Morrissey losing his bottle?
Nick Peet on why we should all get a round in for the expert bottle-thrower that left Morrissey fans gutted at Liverpool's Echo Arena.
Morrissey getting struck by a plastic bottle at the Echo Arena
BOOZING at the ECHO Arena seems to be the topic of the week again after one spilled drink at the weekend found its way on top of Morrissey's head.
The incident throws up tons of issues about our incredible new world class venue but also singled the artist out for exactly what he is; a boring old wet drip.
Is there an alcohol access issue to be tackled at the King's Dock venue? Undoubtedly.
Is it a really such a big problem? Hardly.
Plastic beer cups and the odd smuggled plastic bottle are frequent overhead projectiles when you go to rock concerts the world over.
A combination of sheer excitement and being in a state of intoxication can send the happy person in all of us into overdrive as the opening chords of a favourite song turns you into a one-man fountain leaving everyone around you showered in your warm beer.
Of course, this only happens up front in the standing section naturally. It's a state of mind only found acceptable when you are shoulder to shoulder with sweaty students with shirts around their heads and whistles around their necks.
Spraying drinks certainly wouldn't be feasible up in the gods for instance, where the guy next to you has miserably sat throughout the best gig of your life so as not to crease his club blazer.
But it's a variation of this unspoken rule of gig conduct that made last weekend's Morrissey incident so hard to fathom.
Don't get me wrong, if I were dragged along to a Morrissey concert myself I'd throw something. Not my beer mind that would be the only thing numbing the pain of his depressing back catalogue.
But Morrissey fans are hardly your head-banging, beer swilling crowd.
A bunch of 40-something romantics; it shouldn't be difficult to find the beer bottle distributor - after all, he was obviously the only one drinking beer amongst a field of soppy red wine sippers.
The other factor to remember is that Morrissey himself has set a new precedent for attendees of his future shows. If he's crap then simply chuck something at him and he'll head for the exit quicker than an MP with a blank expenses form.
Both the Arctic Monkeys and Kasabian have concerts planned for the ECHO Arena later this week and I'd bet both bands would be somewhat insulted if a couple of beers didn't get sprayed about the place.
The only fear for the venue is that is escalates out of control like it did towards the end of the Kings of Leon gig earlier in the summer, as there was content far more sinister than beer in some of those plastic cups.
But the regulation and sale of booze at the ECHO Arena is just a toothache on a sensational first 12 months of trading.
And if dreary Morrissey chooses not to return then real Merseyside music fans should all stand united and buy last weekend's beer chucker a replacement pint.
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Peter Guy - is at the forefront of Liverpool's independent music scene reporting & reviewing on the latest sounds in Merseyside and beyond.
Quite a lot of ill informed comments there I'm afraid Nick:
1) Your comments about the make up of Morrissey's crowd are very innacurate. As someone who has both attended many of his shows and also promoted some I can safely say being down the front of a Morrissey gig is not a walk in the park. Passionate and raucous, these gigs routinely finish up with stage invasions as Morrissey frequently whips up the crowd and revels in the chaos his devotion inspires. I would also love you to describe in person to Morrissey's large skinhead following (not to menion his huge Latinio following in the US - http://www.rhino.com/rzine/images/VivaMorrissey1.jpg) that they are 'soppy red wine sippers'.
2) Falling back on the journalistic cliche that Morrissey is 'depressing' (copyright Steve Wright circa 1985) shows how little you understand the man, his music or Morrissey's fans. Morrisey s obviously the funniest, wittiest lyricist this country as ever produced. Try reading his interviews and you'll see some of the most arch, razor sharp prose you're ever likely to read. It's a bit more than 'whoa my sex is on fire'.
3) Your comments about the forthcoming Kasabian gig are interesting in the light of an interview I did with Serge from the band yesterday:
http://www.clickliverpool.com/clocked/liverpool-music/126817-kasabian---the-interview.html
He seemed genuinely concerned for Morrissey and respected his choice to walk off. As he says why can't people just drink their pints?
Having worked at a successful venue before where this behaviour was not a problem I think you're wrong to merely dismiss it as 'a toothache' (sic). There does seem to be a culture of this begining to take root at the Echo Arena - a quick look at the fan forums discussing the Morrissey incident will show how quickly this was being dubbed as a 'Liverpool problem' and that cannot be a good thing. I agree with you that the Echo Arena is marvellous for the city but your comments abot pint throwing being some Neanderthal 'unspoken rule of gig conduct' is at best rather embarrasing.
Good to meet you at Chrome Hoof, got a coupla things for you if you want em :)
What a totally ill informed, obnoxious article from 'socialite' Nick Peet.
Morrissey is boring for walking off stage for being hit whilst trying to do his job? If only NHS staff who are hit by drunken idiots in A&E on a Saturday night could do the same. Fair play to him for walking off.
It is ignorant and dismissive to play down things being thrown. Equally dismissive is the Arena's general manager Tim Banfield who responded twelve months ago to me after incidents at the Kings of Leon gig saying near enough the exact same thing he was quoted as saying after the Morrissey incident. That was DECEMBER last year Nick Peet, not SUMMER.
Feel free to read my blog regarding the gig LAST YEAR not earlier this summer in which I complained about numerous problems with the Echo Arena, and Tim Banfield's ignorant automated responses that he regurgatated again after the Morrissey gig. http://wp.me/povYa-1m
The lack of control is giving Liverpool, not the Arena, a bad name.
couldn't agree more with that piece. I'd not seen him before and for him to let down so many people that may never get the chance again it was so gutting. Im not condoning the idiot behaviour, but he could easily have stopped the song, walked off and made an announcement then come back on. there's idiots everywhere and if we let one get in the way the whole thing would go to pot, instead moz took the easy way out and called time on the event which so many people had wiated and paid good money for.
He's always been an attention-seeking fool and this surprised me not one jot. He could easily have kept the show going and watching that footage makes him out to be even a bigger tart than I imagined.
Wanker.
Got to agree with Jamie on this one. More evidence of 'unspoken rule of gig conduct' being embarrassing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfZm32tpWY8
I can see both sides. But Morrissey is still rubbish.
Woah there everyone. I'm afraid you've all missed the point.
The real story here is the amazing first twelve months of trading at new world-class venue the ECHO Arena where, no doubt, Kasabian and The Arctic Monkeys will play amazing gigs later this week.
Sensational!
Rock and or roll is one thing. Being the kind of twat who would, I assume, spend £36 on a ticket only to start lobbing stuff at the singer's head is another.
There's three possible reactions to this kind of thing. 1) stop the gig until said twat is identified and removed, hopefully getting a good kicking on the way out, 2) do a Marty Balin and wade in yourself, pasting the idiot before getting back on stage, or 3) walk. Mozza did what was appropriate for him and good luck to him.
Nick. Unspoken rule? Wonder how long you'd adhere to 'the rule' if your thick skull was on the receiving end? But hey, let tossers like that keep on at it and you keep on defending them Nick. Good acts will choose to play at well-run venues instead. Then let's see how many locals want to buy that eejit a beer? Twat him over the head with it more like!