Washington Post review of DC gig

[carol]

The Pogues
Saturday, March 11, 2006; Page C04
Christopher Porter

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... With confetti "snow" falling down on them...

Pfffft. Christopher Porter didn't even get this bit right. It wasn't confetti "snow," it was sudsy liquid "snow."

[Irish Rover]

I wish I could square this person's idea of Shane with the man who was happy and joking in our dressing room from 8 pm last night...

Thats great to hear Philip.

To hell with the papers.

[PG]

I think I shall make this my siggy.

Some people are "47 sheets to the wind", others just blow.

[Behan]

The guy couldn't write a song nearly as brilliant as Shane -- that's why he's writing crappy reviews for the Washington Post.

Phil, how was Atlantic City? I was an hour from there to visit folks. I'm sorry I missed that show with Saw Doctors. I'll see you guys on the 19th in NY.

Keep Shane out of trouble. All the best!!

[CraigBatty]

Actually, ye know, yer right....papers are only good for one thing.. rolling London/NY Times broadsheet-sized splifflications. Silly moi.
And besides...

[Guest]

Mr. Porter - your a tit

[CraigBatty]

Nah, can't be....tits are useful, he's just a .....hack. And what a waste of a good beery surname, too.

[fatalfiona]

I feel sorry for Mr. Christopher Porter, and even sorrier for the Pogues fan who didn’t get to see the sold out show because Mr. Porter’s waste of space stood in the crowd in their place.

Someone should probobly alert Mr. Porter to the fact that not everyone runs off to the gym to spend their days guzzling Perrier and working out the minute they turn 35. And not everyone dashes off to the plastic surgeon the moment their face shows it’s first sign of age, either, (thankfully). Shane has a beautiful face, and anyone who looks with their heart and not their own insecure ego can see that plain as day. Anyone who looks at Shane and sees what Mr. Porter saw should give their Pogues ticket to someone worthy and then go see a Celine Dion concert.

Yes, we saw Shane throw at least a ½ bottle of rose wine down his face, and that’s not counting what he drank before the show and backstage during the songs he sat out. Yes, Shane drinks and drinking takes it’s toll on a body. But anyone who knows anything knows that’s part of who he is. Which is why seeing him hang in there all night was so fucking special. I don’t think I was the only one whose heart dropped when Shane walked off stage after the 3rd song of the set - Broad Majestic Shannon. Time was when that would’ve been all the Shane we got. But he only sat out 1 song and then he was back. And he kept coming back all the way to the last encore. I for one felt grateful that I was there to witness it. And not just Shane, the entire band was in top form that night, looking dapper and singing and playing their hearts out.

How could Mr. Porter have stood in that room and then wrote such a review, at least half of which was about how Shane looked? What, did he expect the youth-faced Shane of the 80’s? Perhaps Mr. Porter needs to be reminded what year it is. Did he not see the smiles on the faces of 1200 people who were all thrilled to be there? Did he not notice the fact that the music was beautiful, joyful, heart wrenching, and fucking rocking? Oh, that’s right. Mr. Porter only heard garbles and slurs. Perhaps that is because he didn’t understand WHAT he was hearing.

[Rosa]

Well said, fatalfiona and all of you! all I can think to say to mr. porter is, in the very words of Mr. M himself, "F yez all"...

[carol]

You know, I live in DC and read The Washington Post pretty regularly. When I saw the review and noted who'd written it, I had no recollection of Mr. Porter's having written any prior reviews. I checked online and apparently he's been doing reviews for at least half a decade, but I don't think he's one of the paper's stable of regular reviewers.

Dunno how he would up doing this one.

[Deitrich]

Amen, Philip- the show I witnessed on Thursday night went down as one of the best showsfor me. I have seen Shane perform on a number of occasions in the past decade and he was as on as I have ever seen him in person. I only had two pints and was phsically worn out after the show- and I was just standing. Its obvious that this reviewer doesn't know Shane too well.

I wish I could square this person's idea of Shane with the man who was happy and joking in our dressing room from 8 pm last night, who made me shed a tear (again) during FoNY, who claims he is "serialising" the lyrics of Sunnyside Of The Street on stage, who can balance full glasses of gin on his head after consuming several of same, who can conduct a two hour discourse on the relative merits, as to quality of tobacco and classiness of packaging, of now-defunct brands of Irish cigarettes and who can hold forth on Irish tailors between encores. I wish I could, but I can't.

Some people are "47 sheets to the wind", others just blow.

[mrdarcey]

I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm guessing the Post reviewer only new Shane from the Popes. I can't think of any other reason he spent so much time dwelling only on Shane while giving only a throw away line to the musicianship of the Pogues. He misses that the Popes were all about supporting Shane, while the Pogues are a band whom Shane happens to sing for. Shane certainly never sang backing vocals for the Popes, like he's doing now on Star of County Down.

I was actually shocked to see how much more happy and alive Shane looked than the last time two times I saw him in 2000 and '02. Not that he looked great, or even healthy, but there was a world of difference. Back then he was late, seemed not to care, could barely move or stand, and had to have his cigarettes lit for him, which he was then allowing to burn down because he was forgetting to smoke them. On Friday he was moving about the stage, dancing, laughing, smiling and balancing all kinds of things on various body parts. Totally different human being, even if he was 47 sheets to the wind. And certainly not a wreck of a man.

The other thing that really irks me about that review is being accused of somehow enabling Shane. He does what he wants. And I cheer everytime he denies the critics and celebrates life by raising a bottle to his lips. Because I want to.

[fatalfiona]

did someone already say the christopher porter is a right wanker? my friend jaime very aptly said "some people get shane and some people don't".

i took out the fuckwords and sent my (above) scathing rebuttal to mr. porter's unenlightened review in to the washington post, though i'm not holding my breath that it'll actually get published. ah, well. we do what we can.

[CraigBatty]

...i took out the fuckwords ...

No need to do that, they'll do it fer ye. Fuck 'em anyway. It's ALWAYS worth spitting the dummy over misrepresentative falsitudes like the bilge Mr. Porter dished. Sounds like he's working for the enemy..hmmm.......

As fer you, more power to yer arm!

[Seven Towers]

...i took out the fuckwords ...

No need to do that, they'll do it fer ye. Fuck 'em anyway. It's ALWAYS worth spitting the dummy over misrepresentative falsitudes like the bilge Mr. Porter dished. Sounds like he's working for the enemy..hmmm.......

As fer you, more power to yer arm!

Maybe it was Porter Goss doing some dirty work for his buddy George Bush. You would have to be an idiot or a liar to write a review for a show as amazing as Thursdays. Poter seeems like the type who waits eagerly at home for the arrival of his next copies of Rolling Stone and Spin magazines..the Bibles of empty Baby Boomers and their Gen Y brain washed children. I'm gonna flush his review down the toliet where it belongs. Maybe the alligators will enjoy his delusions.