Everyone's favorite vegan anti-Pop Idol--the Pope of Mope, Moz, Morrissey--lived up to his reputation for fatalistic narcissism on Tuesday when he cancelled the remainder of his
Texas shows, including his sold-out performance at the Tobin Center this Thursday.
Some laughed, some cried, and others saw this coming: Morrissey has cancelled twice in San Antonio already, and carries a legacy of backing out of shows with an impressively varied pool of excuses (Consequence of Sound has put together a definitive list).
Some of the highlights include, but are not limited to, penne pasta food poisoning (a "deadly and delirious bedridden disease"), not being as popular as David Bowie, and performing too close to a Taco Bell.
Nevertheless, despite his prima donna behavior, Morrissey continues to inspire an unwavering loyalty among his fan base, with several critics remarking that most pop stars have to be dead before commanding the same kind of religious fervor. Morrissey has engendered a special kind of adoration among his Mexican-American fanbase, the cause of which is difficult to pin down but has variously been attributed to his status as an Irish immigrant, his melancholy ballads, and his 57-year-long identity crisis.
San Antonio wore its Morrissey colors with pride--tickets to his performance sold out in eight minutes, Presa Gallery put on a Moz-themed show featuring the work of over thirty artists, after-parties were planned at the Bonham Exchange and beyond. Though this week's excuse is certainly more valid than his previous ones (get well soon, Gustavo), Morrissey and his penchant for pitch-black melodrama will be missed.
Still, there is a light that never goes out. The dance parties at Southtown 101 and the Bonham Exchange will continue as planned, Presa Gallery will open its doors for one last night of Morrissey homage; time goes on, wounds will heal. In the meantime, crack open Morrissey's horrific List of the Lost, winner of the 2015 Bad Sex in Fiction award, and reflect on what might have been. We still love you, only slightly (only slightly) less than we used to.