Musicians about Pogues songs

[Zuzana]

By The Grace Of Shane
Portland musicians pay tribute to the Pogues.
BY MARK BAUMGARTEN
Wednesday, March 15
Willamette Week Online

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This St. Patrick's Day, there will be plenty of Irish drinkin' music around Portland, but only the Doug Fir will be celebrating the darker and more poetic side of inebriation—not to mention the political troubles that often inspire it—courtesy of KMRIA. The Portland notables will play the songs of the Pogues and that great Celtic punk band's patron saint of shitfaced, Shane MacGowan. Riff City asked the members about their favorite Pogues songs.

Chris Funk of the Decemberists "Thousands Are Sailing"

"The chord progression is really interesting, and the melody almost makes me cry every time. The other night at rehearsal, Casey [Neill] pointed out some really fantastic lyrics: 'Postcards we're mailing/ Of sky-blue skies and oceans/ From rooms the daylight never sees/ Where lights don't glow on Christmas trees/ But we dance to the music.'"

Ezra Holbrook of Dr. Theopolis "A Pair of Brown Eyes"

"The song says a lot about the tragedy and the aftermath of war through a very simple and personal narrative, which gives the song a lot of power without being grandiose.... I don't know if Miles Davis ever got into the Pogues, but if he did I think he would dig this song for the same reasons."

Jennifer Conlee of the Decemberists "A Pair of Brown Eyes"

"It was the first Pogues song I ever heard. I got it on a mix tape when I was in high school.... I was relieved to hear the acoustic instruments and the chilling lyrics after listening to the synthesized pop that filled the rest of the tape."

Hanz Araki of Whyos and An Tua "White City"

"The melody comes from the Irish ballad 'The Curragh of Kildare,' which I've always thought was one of the most beautiful, but with lyrics that speak of gentrification.... He's not singing about lush forests and beautiful gardens—it's a lament for a dog track and pub being torn down for high-rises and car parks."

Casey Neill "Turkish Song of the Damned"

"It's like 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' sung by a troupe of satanic howler monkeys. By the end it transforms into a ceilidh dance in a lunatic asylum."

Derek Brown of Fernando "Bottle of Smoke"

"I love the recording and aggro vibe ... even though it's kind of a silly tune, it feels like it's about to come apart at the seams, in a good way."

Jesse Emerson of Amelia "The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn"

"It's a surly mess of Catholic imagery and Irish folklore, ornery and gruesome, but still poetic. It's got everything you want in a song: fighting, drinking, angels, devils, vomit, a resilient hero and the Shane MacGowan scream."

[CraigBatty]

Wow, what a great list.

PartICULarly...

"It's like 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' sung by a troupe of satanic howler monkeys. By the end it transforms into a ceilidh dance in a lunatic asylum."

Hunter S, thou art avenged. See, now THERE was a journo who could have covered the Pogues. The Gonzo Duke.

THAT's more like it. Sod the begrudgers.

[DzM]

Sounds like a damned fine show. Wish I could be there.

[MacRua]

Border Radio
Roots & Americana
BY KURT B. REIGHLEY
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Jennifer Conlee and Ezra Holbrook missed their calling. Instead of musicians, they should have gone into the greeting-card racket. Last Christmas, while others were wrapping presents and quaffing wassail, these Decemberists alumni were planning ahead... for St. Patrick's Day.

Conversation between the two friends had turned to "Fairytale of New York," the 1987 Christmas duet by Irish ensemble the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl. A #2 UK smash upon its original release, it remains a holiday classic. Conlee confided to Holbrook she had always wanted to cover it, but rather than pop down to the karaoke parlor, they decided to do the job right and assemble an entire Pogues cover band.

Thus, come Thursday, March 16, at the Crocodile, revelers can bear witness to the official debut of Conlee and Holbrook's brainchild: KMRIA. No, that name isn't some ancient bit of Gaelic gobbledygook. "It's an acronym, standing for 'kiss my royal Irish ass,'" says Conlee.

Joining Conlee and Holbrook are Chris Funk (also of Decemberists), Jesse Emerson (Amelia), Derek Brown (Fernando), Hanz Araki (Whyos, An Tua) and Celtic folk maverick Casey Neill. Although the group will play the following night at Portland's Doug Fir Lounge, and may reunite annually, KMRIA don't plan to gig often. "It's definitely not going to be a regular band, because everyone involved is already in other bands, and really busy."

For many indie kids in the 1980s, the Pogues were a gateway into traditional Irish music, shocking proof that—in the right, drunken hands—pennywhistles, accordions, and ancient shanties could rock harder than any punk anthem. But Conlee had the opposite experience, working backward from jigs to slam dancing. "I already loved Celtic and Irish music before I was first exposed to the Pogues, back in high school," she confesses. "I was more intrigued that you could do all that in a rock band."

Conlee reveals that KMRIA got help learning their set list—which draws exclusively on the Shane McGowan years (i.e., from the 1984 debut Red Roses for Me through 1990's Hell's Ditch)—from original Pogues accordion player James Fearnley. "He's a big Decemberists fan," and introduced himself at a Los Angeles gig last year.

