MORRISSEY AT HOLLYWOOD HIGH SCHOOL

 i did something  last night i haven't done in a very long time... i was a fan. 
yes dear readers it's been awhile.. i believe the last time was way back in the 80s when i got to work for bowie. that is a long story that stands alone, so i will post about that one on another day. 

today i want to talk about MORRISSEY.

i hadn't seen, (or thought about) him since 1983ish when he came to LA for the first time. 
i saw him @ the palladium. i think i went on my own, but knew a great deal of people in the audience. at that time he had a huge gay male following... he was ambiguous about his sexuality... back in the 80s that was enough to have a gay  following. i remember my friends buck & slaight being obsessed with him. they held court in a section of adorably alternative gay boys.

that was then this is now..  on tuesday i saw a posting about morrissey at hollywood high school.. i was intrigued... the legendary hollywood high- known for alumni like lana turner, judy garland, lon channey and the subject of many songs & movies. what a great venue for a cult legend. i got it in my head i simply had to go.

tickets went on sale @ 10am~tuesday~ feb 26th.. they were very reasonably priced! @ 10am on the dot i tried to purchase tickets online.. @ 10:01am i kept getting click thru that said- not available... i tried over and over.. i was determined... i called and was placed on hold. the voice mail said it was sold out?!! i still waited to speak with a live person.. within 5 minutes i was speaking with jeff @ ticketron. he asked, "how many?" "one" i responded. i gave him my CC info and then asked about better seats.. i chose the balcony. "i'm sorry sir but all the seats are sold out. in fact you got the last seat available."

i was told the venue sold out in 12 minutes!

i actually waited in line for one hour... i forgot my jacket.. i was cold.. i was one of the oldest people there and i was one of the few people by themselves. 

 finally i got to the front door and picked up my ticket... i was told people had bought tickets on eBay for $350. i got mine for $49.50. the venue was fantastic! wood chairs! you could see perfectly from every seat. there were no bad seats.

i could just picture all those fat little high school kids, ( i knew someone who taught there. at 47 he was in better shape than 98% of the students) at assembly listening to their principal. everyone was in a good mood.. even the security was nice... that's probably very rare.

before morrissey went out they screened music videos of NICO! SPARKS! 

THE NEW YORK DOLLS!  they played arias from KLAUS NOMI.... then he came out.. he really did look good... ,much better than some pics i've seen of him online. his band is all hot young lean men all wearing the same slacks & t-shirt. they started playing.. they were very tight.. the crowd was sooo into it.. 

the mood is what i think people miss these days.. it can only happened at a live event.. everyone in the auditorium was on the same wave.. it was joyous. people love him..  he loves them back.. he's humble, yet a star. his voice is really good.. very strong.. almost effortless. he's a true singer. 

he  said something in an interview one day~

"when i am on stage i don't perform. seals perform. i'm being real."

morrissey's voice soothes the savage beasts.  there is a cross~section of alternative types, gays, a few goths and fashionistas, but a great majority of his audience is latino from ELA and many other suburbs. they bring their chubby girlfriends dressed in their best rockabilly/cruising garb. 

the fact that he started as a gay icon in the early 80s and has migrated to a latino icon is beyond me. they are very loyal. they know all the words and all his stage moves and gestures. they know the band members, who's original and who isn't. morrissey treats the audience like family.

morrissey looks good for his age, (he's a year younger than me) like a cross between johnny cash and charles nelson reilly. I'm not being sarcastic~ when he played the hollywood bowl   he said the following as intro~ "You have to think of the incredible legends who walked on this stage~Charles Nelson Reilly, Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller…and me."

Besides the music , the highlights for me are when he says to his family/audience~" who has something to say?" then he actually gives an audience member the mic and let's them speak. surprisingly people don't abuse the privilege. they are emotional and eloquent. "one young lady said, " you're an inspiration. your music helped me through hard times. you save me..... and my baby."

people try to give him gifts & flowers all night long.. but they're sweet... everyone is sweet about it.. no pushing and shoving.. everyone's docile... like the performer.

 best moment of the eve was when a very young boy, (about 8 or 9) was trying to touch him. the crowd pushed him up on stage. the bouncers even helped! the young boy hugged morrissey who in turn gave him a long hug back, picked him up and carried him across the stage to a thunderous roar of approval from the family/audience. the boy looked frozen in joy. he was being held by his hero with the approval of a couple thousand fans. 

Morrissey had his share "hollywood controversy," but he stands up for his well chosen causes full on, and doesn't back down~

Morrissey just added Beyonce to his list of celebrities he has beef with, days after the former Smiths singer took issue with Jimmy Kimmel, and then Paul McCartney.

At his Staples Center concert on Friday night, Morrissey spoke out against Beyonce for her choice in handbags, one that he claimed has resulted in the extinction of rhinos.

READ MORE~

About Paul McCartney~ "I was amused to hear that [McCartney] was very angry that Staples had said yes to me but no to him, when really, he should be happy for any victory on behalf of the animals,"Morrissey told THR. "I know he works tirelessly for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals [PETA], but he also loves the British royals, whose treatment of animals is abysmal. The Queen herself wears enough fur to blanket most of Russia. He also once sang ‘Give Ireland back to the Irish,’ which was directed at the Queen. Well, she refused, and she still refuses, yet Sir Paul gives her the thumbs up! If he cared passionately about animals, he’d return his knighthood."

about Prince William and  Catherine Middleton ~ " they are so dull as people that it is actually impossible to discuss them."

about madonna, (who he calls ~"McDonna)~
"In recent years I saw McDonna live, and no audience member reached up toward her to try to touch her. I see this so often with artists whom we’re told are global stars. It is a big lie. Or else, you might possibly be a big star, but you are not loved. My audience has an urgent need to touch, to shake hands, to move out of their seats, to defy so-called security, to make physical contact. They don’t simply sit and observe, but feel the urge to act. It’s a great compliment for me, and one that most Grammy winners could probably never imagine."

“War, I thought, was the most negative aspect of male heterosexuality,” he said. “If more men were homosexual, there would be no wars, because homosexual men would never kill other men, whereas heterosexual men love killing other men.”

“They even get medals for it. Women don’t go to war to kill other women. Wars and armies and nuclear weapons are essentially heterosexual hobbies.”

"As a young person my greatest aspiration was to make it through the coming week. As a teenager I found life to be inevitably disgusting, and I could see no humanity in the human race. When my time in music began, I found all my goals were reachable. For the first time ever in my life, I spoke and people listened. I had never known such a thing previously. My life as a teenager was so relentlessly foul that I still can’t believe I actually survived it. Perhaps I didn’t…

"I have no vision of the future. I never have. There is nothing to consider other than today. I’m saving tranquility for when I’m dead."

"I am still my teenage self. If you think that we all step through a door marked Adult, or that we sign a Grown-Up Document, you’re quite wrong. We remain as we always were, and that, alas, is one of life’s many nasty tricks. "

~ MORRISSEY~ 2013

btw~ @ the hollywood high performance morriseey had russelll brand, (the low point of the night) introduce him as "LORD MUDSLIDE."