There is the age old naval gunnery practice of "over/under". Thinking of warfare especially in the Dreadnaught era - lets say, 1900 -1945 (before effective gunnery radar, that is), ships in a surface action would have to hit a moving target from several miles away. This wasn't just a moving target; it was a cutting, speeding, turning, maneuvering target -albeit one that can take a bit to turn, but moving none the less. And the ship that is trying to hit it - itself is wildely speeding and maneuvering to avoid being hit from the other side.
The firing system back then consisted of zeroing in on the other ship bit by bit until they 'found the range'. This meant that guys w/ super Zeiss binocaulars and 20/20 vision, way up in the crows nest @ the beginning of the battle, wouls find the approximate range of the target. They would compute the range and speed of the target with atmospheric conditions and the movement of ewinf\d and their own ship and 50 million other variables into a primitive computer (In ww2- not sure in ww1). The computer spat out a target area, and then half of the ships main battery would fire.
Wait 40-60 seconds.
Then observe the shell splashes. Almost always - wait, always - there were corrections to be made. If the shells fell short, the binocaulared men would be able to spot that and ask for -say =400 yards more ranger. If long, take off 400 yards. Fire again and wait.
Then, finally, somethinig called a straddle was achieved - range was found and the target was either hit or water columns from the exploding shells would rise up to either side of the target. The range had been found. It was now that the firing ship "Opened fire/ fire @ will" until range was lost. then; repeat.
ConcertBut more of that later. This is actually a review of the Morrissey concert from last october - who says I'm not timely?
So, after having seen Morrissey in Waukeegan a few days before w/ Jacob (nee Jamey)and me wishing GF was there, now I got the best of all worlds = both GF anf Jacob (nee Jamey) going. Now, Jacob is an oldtime Morrissey fan - was into them when the Smiths were extent, saw them @ that famour World threatre show (famous for several rasons, but mainly because I was dating two girls @ the time, and both showed up....), weeped in Milwaukee, and met him @ Tower. Big fan. Gf. well, dragged into it by me, although she does enjoy him.
We drove out to northern Inidana to the ..... whats it called in ....where? Oh, Holiday Star theatre. Going there therew as a classic jacob moment - on the expressway, him screaming for me to get over two lanes of traffic, screaming, then a few minutes later , apologising for it. Par/course/jacob . I had one of those 2-1 couipons - wait, I had two - nand since we were hungry, we stopped @ a Shoops in Scherville. I had two coupons that were "get a burger, get a free", and usually you can only use one @ a time. However, we had a real positive experience @ this schoops. The waitress said, no problem, and since we were in a hurry, they got to us real quick. Shoops has great burgers - one of the best shops around.
Plesent experince -even 8m later I wanted to get it out. Then we raced to the Star Plaza flor the show -and raced in hearing the music that Morrissey plays rite before he walks on stage. It's a list of things he hates - Thacther, meat eaters, etc..... just an intoned list over ominous music. Hearing this, we raced to the ticket office- to find it closed !!
Again, wonderful northern Indiana people reopened the box office for us, raced us our tickets, then bounding through the crowds, into the darkened arena, and BAM= Morrissey walks out.
I have a few songs in the Smiths canon that I label "Favourites". There is no one song that is my favourite, I have always been careful of that. But of the four (used to be three, before that two) favourite songs, we were treated to the opening bits of "Stop me if you think you heard this one before", the classic track from the last Smiths LP (My other favourites, w/ no explaintion, are "Unlovable", "This Charming Man (Peel version)", and the original '45 version of "Hand in Glove"). It's such a rocker. I loved this song dearly when it was relased in Fall '87, and I adapted it as one of my themes. I was so unreliable, so childlike, so immature, that how couldn't I?? It also was in the acceptable area of Morrissey ideas as well - the long title was fine (These title would later faze me i nhis solo career, but not yet), the wordplay was wonderous ("/and when I fell on the floor I had more"), the whole idea great. As a #1 Smiths fan back then, this song was manna. And it still holds up. The version we recieved from Morrissey that nite instantly got us dancing and singing along - i feared that I would alienate the people about us from our singing, but we were well back and the sound was loud. 1987 all over, if only for 3m.
