The remainder of the show was a blur, despite my best
intentions for semi-sobriety.
I'm pretty sure they DID play "Fairytale of New York",
because here are some pictures Gregg took of it..
Before I knew it they were playing the biggest, craziest
"Fiesta" ever, with all the guys from Ollin joining in. Two
accordions, a horn section, and Spider bashing himself
in the head with a beer tray.
All great and wonderful things must come to an end...but WHY,
exactly?
Then we headed over to get in line to go backstage.
Whooo - backstage with the POGUES in NYC on ST.
PADDDY'S DAY - this is going to be one for the
record books.
Well, it might've been at one time, but tonight it's
just another bar, with lousy expensive watery beer.
The guys from Ollin were all there, definitely tripping
out on what they'd just experienced. I talked to a few
of them for awhile and told them how much their obvious
excitement had added to ours vicariously. They sang the
praises of Spider in particular. Evidently they showed up
outside his hotel once, set up their equipment in the yard
and started playing "Rum Sodomy & the Lash" in its entirety.
Soon he came out and after some opening spots on the West
Coast, they had been asked to come east for the Big Show.
DZM and I started talking at the bar. We compared our
man-crushes on Philip. I said I really hoped he'd be there,
but like the last time I had backstage passes, he didn't
show. I looked around, however, and saw James Fearnley,
who we'd met in Philadelphia. He was eating chicken wings
so we waited until he was done and reintroduced ourselves.
He immediately exuded the same quiet, reserved dignity.
Erica gushed over his performance, which had been
Olympian. "I love what I do, y'know?" he said. I can
only imagine.
I saw Jem, and waited patiently until his conversation
was done. Then I approached. I think the first thing I
said was "How IS Philip?" "Well, you saw 'im. How'd he
look?" He seemed a bit annoyed. I guess I should've
talked about Ralph Stanley instead.
Later I approached Daryl.I have no idea what I babbled to him. He seemed unimpressed by it, whatever it was.
Gregg, meantime, had struck up a friendship with the members of Ollin, and with an Irishman whose
exact station in life I couldn't quite guess. Roadie? Manager? Phony? He talked to me in conspiratorial
tones, expressing his grief that I, as a man, was putting up with some supposed overstep on the
part of my Sweetheart. "Oi mean, COME ON, " he said sadly. "Ye can't put up with it!"He seemed to
be advocating spousal violence. I had no idea what he was talking about or whether he was serious. I
didn't much care. I have no time for neanderthals.
I realized that I had reached a point of epic drunkenness.
It had taken all night, and I was satisfied with my pace.
I remembered the show. I remembered this fabulous
experience, backstage with the Pogues on St.Patrick's
Day. My true love was by my side and we were
experiencing this together.
We collected our wits and left Roseland. Now, I
have long suffered a certain amount of nerve
damage in my legs (from cervical spine operation
I underwent in the 90s), which is generally intensified
when I drink, and at such times I often walk with a
pronounced limp, making me appear completely trashed
whether I am or not. In other words, I looked drunker
than I was as I staggered down Broadway behind my
companions. Or...maybe...maybe I actually WAS as
drunk as I seemed... hmmm, better have a drink and
think about it.
We went into a bar across the street from our hotel. As we
walked in I realized I still had a swallow of Black Bush left in
my pocket. I drank it and left the bottle on a table. A bouncer
immediately came over, picked it up, and approached me
threateningly. He asked me where it had come from. I acted
drunk (acted?) and said "I don't know". Then I ignored him.
He stomped away, fuming. I wasn't hurting anyone.
The next morning when we woke up in our closet-sized room,
My Sweetheart and I watched Barack Obama confront the
whole Rev. Wright controversy on TV by addressing the nation
as adults and talking truth. I decided then that he was a man I
could vote for.
