Morrissey at the Fox Theater in Pomona Last Night


Morrissey

November 28, 2011
Fox Theater in Pomona

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Morrissey loves Pomona. Pomona worships Morrissey. The atmosphere was electric inside the Fox Theater as Morrissey closed out his swing of Southern California dates. From the moment Morrissey and his band appeared on stage, the crowd roared and applauded voraciously. Sensing such an enthusiastic and appreciative crowd, Morrissey soaked up the adoration and turned in a spirited performance.

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Compared to both the Henry Fonda and Shrine shows last week, “I
Want The One I Can't Have” had Morrissey acting out and subtly modifying
the lyrics indicating that he was in a good mood. Mockingly knocking
himself out, “You Have Killed Me” melted beautifully into “You're The
One For Me, Fatty.”

While Morrissey gets the majority of the
attention, his band is an integral component to recreating his songs as
multi-instrumentalist Gustavo Manzur used an accordion on “When I
Last Spoke To Carol” to flesh out the arrangement. The tongue-in-cheek
moment of the evening was spotting the band wearing UCLA t-shirts in
possible reference to playing the Shrine during the USC-UCLA game on
Saturday or perhaps they were selected to match Morrissey's green shirt.

A
sample of a chainsaw kicked off “Speedway” as long time guitarist Boz
Boorer
used an E-Bow to drag out the sustaining notes on his guitar.
Unreleased new song “Action Is My Middle Name” blended in perfectly with
songs from Morrissey's catalog with its bouncy piano notes. Turning to a more
morose tone, “Maladjusted” delved in the dark side with the lights
appropriately altered to a deep red to set the mood.
Amongst
the few microphone chord whips, one of Morrissey's quips was how he was
“bored shitless” upon visiting the museum of ceramics in Pomona after
stating he remembers playing here in 2009 with great fondness. Another
new song “Scandinavia” soared with its symphonic strings interwoven
with jangling guitars.

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Tipping his hand prior
to his appearance on Conan O'Brien tomorrow, Morrissey stated that if by
some twist of fate he was alive in the morning that the world would
hear “People Are The Same Everywhere” on the show. Another classic quip
was after covering Lou Reed's “Satellite of Love,” Morrissey asked the
crowd if they were booing or “Louing.”
The
highlight of the evening was “Everyday Is Like Sunday” as cellphones appeared en
masse and everyone immediately sang along as
if Armageddon was about to occur. A shift in tone happened with the
brutal imagery of animals being slaughtered during “Meat Is Murder,”
which closed out their main set. 

Crowd surfers
turned into willful stage invaders during the encore of “Still Ill” as a
number of people made it onstage for a change to hug Morrissey.
Ceremonially taking off his shirt and throwing it into the crowd only
amplified the intensity of the evening as people wrestled for the shirt when the band exited the stage. Pomona will most likely appear once more
on Morrissey's list of favorite shows.

Kristeen
Young
has a tough job. Opening for Morrissey may be the toughest act in
the business with the exception to only that of Slayer. The neurotic
psychotic slamming of her piano keys for “Depression Context” is a
textbook example of how to channel dissonance into a haunting piece. 
Personal Bias:
There is footage of me on the Craig Kilborn show waiting in line at the
Wiltern Theater back in 2002 when Morrissey played five nights.
Random Notebook Dump: You could buy a life-sized cardboard cutout of Morrissey signed for one hundred dollars.
The Crowd: Diehard Morrissey fans with well coiffed hair and lots of black t-shirts. 
Setlist:
“I Want The One I Can't Have”
“You Have Killed Me”
“You're The One For Me, Fatty”
“When I Last Spoke To Carol”
“Black Cloud”
“One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell”
“Speedway”
“Action Is My Middle Name”
“Maladjusted”
“Ouija Board, Ouija Board”
“Scandinavia”
“All The Lazy Dykes”
“People Are The Same Everywhere”
“Satellite Of Love”
“Everyday Is Like Sunday”
“Meat Is Murder”
“Still Ill”

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