Irish Blood, English Heart
I am hearing the song “Irish Blood, English Heart” by Morrissey. This entry will be pure music. So, if you are here for educational purposes, skip this.
On July 4th, zufälligerweise, I was in London visiting my partner in crime… and, much to our surprise Morrissey was playing at a concert in Hyde Park. Having had missed opportunities to see him in the past (timing was always wrong, wrong), we seized this one. We acquired tickets through some sort of suspicious sidewalk reseller… and we were in.
I was skeptical. Morrissey was playing at the O2 Wireless Music Festival, so I expected a crowd that were there for the general music (and obviously the drinking). Morrissey followed a very disaffected performance by Beck, and we came closer to the stage as soon as Beck finished. I soon realized that I was surrounded by plenty of people who were much like me; mid-thirties, there to sing along… There were also enough people there to make it unpleasant; beer bottle hurling boozers, megalomaniacs shoving through the masses to take their places in front (they are, after all, entitled and untouchable)…
As with his live performances that I have heard (recordings), Morrissey provided his standard stream-of-consciousness satire between songs. He changed his shirt twice. You can find the song list all over online…
He performed well. His voice was full on. The crowd, given the awkward mix, was dull. I loved the performance. I hated the venue.
Given my limited experience seeing him actually live, it appears he’s too big to play in a venue that is relevant for his voice and his lyrics. Or, maybe today’s available venues are too big to be relevant. In the O2 venue, I felt that the music held more mockery than mitleid. Of course, that is my own frog perspective. And, I won’t have that again.
