by PaulMcC Fri Aug 20, 2010 9:41 pm
Better late than never, but I was at the Ceili Culture festival the other night and here's what I thought.
Shane was brilliant. Believe it or not, it was the first time I was at one of Shane's shows with Sharon and her band. Obviously, I'd seen clips on You Tube etc. but it's not the same as being there. Shortly before 11pm, Sharon announced that Shane would be coming onstage. Joey came on first and she introduced him as Shane's friend. A few seconds later, Shane walked out wearing a dark suit, white shirt, sunglasses, and his top hat. The first number was 'The Irish Rover'. Maybe I'm wrong, but I reckon Sharon's band play the backing music slightly slower than The Pogues do. Perhaps as a result, Shane's vocals were very clear. I have rarely heard him sing so well. He looked in good shape and, better still, very happy. Shane removed his sunglasses to reveal a patch over his left eye. He left this on for the rest of the show. The second song was 'Rainy Night'. He sang that beautifully. He came in late on one verse but I'd say very few people noticed. Then came a big surprise, Shane announced the next number would be 'Rake At The Gates of Hell'. Naturally, I was amazed by this as he hasn't sung this live for years. Anyway, Shane started to sing the song. His timing was fine but he forgot some words in the first verse. I reckon only serious Pogues fans would have spotted this. His memory for the lyrics improved with each verse so the song turned out fine. Shane was helped by the fact Sharon's band are so great. The musical arrangement for the song was unbelievably good. Shane finished his set with 'Sally' and 'Fiesta'. 'Fiesta', in particular, was blindingly good. Shane sang it strongly and performed many of the 'dance moves' from the 'Fiesta' video. The audience reaction to Shane was fantastic. Shane looked as if he was really having fun. He was doing his usual 'party tricks' such as playing with microphone stands, trying to pour drink down his throat but spilling it etc. Shane appeard to me to be very relaxed with Sharon and her band.Most of the crowd went wild for 'Sally' and even wilder for 'Fiesta' and Shane left the stage to really loud cheers.
About 10 minutes later, after some instrumentals, Shane, Damien Dempsey, and Joey(who was playing tin whistle througout Shane's set) returned to the stage. Shane and Damien shared vocals on 'Dirty Old Town'. You could see how thrilled Damien was to be singing with Shane and how fondly Shane regards Damien. It was wonderful. The final song of the night was 'Galway Girl'. One of Sharon's band sang the verses. Shane and Damien did backing vocals and generally messed about onstage during the instrumental breaks in the song. All in all, it was probably one of the most memorable performances I've seen by Shane.
PS: Apart from the bottle of Bulmers, much of which got spilt, Shane had a large bottle of water. He actually arrived onstage brandishing said bottle and a small glass of water. I'd noticed the presence of water in his stage kit back at The Olympia in December too.
Better late than never, but I was at the Ceili Culture festival the other night and here's what I thought.
Shane was brilliant. Believe it or not, it was the first time I was at one of Shane's shows with Sharon and her band. Obviously, I'd seen clips on You Tube etc. but it's not the same as being there. Shortly before 11pm, Sharon announced that Shane would be coming onstage. Joey came on first and she introduced him as Shane's friend. A few seconds later, Shane walked out wearing a dark suit, white shirt, sunglasses, and his top hat. The first number was 'The Irish Rover'. Maybe I'm wrong, but I reckon Sharon's band play the backing music slightly slower than The Pogues do. Perhaps as a result, Shane's vocals were very clear. I have rarely heard him sing so well. He looked in good shape and, better still, very happy. Shane removed his sunglasses to reveal a patch over his left eye. He left this on for the rest of the show. The second song was 'Rainy Night'. He sang that beautifully. He came in late on one verse but I'd say very few people noticed. Then came a big surprise, Shane announced the next number would be 'Rake At The Gates of Hell'. Naturally, I was amazed by this as he hasn't sung this live for years. Anyway, Shane started to sing the song. His timing was fine but he forgot some words in the first verse. I reckon only serious Pogues fans would have spotted this. His memory for the lyrics improved with each verse so the song turned out fine. Shane was helped by the fact Sharon's band are so great. The musical arrangement for the song was unbelievably good. Shane finished his set with 'Sally' and 'Fiesta'. 'Fiesta', in particular, was blindingly good. Shane sang it strongly and performed many of the 'dance moves' from the 'Fiesta' video. The audience reaction to Shane was fantastic. Shane looked as if he was really having fun. He was doing his usual 'party tricks' such as playing with microphone stands, trying to pour drink down his throat but spilling it etc. Shane appeard to me to be very relaxed with Sharon and her band.Most of the crowd went wild for 'Sally' and even wilder for 'Fiesta' and Shane left the stage to really loud cheers.
About 10 minutes later, after some instrumentals, Shane, Damien Dempsey, and Joey(who was playing tin whistle througout Shane's set) returned to the stage. Shane and Damien shared vocals on 'Dirty Old Town'. You could see how thrilled Damien was to be singing with Shane and how fondly Shane regards Damien. It was wonderful. The final song of the night was 'Galway Girl'. One of Sharon's band sang the verses. Shane and Damien did backing vocals and generally messed about onstage during the instrumental breaks in the song. All in all, it was probably one of the most memorable performances I've seen by Shane.
PS: Apart from the bottle of Bulmers, much of which got spilt, Shane had a large bottle of water. He actually arrived onstage brandishing said bottle and a small glass of water. I'd noticed the presence of water in his stage kit back at The Olympia in December too.
