Review: The Uncaged Heart: Morrissey in Grand Prairie and Austin, Texas

Part 1:

You couldn’t get me out of town fast enough. Winding streets down to the highway drawled in a rush hour crawl and the airport remained a faraway prize. The early evening sky hung in looming confusion over rows of bland suburban houses, looking like a damp charcoal sweater. Still ... the evening sun battled its way through the gaps, and suddenly a sleek rainbow appeared, stretching felinelike into the beyond. I hoped it was a good sign.

It almost felt like a prison escape; the last trials before freedom. I had been watching the first 6 shows from afar ... my friends had sent videos and I loved them for it, but it wasn’t the same as being there. Nothing comes close. So I really wanted to get out of my hometown, and on to the Morrissey tour.

Morrissey in Austin

But of course, the first hurdle: flight delays. And the added stress of having to make the next one, and the one after that, as it would take 3 flights, including a red eye to Toronto, to get down to Texas. Chattering nerves in my head could barely be quelled by cheapo airplane wine, notes of bitter sediment and fuel, but my heart was more joyful than it had been in months... I would be seeing Morrissey in less than 48 hours!

A wall of wet heat hits as I arrive in Dallas, and in Canadian confusion I wonder how mid-September can blaze like the dead of summer. Blasting down the freeway, we pass billboards screeching Jesus, shotguns, psychics, fast-food, and rows of sagging Texas-sized American flags. It’s all reminiscent of the culture shock of my last visit here in 2017.

The next morning, we arrive early at the venue to queue, as it is a general admission show. I’m second on the list but still nervous because I want a good spot on the barrier, and there are often unknowns... like how many doors will open at once? Will chaotic venue security lines make the queue go out of order? I can feel nerves biting at my fingertips like frost.

Doors open. I go through security quickly – no one is ahead of me – but then I’m faced with an older woman holding a ticket scanner. She aims the scanner's blinding red beam at my ticket. Blep. Nothing. She tries again... the beam searches hopelessly... still nothing. Uh oh.

“Maa’aam, your ticket doesn’t work,” she informs me, in Texan drawl.

“That’s impossible. I got it at the box office!” I retort, adrenaline and panic racing through my veins, for this would not be the first time I am faced with failing ticket scanners.

“Well you better get on back,” she replies, with devastating nonchalance.

The box office is outside the venue: no way am I losing precious minutes. I run past her, clutching my ticket and a pit wristband, and am rather impressed at my own daredevil assertiveness. Another triangular-haired woman wearing an usher’s vest waves with schoolmarm terseness insisting I must put my wrist band on before running down a confusion of stairs to the pit. “You must!” I feel as though I might black out... yet somehow the wrist band makes it on and my feet find their way to the barrier, Jesse’s side.

Rules. Sigh.

But I am here... I made it!

I’m standing next to two tour friends, one of whom hails from Austin, so this will be a home state show for her. We are abuzz with excitement, and being reunited is another element of tour that makes it so brilliant. Our collective memories from gigs past add to the euphoric atmosphere... I feel like I’m on the tip of a dream – is anything real?

Paul Banks and Brad Truax of Interpol

Huge scarlet letters on the stage backdrop read INTERPOL and a disco ball hangs in the darkness. Tonight is my first time seeing Interpol, and in all honesty I did not research them much before these gigs, so have no clue what to expect. They walk out, dressed head to toe in black suits like hip undertakers, and wordlessly begin picking echoing minor notes. The frontman, Paul Banks, sings reflectively, exuding shyness from behind his dark sunglasses, and wiry guitarist Kessler dances on the more uptempo songs in a quick-footed solo box-step. I am most captivated by Interpol’s rhythm section: tall, strapping Truax plays a wicked bass, with intricate lines and a deep groove, and Fogarino, wearing dad glasses, rages on drums with expert precision. On this first viewing, I like them quite a lot – and in upcoming shows I grow to downright love their sets, finding myself dancing and singing along... but this first night, all I can think of is how much I can’t wait to see Morrissey again.

