-Thisislondon: Brixton review

[Zuzana]

Shane MacGowan's fall from grace

John Aizlewood, Evening Standard
19.12.08
thisislondon.co.uk
Section: Music

Full URL (with a pic)

The Pogues
Carling Academy Brixton
Stockwell Road, SW9 9SL

John Aizlewood's rating: two stars out of five
Reader rating: four stars out of five

Now in its sixth year, the Pogues’ Christmas tour is undeniably part of the festive fabric. That last night was the first of three Academy shows suggests genuine public demand means we’ll meet again same time, presumably same place next year.

Joy of joys, seven of them were on sterling form, rolling back the years and replaying their youth, be it James Fearnley, the remarkably spry accordionist, or Spider Stacy whose tin whistle could bring the comatose out of a coma.

Alas, the eighth Pogue was Shane MacGowan. Now, I know it’s a miracle he’s actually here, I know he’s one of the most poetic lyricists of the late 20th Century, etc etc, but he’s become a bore.

Watching him oafishly slur away his legacy and casually desecrate his own beautiful creations as he has done in the 20 years since the third Pogues album, If I Should Fall From Grace With God, is no longer sad or tragic, it’s pathetic.

Ewan MacColl’s Dirty Old Town and MacGowan’s masterpiece Rainy Night In Soho survived intact, simply because he was outsung by a crowd not entirely composed of teetotallers.

Astonishingly indulgent, they applauded him whenever he put a bottle on his head (it always fell off) and whenever he muttered something unintelligible between songs, although, frankly, you’d get more sense out of a pint of Guinness.

At one point I couldn’t tell whether he was attempting Sayonara or Sunnyside Of The Street, he seemed unfamiliar with his own Sally MacLennane and when the feisty Anna Finer (daughter of Pogue Jem) joined him for the still stunning Fairytale Of New York, he couldn’t be bothered to get even the call-and-response right and, as the fake Christmas snow descended disconsolately, the night was lost.

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© 2008 Associated Newspapers Limited

[IrishRover]

and thois shoiuld be a revoiew ? poiseur's revoiew surely..
the oinly pathetoic & boire thoing ois the very poiseur authoir of thois surface crap moixture of woirds
oi mean, even oif thois co called joiurnaloist woiuld loive foir 1000 years he woiuldn't match noit 1% of Shaneo's essence.

Put me in charge I'd execute the Artistic Queers
And all the fuckin' bastards that drink trendy Irish beers
My death squads would be kids from flats
All high from sniffing glue
I'd use them to kill rich Brits
and the journalistic whores

[dave 81]

"feisty Anna Finer"

[DzM]

I disagree with this review.

No doubt. Some people's expectations for a Pogues show (or a Shane show in general) are wildly wide of the mark.

Still, it's nice that Philip and Anna evidently made it to this show.

[James]

and thois shoiuld be a revoiew ? poiseur's revoiew surely..
the oinly pathetoic & boire thoing ois the very poiseur authoir of thois surface crap moixture of woirds
oi mean, even oif thois co called joiurnaloist woiuld loive foir 1000 years he woiuldn't match noit 1% of Shaneo's essence.

Put me in charge I'd execute the Artistic Queers
And all the fuckin' bastards that drink trendy Irish beers
My death squads would be kids from flats
All high from sniffing glue
I'd use them to kill rich Brits
and the journalistic whores

The lyric's Hasidic Jews, mate. To rhyme with glue, I guess

[Fionn MacCool]

Journos need to stay the fuck away from these gigs and stop taking up the tickets for proper fans. The band were fantastic. Shane is part of that band. Absolutely brilliant and 100% appreciated by the people that matter, the fans.

[IrishRover]

The lyric's Hasidic Jews, mate. To rhyme with glue, I guess

oi knoiw oit ois, Hasoidoic Jews oindeed goies oin the soingoin', but under oiffoicoial lyroics(shanemacgowan.com) oit says joiurnaloistoic whoires - whoich remoinded me of thois here goiven joiurnaloistoic koinda revoiew.

[James]

Good point, Oirish.

[Fr. McGreer]

I have to say this is a pretty fair review of the gig he saw. Same as the one for Manchester. The people i spoke to who were there said the very same. Shane was poor on Thursday, great on Friday.

IrishRover, were you there? No. Have you an unbiased view? No.
Shane is your hero and if they pushed him on stage in a wheelchair and he fucked up every song then vomited over the front of the stage (as i saw in Dublin with The Popes) you'd still say he was good.

TOSCS, your post was written whilst high on the euphoria of probably one of their greatest shows on Friday. It IS important what these Jurno's think and say. They can sway the floating voters.

He has good shows and bad ones. I only hope he's in good form on Monday as i'm bringing a mate with me to see them for the first time.

[fluke]

I've seen good ones and bad ones. I still love the man and love his music. The video's I've seen, though, suggest that it wasn't a good 'night'. I can't help thinking that I would wish better things for him.
And about the interview: I do understand why someone writes a review like that. For 'outsiders' I think it can not be understood why people buy tickets for this. I do.. !!!

[Fr. McGreer]

I've seen good ones and bad ones. I still love the man and love his music. The video's I've seen, though, suggest that it wasn't a good 'night'. I can't help thinking that I would wish better things for him.

That's exactly how i feel. Well said, Fluke.

The reviewer is there to do a job, he calls it as he sees it. If the reviews of a film are bad, i would be reluctant to go to the cinema to see it but would rent it on DVD and make my own mind up. But a film is not going to change, i see the same as the reviewer. If John Aizlewood of The Evening Standard had been sent on Friday night, we would be reading a great review.

