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29 September 2007 Santa Barbara (CA), Santa Barbara Bowl
Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One BeforeThis was a good show, but not the highlight of this tour. Morrissey was in top form, very chatty and he looked like he was enjoying himself. However the venue was only half full and the people present were appreciative, but not the most enthusiastic. This even prompted Morrissey to try and stir the fans into action now and then throughout the show. One or two of them tried to make it on stage, but none was successful. Once again the setlist was completely resequenced and many changes were made to its content. "London", "Billy Budd", "At Last I Am Born", "Girlfriend In A Coma" and "I Will See You In Far Off Places" were replaced with "The Boy With The THorn In His Side", "Tomorrow", "One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell", ""Everyday Is Like Sunday" and "I Just Want To See The Boy Happy". As for the previous date there was no walk on music before Morrissey's entrance. Throughout the evening the man commented a few times on the crowd's passivity. At some point he sarcastically told the crowd that if they made as much noise as they could, the neighbors down the street might actually know there was a concert going on. He invited the audience to join in on the "private disco." As he was singing "Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself", he kept pointing at the stage and gesturing for people to get up there and join him. His most remembered banter of the evening was about the upcoming elections. He asked fans who they wanted to vote for. Many people answered 'Morrissey'. Someone answered 'Kucinich' and Morrissey replied "contentious". He also said "Do you think there is a little boy anywhere in all of America who wants to grow up to be George Bush? (laughs)... I dont think so..." This was followed with a mix of cheers and boos. It is unclear whether the crowd were booing Morrissey or George Bush. As was tradition at the time Morrissey also exchanged with fans in the front rows by asking them questions and handing them the microphone so their answers could be shared with the rest of the audience. He asked his favourite fan, "Julia would you like to say anything?" and she asked him how he was. He replied "Okay... I think..." Another fan told him "Morrissey, you look and sound gorgeous!" and he sarcastically asked back "When was the last time you had your eyes checked?" He then said "I just can't handle compliments... anyone have anymore? No? Oh well..." As an introduction to "I Like You" he said "Every day I get up in the morning, eventually. I get up at the crack of noon, and look at myself in the mirror. Well there isn't anyone else there! And I say..." At this point the band launched into "I Like You". Twice Morrissey teased the audience by introducing numbers as Smiths songs ("A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours" and later, "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want"), but going into different songs. He joked that he had received thousands of letters telling him not to play the piano on "Death Of A Disco Dancer". The latter number was actually played on and off on this leg of the tour, but it wasn't on this very date. As the end was approaching he teased the audience with "Okay, before you nod off..." He also said something like "As you can see the nights are getting darker now, so be careful, on your way home something thrilling might happen, and you wouldn't want that..." Before the encore he said something to the effect of, "Thank you, you've been great... Now drive home safely... and don't hit me..." Morrissey made many of the usual lyric changes in his older songs. In "You Have Killed Me" instead of the usual change to "Anne Sexton you will always be", he sang "Anne Sexton you will try to be". In "Stretch Out And Wait" he followed the line "And is there any point ever having children?" with the improvised "Oh no no no!" with accompanying finger wag. He also made a slight mistake in the latter song when he sang "will the day end in the night time, I don't know". "If You Don't Like Me, Don't Look at Me" was heard at soundcheck but it wasn't done on this tour. The show was filmed and the complete "First Of The Gang To Die", "You Have Killed Me", "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side", "All You Need Is Me" and "Let Me Kiss You" were shown on LATV's "En Concierto" programme at the end of 2007. The show also featured four more songs from the Hollywood Palladium concert from 11 October 2007, a Morrissey interview and interviews of latino Morrissey fans.
Were you there? Do you have a recording of this concert? If yes please information and be credited.
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