On Oct. 12, Morrissey ended the first leg of his U.S. tour at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles with London-based Elcka opening. The former frontman for the Smiths is taking off a couple of weeks, and when he hits the road again on Oct. 23, it looks like he'll be bringing the Smoking Popes along for the ride.|

The Chicago-based pop punk group have been hailed as one of Morrissey's favorite bands of late, so it came as no surprise when they were chosen to open the second leg of the tour. During the first half of the U.S. tour, Popes Josh and Matt Caterer met Morrissey for about a half hour after the Chicago show, during which time he revealed how much of a fan he really was. According to the Popes' management, Morrissey's two favorite Popes' songs are "Pure Imagination" and "Paul." Not long after this meeting the two sides came together to ink the deal. Look for the combo to hit a town near you soon. (Ari Bendersky)

Here's where Morrissey's taking the Smoking Popes:

• Oct. 23 - The West Gotham, Tucson
• Oct. 24 - Hiland Theatre, Albuquerque, N.M.
• Oct. 26 - Bridges Auditorium, Claremont, Calif.
• Oct. 27 - Thousand Oaks Civic Center, Thousand Oaks, Calif.
• Oct. 28 - Bren Events Center, Irvine, Calif.
• Oct. 31 - Saltair Pavillion, Megna, Utah
• Nov. 2 - Macky Auditorium (Univ. of Colorado), Boulder, Colo.
• Nov. 4 - Brady Theatre, Tulsa, Okla.
• Nov. 5 - Liberty Hall, Lawrence, Kas.
• Nov. 6 - American Theatre, St. Louis
• Nov. 8 - Center for the Performing Arts, Gainesville, Fla.
• Nov. 11 - Jackie Gleason Theatre, Miami Beach, Fla.
• Nov. 12 - Mahaffey Theatre, St. Petersburg, Fla.
• Nov. 14 - Orlando Theatre, Orlando, Fla.
  (*more dates may follow)
  (dates courtesy of Smoking Popes management)