Morrissey Live in Jakarta, a prime performance that was overshadowed by political issues

Morrissey Live in JakartaSince its initial announcement, Morrissey’s concert in Jakarta has been abuzz with its early bird tickets have gone sold out in just minutes. Fans of the British singer himself or his ex-band The Smiths were craving for his live performance even though Moz (Morrissey’s nickname) had held a concert in Indonesia about four years ago (2012). The enthusiasm has not died down and on October 12th, people gathered at GBK Sports Centre to witness the concert. First of all, the venue was mud-packed and we had to be cautious of where we stepped. That one thing alone reduced the excitement a little bit, though we were still eager to see the whole thing unfold.

The concert started 30 minutes late from the rundown, beforehand a long video montage was shown on stage and it featured several music videos from musicians that Moz fonds of, like Alice Cooper, Ramones, Ike & Tina Turner, and many more. At 8 PM, “Suedehead” became the opener of Morrissey’s an hour and a half concert and he graced the stage wearing a blue satin shirt with two front buttons opened. The fans were singing along and if you were there and a fan of Moz, it gave you the chills. Not even kidding, Moz himself also looked surprised that the fans were chanting his songs and his name. For his age, Morrissey is a truly performer of all round. He managed to keep his prime vocals, kept the interaction with fans going smooth, and did a little gimmick for taking off his shirt and threw it to the audience (later we were informed that this created havoc among fans and caused an injury).

Audience at Morrissey Concert

Morrissey Live in JakartaAs the concert went by, he also sang few songs from The Smiths and did a cover of Ramones’ “Judy Is A Punk”. He also let his band member stole the stage, and sang a song in Spanish. A few fan favorites like “Let Me Kiss You”, “Everyday Is Like Sunday”, “Ganglord”, “How Soon Is Now” have successfully bring nostalgia to the audience. His singles from the latest album “World Peace is None Of Your Business” were also present, making the setlist a little bit different than his 2012 concert. What makes the concert stood out besides its great sound was the bumper videos and photos that were shown on stage.

Using his power as one of the most influential musician in this era, Morrissey brought up his social and political stance along with his music. The man was rumored to be a running candidate of London major and he is known as long time pro-animal activist, and also a devoted vegan. So the inclusion of political issues in his stage is predictable. But, this also brought a little uneasiness to the audience who was truly there to enjoy the music. The experience to solely stand there to be delighted with music and stage act, had to be a little disturbed with his politically charged video and image. Donald Trump, the Republican Party US President candidate was brought up and he also showed a little sarcasm to the British royal family with an image.

Morrissey Live in Jakarta

In the end, when he performed “Meat Is Murder”, a video of cruel animal slaughtering was shown and for those who have a little tolerance for seeing blood and cruelty, it left a sour taste as the concert ended. The video was then proceeded by a few words in Indonesian saying “What’s your reason now?” and “Meat is murder”. Although powerful, the ending did not seem to satisfy the audience as they were asking for encore with no result. Overall, the concert has proved Morrissey’s capability as a performer and minus the politics and graphic images, it could have been an enjoyable experience. Damn, we could still remember the video of a hen laying egg which looked painful. Below is the complete setlist of the concert, see you at the next event!

Setlist Morrissey Live in Jakarta:
1. Suedehead
2. Almamaters
3. Everyday Is Like Sunday
4. Kiss Me A Lot
5. Speedway
6. Ouijaboard
7. Let Me Kiss You
8. World Peace Is None Of Your Business
9. I’m Throwing Away My Arm Around Paris
10. You’re The One For Me Fatty
11. Judy Is A Punk
12. Jack The Ripper
13. Ganglord
14. First Of The Gang
15. Bullfighter Dies
16. World Crashing Bores
17. How Soon Is Now
18. You Have Killed Me
19. Meat Is Murder

Pic credit: Kiosplay Documents