The Medusa Fora

I always thought maybe Shane was shy and he used drink for a bit of dutch courage to get upon the stage and than in time became reliant upon the drink.Two things that make me think that maybe this was the case such as victoria mentioning that he was downing a bottle of vodka before he went up on stage.There are a few clips on If I Should Fall the story of Shane MacGowan where Shane looks relatively sober and he has a nervous twich in which he scratches behind his ear a lot.I am probably a million miles from the truth but thats my own personal opinion.At the end of the day its Shane 's choice to drink and as long as Shane is happy then who cares.

Shane has drunk many weird and wonderful concoctions over the years.I remember reading an article where he was supposedly imbibing brake fluid.But as we are all are well aware Shane is a survivor.He has proved whatever his addiction he can stop any time he wants.

St.Peter wrote:He has proved whatever his addiction he can stop any time he wants.

let's not get quixotic here.please

Its the romantic in me.The gates are always open.

As oi've seen it he drinks enough before entering the stage...then on stage few sips is enough

I guess it's a matter of definition just what is too much, as this article shows perfectly:

RIGA (Reuters) - A drunk Latvian had a blood-alcohol content more than 17 times the legal driving limit in the Baltic state when he was run over and killed, police said Tuesday.

The 50-year-old unnamed pedestrian, who also had more than twice the alcohol level considered lethal for most humans, was lying drunk on the road near his home in a remote part of eastern Latvia in the early hours.

Police said the man had probably been drinking home-made alcohol for several days because of the impossibility of reaching his blood-alcohol level of 0.9 percent in just a day.

(...)

from:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051221/od_ ... a_drunk_dc

He's an alcohlic, Irish, etc, plain and simple. Started young, very young That'll do it to you every time. He got involved with the music business and that'll do it to you as well.

I am reminded of last Wednesday the 14th, Glasgow, when, after the band paused a bit too long before starting the next song and the crowd launched into a rousing rendition of - was it Fields of Athenry? - several choruses - Shane slurred into the microphone, "aalcohhholics"

Doesnt everyone in Ireland drink to much? didnt i hear shane say that on a Talk show?

and we are back to philosophic questions of objective reality: is there sucha thing like norm and where is a border between enough and too much

ellen views made me smile......who defines normal anyway

He stated, or at least Victoria wrote, that he was NOT going to get up before a bunch of drunks (um....that's us) and perform sober. Cleared the whole thing up for me right there. And it once again reinforces the most imortant aspect of the "punk rock movement" in my humble opinion -- the distance between the performer and the audience must be minimal. As a punk pioneer, I think Shane looks at a show as a party, a party in which he is a participant, and in which we are to some extent a part of the performance. As for all the other time in his life when he is not performing.... that's his business, but I appreciate that he is pushing the bounds, and though I care about his health, its his choice.

Eric V wrote:I think Shane looks at a show as a party, a party in which he is a participant, and in which we are to some extent a part of the performance..

Exactly, he says this (almost in the same words) in the Book

Eric V wrote:As for all the other time in his life when he is not performing...

Life is theater, we are permanently putting on a performance

is this thread still going? see that guy asleep on the bench over there? why does he drink so much?

Tom Wade wrote:is this thread still going? see that guy asleep on the bench over there? why does he drink so much?

I just went back to the beginning of this thread. I haven't seen anything from Irishman for a long time. I think that man on the bench is Irishman. He has either been driven to drink by the enigma that is the "why does Shane drink" question, or.... he now drinks to lessen the pain from the can of whoop-ass openned up on him in pages one and two.