Playlouder:London Brixton Academy

[MacRua]

THE POGUES
London Brixton Academy, 23rd December
Jeremy Allen
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<blockquote>It's about time the The Pogues get full recognition. Proper recognition.

Yes yes, the Pogues have never exactly been starved of praise and adulation, but they're way down in those lists that people do. The Smiths, The Cure, Joy Division, PiL blah de blah get cited as the influences of not very good bands everytime a journalist runs out of questions, and yet the London Irish troupe are about the 89th most imporant band ever, squeezed between Squeeze and the fucking Stranglers - if we're being brutally honest and that. It's always the same. Shane McGowan - what a card! What a shitty toothed bastard! Cronic alcoholism - fucking hilarious!

But let's be a little serious for a minute kids, there's a conundrum here. How do you make folk punk? Folk punk?! How hard is that to do? Not washing, singing with a weird lilt and bringing your children up without bothering to intergrate them in society? And all without a drumkit and an ampifier.

The Pogues are something of a phenomenon. A dirty, beautiful, beligerent, ugly, dangerous proposition. A bunch of greying chancers in suits with penny whistles who look more like they're off to to court than courting our attention, and yet they make people want to laugh and kiss and be supremely, delirously happy. They weirdly have become the epitomy of Christmas; whatever that stands for now.

Obviously tonight McGowan is nowhere as crisp as he is on record, but the fact he's still standing is a miracle, and a blessing for the people who sell boozepiss.

The songs are as wonderful as they will always be. 'Turkish Song of the Damned', 'The Old Main Drag', 'Thousands Are Sailing', 'A Pair of Brown Eyes'. Shane's between song banter is less so.

"Shhiiiigg flllaaaarr graaaaaaaaaah"

Huge applause.

"Shhiiiigg flllaaaarr Chrsismhas"

It's a real privilige to see the Pogues. The fragility of the singer maybe makes you realise that this might be the last time. But he'll probably outlive us all, the cunt.</blockquote>

[dave 81]

"...and yet they make people want to laugh and kiss and be supremely, deleriously happy."

That says it all.....what more could you want at a concert!