Broadway was less than 5 months ago, but summer dragged.

After Interpol, the lights drop again and pre-show videos begin. Always an eye into Morrissey’s incredibly good taste, there is a mix of Bowie, Siouxie Soux, and the Ramones, while the rarer side includes an upbeat song I have never heard before called Loop Di Love, featuring a dude with dazzling sideburns parading down the street surrounded by a bevy of curvaceous hot pants girls. It is so seventies! And I’m here for it! My favourite new addition is Chilean force Mon Laferte, who sings Tu Falta De Querer with unbridled passion, tears streaming down her face.

The past several months of my life surge towards this moment, as giant James Baldwins look down from the backdrop, and waves of fog roll across the floor of the stage. It can’t be written or intellectualized in any way – and the moment just is. Morrissey emerges from backstage, with his hands in his pockets, a vision of simple elegance, and I’m sure all breath leaves me as my eyes drink him in and my heart catches itself.

As the band takes their positions, he walks towards the microphone, and lights bathe him in a champagne wash. He leans in, and sings, “You gave up the only one who ever loved you...” adding a slight country twang to his voice... and the band jumps into the driving first notes of You’re Gonna Need Someone On Your Side. Morrissey picks up a glittering tambourine and it dazzles and crashes rhythmically against the palm of his hand. Jesse’s guitar fuels fierce coolness, and Mando’s bassline rolls on devil-may-care swagger. How I’ve missed such energy. In a flash of silver, Morrissey flings the tambourine over his head – luckily impaling no one – and I squeak with delight!

Morrissey charms his setlist with a great balance of songs from both his older and newer catalogue, from Hairdresser On Fire’s busy scissors to I Wish You Lonely’s last tracked humpback whale. It is an entire embrace of various decades and tempos, yet always timeless.

Timeless: Jack the Ripper in Grand Prairie

“Well, it’s not that bad for a Wednesday night,” Moz quips and “we love yous” erupt from the volcanic depths of the pit. His silver quiff catches threads of light and he has grown it slightly longer, wisps now touch barely below his ears. The look suits him, especially in person, and he exudes distinguished style with a kiss of vintage cool. His broad shoulders are complemented by a deep navy suit jacket adorned with a large glittering “M” and various other pins, including a cat. He wears a charcoal blue dress shirt and dark wash jeans, and appears much younger than his 60 years; in fact, he is ageless. And ... allow me a moment to gush: he is dreamy.

Tonight’s set also includes songs from new covers album California Son, starting with an ethereal rendition of Jobriath’s Morning Starship. This will be my first time seeing Lady Willpower live, and Morrissey’s voice ranges from soft and compelling on the verses, to soaring romantic crooner on the chorus. And then – he moves towards my side of the stage, bending down to gently shake my hand, and my friend’s hand, and in an instant, time truly stops. I am beaming, happy, and as my heart swells, every moment leading up to this one suddenly makes sense.

Lady Willpower in Grand Prairie

From the reflective, melancholic stillness of Seasick Yet Still Docked under somber blue lights, to Something Is Squeezing My Skull’s uptempo charging chaos, the music captures a complex realm of human emotion. The brokenhearted’s wounds are cleansed, and the troubled outsider is somehow unified. Mundane, everyday existence, which doesn’t welcome such facets of emotion, is, in these moments, a distant memory, and our newly uncaged hearts sing.

For the encore, Morrissey returns to the stage in a light blue jacket, embroidered with crimson birds and flowers, and a dark blue Texas merch tee. He stands before floor-to ceiling Bruce Lees as strobe lights flicker and How Soon Is Now? guitars wail those familiar pulse-raising notes. His voice begins the son and heir verse, smooth and slow, but as the song climaxes, it intensifies, and he adds yelps and “no’s” and impassioned “nows!” It becomes impossible to tell if thunderous thumps are coming from the floor, my heart, or Matt’s bass drum as Morrissey tears his jacket off, and then, his Texas tshirt, tossing it into the urgent limbs of the crowd.