"I heartily subscribe to this effort," writes Fearnley of his endorsement. "Why, I even gave Funk and Conlee directions how to play the impossibly arcane middle section of 'Bottle of Smoke,' which neither [guitarist] Jem (who wrote the damn middle section) nor [banjo player] Terry Woods (who never plays the same thing twice) can actually get through without extemporizing. Neither can I, truth be told. But at least I know how it's supposed to go."

One thing Conlee says KMRIA probably won't recreate perfectly are the Pogues' chaotic, inebriated, and often bloody stage antics. "I'm not sure how crazy we're going to be live. It's hard enough to remember all the tunes and play them well. And since we don't know the material as well as the Pogues did, I don't think we're going to be able to get that drunk."

kurt@thestranger.com

[DzM]

"I heartily subscribe to this effort," writes Fearnley of his endorsement. "Why, I even gave Funk and Conlee directions how to play the impossibly arcane middle section of 'Bottle of Smoke,' which neither [guitarist] Jem (who wrote the damn middle section) nor [banjo player] Terry Woods (who never plays the same thing twice) can actually get through without extemporizing. Neither can I, truth be told. But at least I know how it's supposed to go."

Hey! That's from Medusa! Hi interns!

[CraigBatty]

Jaysus Q. Buddh-on-a-stick, I'd pay good counterfeit to hear that!

[MacRua]

Sound Check
The Oregonian
Friday, March 17, 2006
By SCOTT D LEWIS
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<blockquote>FAUX POGUES -- If imitation is the highest form of flattery, then Shane MacGowan is going to reel in the kudos Friday night.

Two St. Patrick's Day celebratory shows honor the notorious singer of Irish folk-punk band the Pogues -- one silly, the other serious.

The White Eagle Saloon is putting on a St. Patrick's Anti-Amateur Night show featuring three questionably Blarney-based bands, ending with Scotland Barr and the Slow Drags. Well, Scotland is close enough to Ireland to count for Portland, right?

The Pogues part of the performance will be saved for the end, when there will be a sing-along complete with clogging and an appearance by one Sham MacGowan.

While the real MacGowan might get a cackle out of that, he would be just as likely to plunk his cigarette into his pint of vermouth and go knock out a few of the imposter's teeth to give him greater authenticity.

A more honoring tribute to the band's musical legacy will unfold at the Doug Fir Lounge, where an all-star cast of Portland musicians takes the stage as KMRIA, an acronym for a flippant phrase from James Joyce's "Ulysses," later rolled into the Pogues' "Transmetropolitan."

The idea for a Pogues tribute started as a bit of a lark, says Ezra Holbrook, who will share guitar and MacGowan vocal duties with Casey Neill, an accomplished Portland troubadour with a Celtic musical heart.

"Jennie Conlee (the Decemberists' accordion/piano player) and I cooked up the idea a couple of years ago," Holbrook says before a KMRIA practice session. "It was mostly in jest, to be honest, and I didn't think it would ever happen. But the Decemberists have finally taken a break, and Jen suggested that we do it since everyone was around. Jen and I sat down and decided who we should have and we got everyone we wanted to be in the band."

KMRIA also includes multi-instrumentalist Chris Funk (Decemberists), upright bass player Jesse Emerson (Amelia), drummer Derek Brown (Fernando) and Hanz Araki (Whyos) handling flutes and whistles.

"Casey is well-traveled in the Irish circles, and Hanz is an accomplished Irish musician. We got them for credibility purposes, basically," Holbrook says jokingly.

But credibility and authenticity are exactly what KMRIA is going for.

The members have dissected the Pogues' weighty catalog and even studied concert films to master nuances. While many view the Pogues as simply a rowdy pub-party band and think first of MacGowan's epic alcoholism, dental crisis and generally bawdy behavior, studying their music and the man just increased the level of respect and awe.

"What's been really interesting is learning the stuff and seeing the influences of Middle Eastern music, Latin music and other ethnic traditions they incorporated," Neill says. "There are a lot in intricate parts and different breaks, especially for the accordion, banjo and whistle, that everyone had to learn. The lyrics are pretty amazing as well. So often the Pogues are thought of as this Paddy's Day drinking band, when many elements of it are a lot more complicated and a lot more interesting than that.

"The songs incorporate a lot of Irish mythology and elements of London in the late '70s and all kinds of literary references. It's all buried in there, and then he's just spitting out these lyrics. To learn them all and get the timing down has been a real challenge for me."

Holbrook, who holds the Pogues' 1988 "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" album as one of his all-time favorites, feels challenged as well.

"Shane has a pretty deep voice and I don't, so that is going to be difficult," Holbrook says, noting that he and Neill will not be affecting Irish accents. "Sometimes I'm lucky just to get through the song and just getting all the words out. It's a lot of verbiage to spew out, and I still want to be able to perform, too."

Of course, you couldn't have a Pogues tribute without a nip. But since Magners Irish cider is not sold in Oregon, as Neill bemoans, he and Holbrook have tequila in mind.

"I know it isn't exactly a Pogues thing," Holbrook says. "But then again, they have got the whole kind of weird Irish-Mexican-fiesta thing going on, so I'm thinking that a couple shots of tequila won't be out of the question."

Scott D. Lewis is a Portland freelance writer. </blockquote>

[Nate]

Should be good - venue is 21+, sadly