Heather wrote:Not long been home. What an emotional, but brilliant night that was.
We got into O'Sheas at around 4.30pm. No sooner had I got through the door when a voice cried out 'Heather!'. I looked over and there was Calum Bruce the author of The Pogues - The Best Night Out In Town. We had previously met at Philip's testimonial. Calum was loving his new found celebrity status, signing books and the like. He even chatted to me about my writing. He wasn't aware that I was writing a play for Philip and he was really interested in that. He said that he'd be interested in going to see it if it ever gets on the stage. His wife was also really interested and said that we must keep in touch so he gave me his phone number and email (will contact you later Calum). We also talked about his book and he got it out and showed it to me. It looks like a really interesting read. Not many other Medusans of note turned up for the meet, only Mark WAFC, whom it was nice to catch up with again.
After this, we headed to the Apollo with the intention of trying the pub behind it. It was chocca, so we just got in the queue and went in.
We didn't really see much of the support, except the first few minutes. They were OK, but the sound was terrible so we went to the bar.
The first half of The Pogues set was Rum, Sodomy. They did all the songs in running order. Camille O'Sullivan sang I'm A Man You Don't Meet Everyday. The atmosphere in the Apollo was absolutely electric, everyone joined in all the songs, it was fantastic. By far the best song out of the Rum Sodomy set was Waltzing Matilda. It was spot on, never heard it done live before but I have to say just one thing, wow!
After the Rum, Sodomy set, the band went off and came back on a few minutes later and did the second half of the set, starting with Streams of Whiskey. When they played Thousands Are Sailing they dedicated it to Mr C, this was the only mention of him all night. On hearing the first couple of lines, sung by Shane, I thought I heard Philip's voice but then realised that it was a trick of my imagination. I felt a bit sad at first but thought to myself, hell, I'm going to dance to this, Philip wouldn't want me to be sad, he'd want me to enjoy it. So, I danced to the music. I danced harder than I've ever danced before. I did it for Philip. But, it wasn't 1000's that got to me, it was Rainy Night a few songs later when tears started to well up in my eyes. The audience didn't forget about Philip either, there was a chant of 'There's only one Philip Chevron' at one point.
I have to say that James Walbourne did a fantastic job stepping in for Phil on guitar. He'll never replace him but by god was he giving it his all. He was dancing and interacting with Terry, Daryl and James. He seemed to really enjoy it as did the rest of the band. Fairytale was sung by Camille and Shane and it was Fiesta to finish.
We went back to O'Sheas after the show. There was an Irish duo on, a guy on guitar and a guy on flute. They were brilliant and were doing Pogues alongside other Irish favourites, even finishing the night with Fairytale. I danced with other Pogues fans who had been at the gig, it was fantastic. A great night from start to finish.
What a great review. Sums the night up perfectly
