Reminiscences of the gig by a member of Hothouse Flowers - originally posted by Christine at
PRS forum:
The Flowers bloom for tsunami relief
By Fiachna O'Braonain
Special to The Denver Post
Fiachna O'Braonain, guitarist for Hothouse Flowers, recounts a recent last-minute tsunami benefit his band played.
Hothouse Flowers were recently asked to perform at a benefit concert in aid of the Irish Red Cross tsunami disaster fund. They asked us to do the gig a mere two days beforehand! I wondered how on Earth they would get a crowd with such short notice, but with artists like Kila, David Kitt, Ronnie Drew, the Dubliners, Miriam Ingram, and Roesy and Shane MacGowan also on the bill, I said to myself, "Two days, 800 tickets? No problem!" And sure enough, it was packed.
Invariably there were phone calls flying around about collaborations and who could play with whom to make it extra special. BP Fallon was involved, and he always loves to suggest songs and "good vibes, man!" How about a duet of Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line" featuring Ronnie and Shane? Cool. Or "The Irish Rover" with Shane and the Dubliners? Definitely. But who was playing with Shane? There was neither a Pogue nor a Pope to be seen! We got the call - the night before. Would Hothouse Flowers be Shane MacGowan's backing band?
And so I called Shane in an effort to find out what he might like to play, and therefore what we might need to listen to and learn. "Summer in Siam," "Sayonara." Of course! Shane had spent many holidays in Thailand, and songs had been born. I had also just returned from a six-week spell in Thailand and experienced the exotic colors and flavors presented to you in that enchanting land. That beautiful dreamy piano cascade in "Summer in Siam" captures just that. He also wanted to do "London You're a Lady," "White City" and of course "Fairytale of New York," the best Christmas song ever.
"Just get the albums and check them out!" Of course - no problem. No problem, that is, until you realize that Shane MacGowan's songwriting is not just brilliantly lyrical but has a hidden musical complexity that was, with 24 hours to go, totally overwhelming. And absolutely no chance of a rehearsal.
Opening with "Summer in Siam," we then kicked into "White City." Shane signals the endings, but no, this is Hothouse Flowers here. We've got to reach new heights. Then comes "London You're a Lady," bar after bar the music rises. Then Ronnie Drew gets up to duet "I Walk the Line," and Shane and Ronnie were two immense voices that would have brought the ghosts of Johnny Cash and June Carter into the room for a slow dance.
Then a Pogue shows up. Cait O'Riordan, the original bass player in the Pogues, hits the stage to duet with Shane on "Fairytale of New York." She sings, they waltz, we play - it was magic!
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2005 4:12 pm