***

Austin shouts boldly: cacti continue to fascinate me, and lit-up strips of bars boom with energy and youth, while whiskered guys in cowboy or trucker hats serve overflowing whiskey shots. I take most of it in from the safety of corner tables, as I haven’t consumed enough to escape my overriding introversion. Even at 10 pm the air is heavy with heat, and as much as I’m having fun, my mind drifts to morning queuing.

A friend from New York arrives, and the next morning, hangovers and jetlag be damned, we line up early at the venue to discover we will be given numbered wrist bands and can go wherever we please until one hour before doors. This does not happen often, and feels practically luxurious. It’s a calming reprieve from faulty ticket scanners and frantic ultra-panic. Not to mention, outside, wind storms rattle the 100 degree heat with swirling eruptions of prickling desert dust.

Tonight, from centre barrier, for at least a few hours, I escape the complexities of my own head, as well as the drear and dread of the looming outside world. The night is some parts exultant celebration, some parts catharsis, while my free roaming senses and heart drink in every moment. I can never understand people who claim Morrissey is miserable: he’s witty, clever, and authentic. His lyrics reflect upon the pains of human life, of unrequited love, loneliness, depression, most certainly – but – such reflection is not a miserable thing; for me misery lies in the burying of true emotion, that strange, unnatural requirement of daily modern life that suffocates the soul. Here, for just a few hours, I feel free.

Morrissey in Austin wearing The Vest <3

How Soon Is Now? opens the set, roaring back at a roaring Texan crowd. Always one to notice Moz fashion, I am all heart-eyes to see him don the vest (waistcoat to Brits) in person for the first time. He wears the vest over a light blue button up shirt and dark wash jeans, complimented by a bold pearl rosary. “I am human and I need to be loved...” he sings, bending down to shake our hands, and I feel near-certain I am dreaming.

Songs from California Son truly sparkle live, and Morrissey describes the album as a celebration of American music, adding, “I know you think American music... well, I don’t know what you think really, but many people think it’s Michael Jackson, Twisted Sister, and it’s NOT.” Guffaws erupt at even the mention of Twisted Sister.

Familia - in Austin

“Familia, familia, familia,”and the band launches into Break Up The Family to a rapture of whistles, cheers, and screams. Morrissey’s smooth, powerful voice begins softly, accompanied by shimmering guitar chords and echoing percussion: “I want to see all my friends tonight.”

Another new addition to the set this tour is dark rocker Never Again Will I Be A Twin. From the deluxe edition of Low In High School, this bass and drum driven track lurches with cascading guitars and hauntingly pessimistic lyrics that bite back. It’s been one of my favourites since first listen, and played live it's a luxuriously eerie trip through the depths of despondency atop a pulsating tempo that pummels the chest. And yet – through such depths – it heals and exorcises in breathtaking minutes. It’s nothing short of otherworldly.

Melanie’s Some Say I Got Devil follows Twin, opening with Gustavo’s muted trumpet, while wisps of smoke frame Morrissey under a single spotlight. The lights switch from ice blue to fire, angel and devil, and Morrissey’s voice fills with emotion: “some say I got devil, some say I’m an angel...” as phrases swell onto another spiritual plane. The song is well suited to him, a Gemini who penned “I Am Two People,” and one who is so deeply loved by fans, yet so horribly maligned by the press. And still... amidst such contrasting response he is ultimately and beautifully human - himself. There is no one else like him. Stage lights drop... and he stands still as Gustavo’s piano fills the atmosphere...

“and all the things, that I have seen can be hidden in a part of my dreams,

gonna hide it in this dream...”

I can’t help but feel as if my heart is in my hands, eyes – everywhere... is time even existent?

