Critic’s Notebook: Moz is coming to Atlanta

The pleasure, the privilege is ours

embed-1
The pleasure, the privilege is mine to share the news that Morrissey will perform at Atlanta’s Symphony Hall on Sat., June 13. Any longtime fan will remind you right away of their disappointment regarding Moz’s string of Atlanta cancellations in recent years, and some have protected their delicate hearts this time by not taking the risk of buying tickets. But my prediction remains: this one’s on. Hear me out.


First off, many thanks to super-fan “Chickpea” of the forums on the fansite Morrissey-Solo for her detailed listing and analysis of Morrissey concerts and cancellations since the beginning of his solo career in 1988. She and subsequent posters identify — correctly, I think — two trends. One is a recent uptick in successful completion of performances (Hooray!). The other is a tendency of Morrissey fans to skew their memories by overemphasizing the disappointment of cancellations (these are Morrissey fans after all) over the satisfaction of completed shows.


The busy Mozzer has scheduled more than 1,000 shows in his solo career and completed 852, a completion rate of 85.2 percent. I’d say that’s a pretty decent track record (especially considering that the bulk of cancellations were due to serious illness and a death in the family). It would be especially interesting to compare his completion rate to other, earlier non-stop tourers and show business legends such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and Judy Garland, i.e. performers who toured in large venues as solo artists for decades (Chickpea, get to work). Some have reputations as frequent cancellers and some have reputations as total troopers, but my guess would be: they all actually probably hovered in the 85 percent area.


Anyway, Moz’s most recent gig ten days ago at the Opera House in Sydney, Australia went off without a hitch, and the U.S. tour begins tomorrow, June 11, at the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans. You can watch the same fan site for post-show commentary. Once that date’s successfully completed, it’s more than safe to assume we’ll have our visitation here in the ATL, as well.


Those attending the concert Saturday should take a moment before or after the show to have a look at the spinning tops of Los Trompos right outside the venue at the High Museum’s Sifly Piazza. The playground-like structures are part of an interactive art installation designed by Mexico City artists Héctor Esrawe and Ignacio Cadena. The piazza and its installation are open around the clock and visiting is free: you can climb to the top of the tops or sit inside, and if you can bear to speak to another person, you can ask them to spin you around. And since they’ll be open during the show, we think they’ll make the perfect spot for fans who didn’t buy tickets to sit inside and have a good cry. Either way: see you at the show, ATL!