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The Pogues
The Pogues
Apollo
December 13, 2009
IT used to be glittery advent calendars, but now it’s The Pogues that stir my Christmas excitement.
I loathe most festive songs, but this time of year provides me with a rare chance to listen to the finest duet of all time: Fairytale Of New York. It’s a small miracle of a song – at once bitter, loving, true to life, and anthemic.
And The Pogues come to town every year to put us in the mood – although I read on various blogs that this is the last year fans will see them live because of Shane MacGowan’s drunken behaviour.
Last year he purportedly fell over and forgot the words to the songs.
You can feel a certain tension between Spider Stacy, the tin whistle player, and MacGowan. At one point he tries to step in to sing, but MacGowan throws catlike hisses at him to ward him off.
There also seems to be a strange moment where MacGowan vomits on the floor in front of Spider before stumbling off. Spider retorts, “This is a pain in the ass for us”.
Surprisingly romantic
But through all this behaviour there’s no denying that MacGowan is still a deeply charismatic front man, a poetic lyricist, and a great gruff singer. You only have to listen to A Pair Of Brown Eyes with the crowd singing along to know that the man has a gifted way with words.
When you combine this with the amazing musicianship of the rest of the band it makes for an incredible show.
The rebel rousers like Streams Of Whiskey or If I Should Fall From Grace With God, which are met with a merry mixture of pogo-ing, clapping, and romping hoedowns, might be the most popular, but the slower sing-alongs like Dirty Old Town are the most stirring.
The instrumentals are simply profoundly entertaining – especially when the accordion player knee-slides across the stage.
We have to wait until the penultimate song of the second encore for the surprisingly romantic Punch and Judy classic Fairytale Of New York. It’s a perfect moment, augmented by Fiesta that closes the show using up the last of this rowdy crowd’s dying energy.
The Pogues are notoriously unpredictable, but when MacGowan’s on this sort of form, though advancing into middle age, they are one of the best live acts out there. They combine all of my favourite things in music, melody, intelligence, and punk spirit, the result being total euphoria.
I can’t wait to see them again next Christmas. It wouldn’t be the same without them.
Reviewed: Mon, 14 December, 2009
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Reviews (4)
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Jay Tilzey
21/12/09 00:13
I didn't go this year for the first time because I too had grown tired of the travelling freak show. I'd be more than happy to see the MacGowan-less Pogues play a tight, professional set again, as they did when they toured the Pogue Mahone album. But of course that band wouldn't sell out the MEN, where hordes of ghouls come to laugh at the antics of a man who is killing more than his band's reputation. I'm not surprised Spider and the rest are getting fed up - no amount of money is worth the damage being done to these great old songs.
Spider and the boys - come back next year and play a smaller venue. leave Shane back in the pub with his blurred memories.
This review is the opinion of a CityLife reader and not that of CityLife itself
Andrew Mollitor
15/12/09 12:11
Having first seen the Pogues in Manchester even before their debut album was released ( Cloud 9 i believe ) and on numerous occasions since i feel very sad to see them roll up for their annual Christmas bash...yes the band are still fantastic but Shane is now a paraody of what he once was...a joke even...it does make awkward viewing to see this...why people can call him charismatic is beyond me...yes he was charismatic in his day..yes he was an amazing lyric writer...yes Fairytale is the greatest Christmas song ever...but that was then...now is now and the man has lost it and i certainly will not be seeing the Pogues again, which is a shame for the rest of the band as as proved earlier in their career they cannot be the Pogues without Shane.
It is an absolute travesty that on Friday at the Apollo was another Irish band who stormed it for nearly 2 and a half hours..had the place rocking, including a certain Peter Kay on stage with them yet there is no review of them...i came out of the Saw Doctors wanting next year to be here already...i came out of the Pogues just feeling a bit sad
This review is the opinion of a CityLife reader and not that of CityLife itself
Dawn Lonergan
15/12/08 10:42
The Pogues are a fantastic multi- talented band - I have been a fan for some 20 plus years, however with some sadness now refuse to see them in a stadium-style venue. I'd rather remember them as they were circa 1985-88 when they were at their best in smaller Manchester venues (such as the International)
One of their best performances was at the Apollo in Dec 1987 when Shane was slurring through his lyrics as usual aided by the late great Kirsty MacColl. The atmosphere at that gig was electric. Happy days!.....and when we came out of the venue it was snowing...aaahhh!
Dom - even though both Spider and Terry Woods are accomplished frontmen, The Pogues wouldn't be who they were without the inebriated Shane at the helm. I'm sure that his thousands of adoring and loyal fans would agree with that! Long live The Pogues!
Touce ;)
This review is the opinion of a CityLife reader and not that of CityLife itself
Dom Williams
15/12/08 10:06
Having paid to see The Pogues twice in a week, I've been left pondering about being the fool in the 'fool and his money are easily parted' saying. Having been well entertained by The Stranglers who are a sleek and professional band, the contrast with The Pogues couldn't have been more different. Mind you, the contrast between the excellent musicians in The Pogues and Shane MacGowan is equally massive. Basically, he's happy to turn up every Christmas to top up the beer (or is it Martini?) money for the next twelve months. He thinks so little of the fans that he's happy to turn up so drunk that he can hardly stand or remember the words to most of the songs. It was funny twenty years ago, not now. To see this aging alcoholic who can't sing to save his life staggering around is both sad and pathetic. It's time for the other band members to ditch him. Spider Stacey, clearly irate with MacGowan's antics for most of the gig, is more than good enough on vocals. I'm afraid it's like the story of the emperor's clothes, but I for one am not prepared to go along with the herd and say what a great bloke he is when he can't sing or even remember the words. Before fans write in, just remember that while you're struggling through the credit crunch, MacGowan will be staggering all the way to the bank. Shame.
Dawn - you've just proved my point :)
This review is the opinion of a CityLife reader and not that of CityLife itself
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