For the last song, Morrissey returns to the stage, wearing a black James Dean t-shirt and a pale pink jacket. “Why do you come here, and why... oh why... why do you hang around?” he sings, and Suedehead dances in our ardent ears. He rips his t-shirt off, flinging it into the audience, and showers us with “I love yous,” before disappearing into the hot Texan night.

I’m not sure if my feet even touch the ground til several hours later.

Texan bird waiting for the
box office to open

*all photos by me.
special thanks to videographer basia_ana for helping where my memories gap

A Little Update: Tour Your Life

Somehow I stumbled, with the last’s night’s mascara still running down my cheeks, and more than a whisper of vodka smogging my thoughts, onto a plane from Houston to Calgary, and then... 2 more disheveled plane trips back ‘home.’ The leaves have now changed and I reluctantly begin the task of knowing which day it is and which city I am in, which can only be described as ... suffocating. I will eventually, or perhaps never organize my feelings, but somehow I will attempt to let them settle - from the sadness that good things must come to an end - to the soft, cradling joy that they truly happened. Memories are all we take with us, ultimately.

I have disorganized notes in journals and my phone, setlists, photos, videos, and will go through them, but that might take a while, as this is the longest I’ve ever been away, and the most dates I have ever attended during a tour. And still... I would have loved to do more. Canada was especially beautiful, because seeing Morrissey in my home country meant the world to me, and also – the fans here – they are fresh with such pure love and devotion for him – I met a woman who had loved Moz since 1987 but had never seen him in concert before... she was in her 50’s but lit up with teenage giddiness as she flashed me her front row ticket ... I met a younger woman who had only ever seen him once and from afar, several years back, at a concert in LA, but this time, this time she dreamt of shaking his hand and giving him a present – and it happened.

Morrissey makes people happy. The mainstream press doesn’t understand this; in fact, I don’t think they want to understand much of anything. Without their bullying clickbait headlines they wouldn’t know what to do with themselves. They might actually have to try and create or experience something of their own, something authentic ... does that get clicks?

What would you do if you weren’t afraid? Would you say how you really feel, or what you really think? Or would you merely continue to click your life away on a screen?

When I do get around to writing some concert reviews, I can’t see myself mentioning the press – because I was out on the road living my life, visiting new places with my friends – and seeing the one person who rescues me, on a daily basis, from the loneliness of my own head – Morrissey.

All I really have to say about the press, I posted on Instagram a few days ago:

Always be critical of the media and question what they TELL you to think, from their dusty desks, rather than living the moment, in the flesh. The truth is in the hearts and eyes of the fans at concerts, cheering, crying, and singing their lives.

If you were part of my gorgeous memories from the last 6 weeks or so, I cannot thank you enough.  I look forward to more tours and music. 

 <3

Photos by me

Good Looking Man About Tour

As I get ready to fly down to the US early next week, I thought I'd write a short update about the tour so far. I've been refreshing social media like mad, glued to the rectangular device that connects me to the world, hungry for snippets of film and audio from Morrissey's Fall Tour with Interpol. Luckily, some of my friends are already in attendance and have been kind enough to send me photos and video clips of our good looking Moz about town as he takes on North Eastern US, and now the Midwest.

photo by basia_ana

I'm happy to discover I finally have some quiet at home, as I'm currently no longer languishing under a  cement-soled family of 6, and am hoping the new upstairs tenants will be a little less trying. Needless to say, I feel a tad more refreshed to work on some blogging, and start packing... which is always a challenge as I tend not to pack light. My emotions and nerves are all over the place, and I just want to be present on the tour. I was hoping to attend some of the earlier shows, but am starting out with a Texas road trip, and for this West Coast Canadian, parts of Texas smack of virtually another planet, as one passes billboard after billboard slathered with Jesus and guns.

Now, let's get down to some Moz fashion updates from the tour!