Now, I don't wanna be stuck in 1987, no matter how long I'd wished I'd had: but there were other old songs from that era. On the same LP as "Stop me" was "The Death of a Disco Dancer". Slow, tortuous song, but not w/out it's charms. But the version they played this nite (and in Waukeegan) was so catchy - same old DIRGE TYPE SONG, but it came off really well live both nites. Transcended. It was the song that the in the following days I kept goping back to in my head - "oh very nice, very nice, very nice, very nice, very nice / but maybe in the next world". I can't tell you how this song - never one of my top faves - kept that dirge in my head in days to follow. It was the desperation in the his voice : the "Very nice..." lines that got me bad. It was like Morrissey was back in 1987 and singing w/ the same desperation of then. Again : how many times in the floowing days did I repeat - sing - "I never talk to my neighbours id rather not/ get in-voooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooolllllllllllllllllvvvvvved." So dominant. And a song that preceeded that LP, "Shoplifters of the World Unite", was played on the Waukeegan show but not in Indiana - SHIT 'cause it was so good. I always loved this song - I got it as a 12" from Wax Trax back in the day, I am sure (Or was it Vintage Vynal, or Round, or..... ??), and took it as one of my world views back then.. I always loved the -again, the desperation in the singing, how the guitars mirror the singing, and the great lines as "I was bored before I even began" and "A heartless hand on my shoulder/ a push and it's over/ alabaster chrashes down". That alabaster line especially - When the song came out, I remember talking it over w/ the girl of my 21 year old dreams @ the time - real poetry discussions amongst the university kids. I really wanted to experience this song this nite like I had @ Waukeegan - I love the solo, and in Waukeegan I was allowed the rare treat of letting my body and spirit go so it could twist and turn and allow the song to flow through me and lift it up with the solo - and then that abrupt stop when the solo ends and he rejoins the singing ("a heartless hand..."). "London", a B side to "Shoplifetrs", was played @ both shows. It really got us going in the first show - I remember Jacoob and I just jumping up and down and clapping to the beat. Finally, "Strech out and wait", a b side from summer 1985, came with the adapted line "It's the manchester bllod in my veins".
But it wasn't just mid 80's Smiths material. Morrissey, in both shows, played selections from all parts of his career, although the early Smiths stuff was sparse. Therebwas ace solo stuff as well. "Billy Budd" has always been one of my favourites. Off of the great "Vauxhall and I" (not just Vito, Jacob, and I LOVE this LP- the critics do as well), it's a classic 2m racing stomp detailing Morrisseys's unrequited love -or so. Maybe it's about Johnny Marr, I dunno. But it was great both shows. Here - look @ the clip. Both Jacob and I loved "Why don't you find out for yourself", also from Vauxhall. Jacob especially - he kept going on about this one. And it sounded great - a minimal song, it was served well in both theatres we concerted it @. Another ace solo song is the rocker "Tomorrow". A seemingly very cold song when it was realsed, it still projects something standoffish. But it rocks. This is "Billy Budd".
But there were also lots of songs I'm pretty unfamileir with. I enjoyed "One day goodbye will be farewell", "You have killed me", and "I'm throwing my arms around Paris". No clue what LP's these are on or even if they are covers, but I like Paris. You like it too:
Gunnery Again
So Hilts, what about all that sticht about "over/under", boy?? Ah, a special Morrissey moment. He said hello.
I have a loud voice. Projecting fucker, it can be when I want it to be. Constantlt told to lower it when I'm just speaking @ normal volume. Serves me well coaching and in rowdy classrooms of kids. And w/ Morrissey.
Jacob and I had been projecting out "Morrissey is Lord" and "Morrissey is Ceasar" and "Hail ceasar" ahain and agian that nite. It was a small place (Waukeegan) and I've learned to wait for it all to settle and in the 3/4 second of silence that can popp up @ a show from time to time - then deliver. So in Indiana, after being subjected to "HAIL CAESAR" again and again in Waukeegan, we started in again @ the Holiday Star. Not during songs, etc -well, maybe once - but when it could be heard, Again and again we shouted out our stupid joy @ him. We know we were rteaching him - starddling him, to use the naval term- as our roundels were bouncing around the theatre seating. Again and again, "Hail Caesar", as ridicilous as we could get it, poppped up in the moments of hush.
Then, rite after a resounding run of "Hail Caesar"'s, Morrissey looked over to our section and addressed Jacob and I thusly:
Again, the shock and joy that ripped through us instantly when we realised - instantly -that he was adressing us ........................ was stunning. WE knew. And yes, I understand that Morrissey is only Morrissey , but shit............. it was Morrissey! Again, shocked, we toned down the retoric after that. But it was great.
He also played "How soon is now?", the greatest of all hits of the Smiths. Why, unlike when it came out, you can now actually hear it on American radio. Funny that. I love the song, but I much prefer to hear it done live. It was great in Waukeegan, and it was great here. There have been varied versions of this song live - the Smiths version in 1985 is the best - but the 2007 version in his solo band also smokes. It's funny - the young man in 1984 writing this song, and the old man in 2007 singing it. These versions did have the air of "how it used to be" heard in his voiuce. Or maybe it was just me. You decide:
Set list
Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before / Tomorrow / I Like You / Sister, I'm A Poet / That's How People Grow Up / Jack The Ripper / London / The Loop / Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself? / Stretch Out And Wait / The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores / Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me / Billy Budd / All You Need Is Me / Death Of A Disco Dancer / Irish Blood, English Heart / I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris / One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell / You Have Killed Me / Dear God, Please Help Me / How Soon Is Now? // First Of The Gang To Die
Read the others
1 comment:
This Charming band is much better !!
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