 
On May 22 2004, at the Manchester Evening News Arena, Morrissey sang a very special show for all his fans. It was his 45th birthday, it was in his homecoming to Manchester and to fans it was a highly coveted event (my good friend is a HUGE fan and made pilgrimage to the show because she is NUTS about Moz.) Morrissey fans are crazy and they LOVE Morrissey with every fiber of their being and it is apparent by the introduction of the DVD in which they interview fans and then closely move in through the English country side to reach the industrial town of Manchester. You see shots of some of Morrissey’s old hangouts like the Salford Lads Club (which he mentions in his DVD as being the place where he met his band mates.) The quality of the picture is amazing, and it is aesthetically beautiful due to the huge red MORRISSEY letters that light up the stage and complement his blue suit so fabulously. Once Morrissey begins to sing, it is apparent that the DVD should be renamed to “Who Put the “W” in Worship,” because he has the ability to swoon boys and girls alike with his melodramatic singing style. His soul wrenching lyrics bring his fans to the point of tears of bittersweet joy, and with his mere presence, they all direct their attention to Steven Patrick Morrissey. He opens up with “The First of the Gang to Die” which is off his last album You Are the Quarry, which was surprisingly his most successful album to date. At the time, he was also on tour promoting the album, therefore most of the songs he sang that night, such as “Irish Blood, English Heart”, “How Could Anyone Possibly Know How I Feel?” and “I Have Forgiven Jesus”. He even included the music videos for the singles on the DVD Extras. Yet, he sang many old favorites, such as “Everyday is Like Sunday,” “This World is Full of Crashing Bores”and“Shoplifters of the World Unite.” The sound options are amazing; you can listen to it in DTS or in 5.1 surround sound, which makes the concert feel like you were right there. What is also cool is that the cameras get close enough to see Moz’s sweat, but we often see the other members of the band playing their parts just as beautifully as he is singing them. The audience’s energy and chemistry with Morrissey are key components
of why this is MUST-HAVE for any Smiths and/or Morrissey fan. Morrissey
serenades his fans as if they were the ones who broke his heart, and
hurt him. He emits that energy and that persona and he is enough of
a gallant gentleman to change his shirt in the middle of a song in order
to be presentable to his fans. Oh yeah, and before I forget, in the
DVD extras, there is a short live performance (five songs) that he did
at the Move Festival in Manchester. Which is an added bonus, because
that is more Moz in Manc and that is just too good for words. –
Clara Flores
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Morrissey