Moz looking dashing on tour
Photo by basia_ana

Morrissey exudes style - he absolutely breathes it; from his iconic profile he is instantly recognizable. While getting better with age, he is simultaneously ageless. You can tell he puts a great deal of thought into his incredible style, yet he carries looks with ease: from the cut of his jackets, to his well-picked accessories. I am always excited to see what he will wear next: will it be a dapper suit, a charming cardigan, a smashing shirt?  My heart is aflutter!

In a recent interview, Morrissey shared some words about style:

(In reference to Bruce Lee, while talking to SER)... "Style. I said many years ago about never having seen a bad photograph of James Dean. Some people just ARE style. I know you feel the same way about Marilyn Monroe, which is also true. It wasn't possible to photograph her unflatteringly. Style is just there within certain people without anyone needing to point it out... Anne Sexton was another."

Anne Sexton

Sam: 
would you say this is true of you?

Morrissey: 
NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

(Yes, I counted the number of O's!)

(Via Morrissey Central, A Lark's Tongue In April )

He is so modest, and maybe a liiiittle cheeky, as we all know he always looks fantastic! I think Morrissey is indeed one of these people who personifies style ... right down to the weave of his cardigan sleeve.

So far, this tour seems to be all about the suits, and Morrissey (and his bandmates) have been stepping out with some dashing looks.  In Maryland, Mozzer, with slightly longer locks, wore a sleek, classic black suit and a white shirt, making the look unique by adding some lapel pins and rosaries. Very handsome devil!

photo by basia_ana

In Queens, at Forest Hills Stadium, Moz rocked a sparkly forest green shirt/jacket (the top slightly reminiscent of a denim jacket cut) with matching trousers. Never one to shy away from shine and sparkle, he pulled it off masterfully.  For the encore, he switched out the glittery top for a merch tee featuring Coronation Street's Elsie Tanner, (complete with ducks), which he customized by cutting the neckline to a v, paired with a suit jacket.

Photo by @kayichi

Photo by Sacha Lecca

In Camden, New Jersey, Moz wore a black suit again, but mixed it up with an orange dress shirt and striped tie (the retro-feel colour palette is very autumn orchard fruits!), changing to a light blazer and yellow Bruce Lee tee for the encore.

Photo by mnemz22

Photo by @bruja_galaxia_

For last night's show, in Ohio, Morrissey brought back the beautiful Alexander McQueen jacket we saw in darker colours during the Spring tour, this time in a pale blue with red and white embroidery: I am loving the darling birds!

Ohio photo by basia_ana

Broadway photo by @sadglamour

Setlists for the tour are also looking fantastic, including a number of songs from California Son and Low In High School Deluxe that have never been sung live, and rarities that haven't been played in years. Here are some highlights I've gathered from the setlists and video clips:

- Never Again Will I Be A Twin (debut)
- Some Say (I Got Devil) (debut)
- Lady Willpower (debut)
- Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself (first time since 2009)
- Satan Rejected My Soul (first time since 1997)
- You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side (first time since 2007)
- I Am Hated For Loving (first time since 2000)

I am hoping Some Say I Got Devil appears in the set at some of the gigs I'm going to, and I have a feeling it's going to make me cry in the loveliest way possible. Along with Morning Starship and Suffer The Little Children, Some Say I Got Devil is one of my favourites from California Son: it is raw emotion and beauty. I've missed Morrissey and my friends so much, as I haven't seen everyone since Broadway, so thank you to all for the updates!

I'll leave you with my favourite quote from Morrissey's recent interview from Morrissey Central:

"You know my life, I haven't ever been married, and once I feed the birds, the foxes and the badgers then my day is over. I'm unlikely to ever be married to anything except bird-seed."

A big day for Franz the crow
as he finds a muffin

UPDATE:

Morrissey wore a dashing vest tonight in Rochester Hills, Michigan, and this might just be my next favourite look after my beloved cardigans as he looks VERY handsome devil <3 Gorgeous!

Thanks to basia_ana once again for the gorgeous pics!