Six Pics: Morrissey’s Not-So-Triumphant Return To D.C.

After postponing and/or canceling six of his last seven D.C.- and Baltimore-area concerts — much to the consternation of local fans — Morrissey finally showed his face around these parts last night at Echostage. Exclaiming “Washington! Wednesday! Wooo!” as he took the stage, his band launched into “Suedehead” to uproarious applause.

At that point, the audience probably thought it was in for a triumphant return to form. However, following that up with “Staircase at the University” and “Ganglord,” Moz soon made it clear that the crowd was in for an uneven night.

Morrissey is in a tough spot on this tour. He’s basically touring behind a record he seems proud of, but his fans can’t currently buy or hear it. Released last July, World Peace Is None of Your Business was quickly dropped by Harvest Records after the label and Morrissey had a rather public disagreement about its promotion. It’s not available in iTunes, Spotify or Rdio right now, so the album may as well not exist.

That’s why Morrissey’s choice to lean heavily on the album last night was a misstep. Each time he trotted out one of those songs, you could feel the energy drain from the crowd — and see the glow of phones reappear on attendees’ faces.

Highlights like “Now My Heart Is Full” and “Every Day Is Like Sunday” were followed by slow, plodding message-heavy songs like “Instanbul” and “I Will See You In Far Off Places.” The crowd seemed to want a release, but those moments felt few and far between.

All photos by Kyle Gustafson

Tags Echostage, Morrissey, Six Pics

Tim Ryan

The Meat is Murder montage should have been done as a pre-show movie, or as the final encore. I’ve lived three decades wishing I had heard What She Said / Rubber Ring (Outro) live. I got my wish, but right after watching helpless animals get slaughtered? Let’s just say it wasn’t what I imagined. Agree with this article on pushing songs from the latest album. He doesn’t have to recreate Bona Drag, but a few more familiar songs sprinkled in would have made a difference.
thenewmasses

Great photos! You can hear any of the tracks from WPINOYB on youtube! Omg, I would die to hear ‘Far Off Places.’ Moz is in the same predicament of all artists who endure for decades – the tension between people who want to hear the old hits, and the artist’s desire to keep creating and promoting new work. Think he just picks what he wants to sing that night and that’s as good a method as any.
Frank Lyons

offense meant, your head is up your ass on almost every single point.
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Little Stevie Blunder

The author of this article is clearly an idiot.
Jim Roberts

“I Will See You In Far Off Places” is a great song–especially live. It’s not slow or plodding–or new.
Me9968

It was my first times seeing Moz, and i loved it. I had done some research on the setlist for this tour so I knew sort of what to expect. While I too wish he’d played some more of the familiar tunes, his performance was very spot on most of the night. His voice was at it’s best, way more than some of the live videos I’ve seen, and his band really rocked it. Even the lady standing next to me, who’d seen him a few times, said that it was the best she’d ever heard him. Plus I was introduced to some songs that I liked, but hadn’t heard before.