[philipchevron]

I've seen good ones and bad ones. I still love the man and love his music. The video's I've seen, though, suggest that it wasn't a good 'night'. I can't help thinking that I would wish better things for him.

That's exactly how i feel. Well said, Fluke.

The reviewer is there to do a job, he calls it as he sees it. If the reviews of a film are bad, i would be reluctant to go to the cinema to see it but would rent it on DVD and make my own mind up. But a film is not going to change, i see the same as the reviewer. If John Aizlewood of The Evening Standard had been sent on Friday night, we would be reading a great review.

While there is certainly a degree of truth in this, surely a critic's greater obligation is to the bigger picture. A critic like Aizlewood appears to be quite a seasoned Pogues reviewer, if his links are any indication. In which case, the real story is not "what was MacGowan like tonight?" but rather "what sort of talent is it that can apparently give the worst and the best of performances in the same venue, separated only by 24 hours on the clock?" I'm not a critic and it doesn't especially bother me what they write about the Pogues anymore, but I if I were reviewing the Pogues on a fairly regular basis, I like to think I would have moved on from the Groundhog Day obligation of "the band was great, the singer was drunk, tears were shed for the Famine".

You get what you look for with a band like The Pogues. Within the space of a few minutes, Mac can frustrate you with his seemingly helpless performance of a rowdy old Pogues song he should know backwards (and appears to only know backwards), and then break your heart with the Johnny Cash-like purity of that night's "Rainy Night In Soho". I may be wrong, but I think that's kinda worth a few paragraphs in itself.

[Aine]

I If John Aizlewood of The Evening Standard had been sent on Friday night, we would be reading a great review.

While there is certainly a degree of truth in this, surely a critic's greater obligation is to the bigger picture. A critic like Aizlewood appears to be quite a seasoned Pogues reviewer, if his links are any indication. In which case, the real story is not "what was MacGowan like tonight?" but rather "what sort of talent is it that can apparently give the worst and the best of performances in the same venue, separated only by 24 hours on the clock?" I'm not a critic and it doesn't especially bother me what they write about the Pogues anymore, but I if I were reviewing the Pogues on a fairly regular basis, I like to think I would have moved on from the Groundhog Day obligation of "the band was great, the singer was drunk, tears were shed for the Famine".

You get what you look for with a band like The Pogues. Within the space of a few minutes, Mac can frustrate you with his seemingly helpless performance of a rowdy old Pogues song he should know backwards (and appears to only know backwards), and then break your heart with the Johnny Cash-like purity of that night's "Rainy Night In Soho". I may be wrong, but I think that's kinda worth a few paragraphs in itself.

Yes. I wonder whom these critics are writing to? Not to Pogues fans, who understand all Philip said above--but perhaps can't say it so well. The "Groundhog Day obligation" phrase is so apt. If the same old emphasis is to be put on Shane, it should be more than the same old stuff.

Why do critics seem to avoid mentioning--or mention so slightly--the rest of the band?

[Fr. McGreer]

Yes. I wonder whom these critics are writing to? Not to Pogues fans, who understand all Philip said above--but perhaps can't say it so well.

Yes, I thought my side of the debate was really strong until this Philip bloke chips in with his tuppence worth

Unfortunately, the readers that the review is aimed at will only have one question, it's one i get asked after every gig...
"Was the singer drunk onstage?" AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH !!!!!

But again, Philip is frustratingly well versed on the importance of Shane's sway from helplessness to show-stopping performance in a few minutes. I'll leave it at that.

Except to say i shall attempt a review of tomorrow's Dublin gig. Watch this space.....

[IrishRover]

IrishRover, were you there? No. Have you an unbiased view? No.
Shane is your hero and if they pushed him on stage in a wheelchair and he fucked up every song then vomited over the front of the stage (as i saw in Dublin with The Popes) you'd still say he was good.

no, but ye can't oimagoine hoiw much oi woish oi was.
oi sadly wasn't goifted woith a blessoin' to be boirn oin the free woirld and go where oi woish to be ! so, even moire a reasoin to be doisgusted whoile readoin' the revoiew of thois so called joiurnaloist.. beeoin' at Pogues goig ois an hoinoiur, beeoin' cloise to essence, attoitude, Shaneo, punk, sharoin' the energy ! tois' soimethoing many woill never understand oin essence terms ! puttoin' the grand poicture ointo soime "expected qualoity management" ois utter bullshoit .. goig means loive stuff, captured moiments, oif Shaneo's drunk, throilled oir sad, maybe he wants to skoip half of the song cause he feels loike that, oir he moixes up the verses, maybe he doiesn't wanna soing soime song people expect hem to do that very evenoing... tois' noit underperfoirmance, tois' genuoine expression & Shaneo's punk rocker woith everythoing that thois means ! Shaneo broings essence to loife, twas' hes musoic that actually broiught me oin the essence paddy punk rock roiad.. leavoin' the poiseur's paths, and oi knoiw to apprecoiate oit, hes loike me spoiroitual father Talkoin' of Popes goigs, oi've seen soime voideos, hes noit gooid, hes broilloiant ! Drunk, yeah, oinspoired, yeah.. whoile soime froim the croiwd shoiut "thois ois boilloicks"... oi, oi enjoiy watchoin' every boit of the rockoin'. Shaneo was oin the stage oin a wheelchaoir, Pogues goigs as far as oi knoiw, noithoin' wroing woith that, further moire twas' surely unoique oiverall feel of the stage.

surely a critic's greater obligation is to the bigger picture.

very noicely put Philip;