Summary by Jeff
Rioux
I was pretty impressed by Elcka, by the way. Though it is certainly hard to judge a band
when you cannot understand the lyrics, they wrote good "pop" music, and were
very entertaining. The singer and drummer had particularly good stage presence (the
drummer had a cymbal behind his head which he hit by simply throwing his hand over his
head). Anyway, if you haven’t seen the show yet, don’t skip Elcka just because
they are the opening band — they are fun. As in Cleveland, Morrissey et al came out
to the drum solo from "The Operation", but the first song was
"Maladjusted". He did very little talking, though he did introduce the
Smiths’ "Paint a Vulgar Picture" by saying "I guarantee that no one
will know this song."
It was a good show — seemingly short... Morrissey seemed in good spirits, dancing a
lot, and throwing the flowers back to the audience.
Summary by Joseph Massey
First: Elcka surprised me and did well. I didn’t want to give them a chance because
it was so hot on the floor — shoulder to shoulder. Although the lead singer mistook
Sly Stallone for Al Pacino (a blunder I screamed to point out) he faired well.
The backdrop came down: A boy sticking his tongue out at another boy. As soon as the
backdrop appeared there was a HEAVY rush to the stage. Morrissey came out swinging a green
neon necklace, or so it seemed.
I think I could smell him, or one of the band members (heavy cologne). It got so rough
down on the floor that a lot of people were struggling to get out. One girl was panicking.
Moz WAS very distant.... But it was an energetic set.... He seemed frustrated with
security, understandably so. 3 people managed to get on stage... The third person actually
touched Morrissey — hugged him and shook his hand — before being raked off by
his neck.
Good show.
Summary by Jough Dempsey
Well, my friends and I arrived quite early, but learned from security that Morrissey had
been inside since 8am, and was having food brought to him, and wouldn’t be coming
outside. We waited anyway, and Morrissey did step out the back for less than 5 minutes,
signing a few t-shirts and body parts before being escorted back inside for soundcheck.
The band seemed to be goofing off all afternoon, although Morrissey didn’t seem to be
singing with them until much later. The band played "The Teachers are Afraid of the
Pupils" over and over again, although it didn’t show up in the set, later.
Someone from the fanzine "True To You" was interviewing the opening band Elcka
in the rear of the building, and the singer and guitar player were hanging out talking to
the fans for awhile, perhaps in efforts to not be booed off stage, as I heard that they
were on other tour stops.
Finally, at 7:30 pm, the doors were opened, and the entering fans were frisked. Elcka
didn’t hit the stage until 9:00 sharp, and played for 40 minutes. They were
unexpectedly good, and won the audience over after the first few songs.
There was another 20 minute break or so, with various songs playing (including
"Downtown" which everyone up front began singing along with). The crowd was very
stiff, like caged animals awaiting their meal. I managed to position myself about 6 feet
from the stage. There was a small barrier, behind which about a dozen security guards were
standing.
Around 10 pm, Morrissey hit the stage, and everyone rushed towards the front, causing much
shoving, and two or three fist fights broke out. Morrissey was in fine form, opening with
"Maladjusted". As for the set list, it was much like the first four shows, as
posted. Moz played for just over an hour. It was a great show.
click on thumbnail to enlarge
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outside the soundcheck
photo: Keith Vanetta
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another tattoo forthcoming
photo: David Tseng
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Electric Factory sign
photo: David Tseng |
early-afternoon line
photo: David Tseng |
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