Morrissey lastly confirmed up in San Antonio, providing long-awaited reply to its timeless love

Final evening at a offered out present at San Antonio’s Boeing Middle at Tech Port, Morrissey did one thing sudden: he really confirmed up.

He additionally took the chance on stage to direct a couple of snide remarks on the Present, particularly the paper’s hypothesis, which began practically a 12 months in the past, as as to if the previous Smiths frontman was going to look.

“Any suggestion of canceling this present — the very suggestion was cancelled,” the crooner mentioned on the finish of the set, after performing the unique “I Will See You in Far-off Locations.”

“In truth,” he sniffed, “I don’t know what you imply by ‘nonetheless.”

Morrissey was referring to the very first suggestion whenever you Google “Morrissey San Antonio,” which, after the Boeing Middle occasion itemizing itself, is the Present article titled “Reside Nation and venue affirm Morrissey’s San Antonio present continues to be on … for now.“

Seeming to be notably bothered by my alternative of the phrase “nonetheless,” he additionally modified the phrases of “How quickly is now?” singing ” I’m STILL the son, STILL the son and inheritor,” interjecting “actually? actually?” between verses.

To make certain, the Present wasn’t alone in questioning “will he or received’t he?” Certainly, many Alamo Metropolis followers appeared to be asking the identical query. The singer has canceled on us 4 occasions in a row, in spite of everything.

I wasn’t satisfied he was really going to play, even up till he took the stage.

Forward of the evening’s present, Present workers speculated on the percentages. “Hope he doesn’t cancel on the final minute. Cedar pollen is excessive!” a coworker texted me. “Vibes are off! A butterfly flapped its wings in Phuket!” I replied.

When Morrissey took the stage and started belting out classics comparable to “There’s a Gentle that By no means Goes Out” and “Suedehead,” my incredulity was mirrored within the crowd.

“He really made it, man!” a live performance goer behind me exclaimed to a good friend.

I don’t blame Moz for being salty concerning the hypothesis, although it was somewhat jarring to comprehend he’s conscious of my writing in any respect. For the reason that preliminary Could live performance was scheduled in February 2025 after which rescheduled for January, 2026, I’ve lined this query rather a lot. And I imply, very many occasions.

To cite the bard’s phrases again to him, “I’m so sorry.”

However the British icon hasn’t precisely instilled San Antonio with confidence. Not solely has Morrissey canceled on the town 4 occasions in a row over the previous six years — he’s infamous for a excessive charge of cancelations and postponements all through the world.

There are even on-line trackers devoted to Morrissey’s cancelation charge. Final 12 months, it averaged 50%. By the numbers, when folks requested “What’s the over/beneath on Morrissey canceling?” I instructed them to flip a coin.

Morrissey additionally canceled your complete South American leg of his tour on the finish of 2025 resulting from “excessive exhaustion.” However his 2026 cancelation charge has to date been even worse. Each California dates main as much as San Antonio’s present had been additionally postponed resulting from an “opposed response” to remedy.

It may be onerous for Morrissey — he hates being referred to as Moz and says it “seems like one thing you’d squirt on the kitchen ground” — to see that the Present’s ribbing was exactly as a result of this metropolis loves him a lot. Unequivocally and eternally. This metropolis has longed for him with a craving solely he can perceive and put into phrases.

As the times and hours inched nearer to Saturday’s present, hundreds of San Antonians had been considering, “Please, please, please, let me get what I would like.”

And Morrissey lastly gave it to them.

The crooner delivered with a set of tracks from an illustrious profession spanning half a century, his baritone falsetto preserved in amber, frozen in time. Like an inverse Dorian Grey, the singer has aged (gracefully), however the artwork has not aged in any respect.

At one level, The Portrait of Dorian Grey writer Oscar Wilde — one of many singer’s main influences — featured on the display screen behind him. Jack Kerouac appeared throughout “Life is a Pigsty,” Joan Crawford for “Let me Kiss You” and Bruce Lee for the timelessly cool Smiths observe “How Quickly Is Now?”

Cinematic references comparable to U.S. avant garde filmmaker Maya Deren and Mathieu Kassowitz’s La Haine, a gritty French film about immigrants in Paris, additionally performed behind him. Many issues may bore Morrissey, however the man is nothing if not cultured.

To stability out the frippery, he additionally has a penchant for brutes, boxers and the sultry, misunderstood James Dean. Maybe that’s why he ripped off his shirt Saturday — as he’s need to do — as a present of masculinity.

Different tracks featured within the set included “First of the Gang to Die,” “Irish Blood, English Coronary heart,” “Each Day is Like Sunday” and Western-infused observe “The Loop.” Morrissey additionally carried out the Smiths tune “Paint a Vulgar Image” — its first time being performed stay since 1997.

Notably absent from the set was his model new triphop-tinged single with a Björk-esque beat, “Make-up Is a Lie.” Dropped Friday, the edgy and intoxicating observe demonstrates a musicality simply as recent and related as ever.

“I’m positive you heard the excellent information,” the singer mentioned onstage of the discharge. Nevertheless, he mentioned the band wouldn’t be performing the brand new single this present — as a result of it has to be taught it first.

Saturday’s efficiency made it clear why San Antonio loves Morrissey a lot, regardless of the various controversies that comply with him.

Nobody does loneliness and alienation fairly like Morrissey, aside from perhaps Sartre or Camus.

So when he sings …

“Should you’re so funnyThen why are you by yourself tonight?And for those who’re so cleverThen why are you by yourself tonight?”

… he’s not solely singing about his personal loneliness however yours too. Seemingly including to San Antonio’s and Mexico’s love for Morrissey are the various comparisons of his melodramatic ballads to ranchera balladeers.

“He’s mainly the British Vicente Fernández,” my live performance companion remarked.

The lovelorn songster could not do a grito, but it surely comes by means of nonetheless.

For this reason followers rush the stage after a present — like one San Antonio man did — to embrace the foppish dandy and “skilled refusenik.”

And why they sang alongside to almost each phrase, returning his plaintiff pining.

For this reason his followers’ timeless love is a light-weight that can by no means exit.

Pictures by Oscar Moreno.