, looking up at the stage and watching him sing "How Soon Is Now?" live. I feel actual happiness - something I don't feel very often - wash over me as I hug the barrier.

Photo by aggrolily on Instagram

Sometimes I am singing along surrounded by friends, and other times I feel like it's just Morrissey and I. The balance enchants me. I never want the night to end.

The night does, of course, end, but with a bang as Moz and the band finish with "What She Said", "First Of The Gang To Die", and Ramones encore "Judy is a Punk".  For the encore, Moz, in a white shirt, looks part angel, yet he sings with just the right amount of punk-spirited bite. The band is all blitz and grit. Moz gives us a 'ciao' and a bow. I miss him as soon as he's off-stage.

After the concert we decide to go hang out at the bar for a while - and we run into Boz Boorer. This is not my first time running into Boz at a casino bar - but it is my first time being less shy about asking for a photo with him. He is a pleasure to speak with and even gives us a few guitar picks as presents. 

After Boz leaves we have a few drinks. The casino is a chaos of distractions for the lucky and the unlucky, but I'm not entirely here - I'm still thinking of How Soon Is Now? and the many shades of November.