LA - Club Nokia, October 17 - Well that was interesting...

[blakemoreln2]

I found the article, not horse races, but Shane going to the All Ireland hurling final..


http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/arou ... 79313.html

[Bottleofsmoke444]

Well there it was. Probably my last Pogues gig ever.

How can I explain what this band has meant to me over the years?? Probably can’t be done accurately in words, but here it goes.
It was 1985 and I was in high school in Orange County, CA….the music scene was in the throws of a massive decline with no real music of value…OC punk scene was in a full scale lull after western civilization and the Vandals, Circle Jerks, Dickies, etc… Wally George was also in decline on the tube. Had to wait a bit for Jane’s Addiction to explode and get things started again… the UK was also quiet with bands like the Pistols, Crass, etc.. about through and the Clash had gone stadium with U2 thinking about doing the same….it was indeed a time for recuperation from the decline of western civilization musically speaking. One day while trying to escape the pains of synthesizer pop music I wandered into the local Tower Records and found some dumb ass looking for real London band with an album entitled ‘Rum, Sodomy and the Lash.” I bought the album because they did a rendition of ‘Jessie James-’ no kidding- it appealed to my country and western and rockabilly roots. But, these guys then took my punk roots to a new level. I understood them. To the core, I understood them. Listening to this album launched me into 20 years of life changing circumstances.

I then purchased Red Roses for Me, which of course was a step backwards to the raw beginnings of it all before the great leap forward to transcendance. The music made sense and I fell in love with it as well as the bass player (it was hard to take when Elvis stole her). I listened to these albums and the subsequent releases religiously for about the next 10 years. They were all life changing and McGowan in my mind, and the minds of others, became the greatest living poet of the 20th century. And the band- if they were Roman instead of Londoners or Irish they could be called the most spectacular mixture of Apollonian and Dionysian cultural fusion this side of the Roman Circus Maximus. Let’s just call a spade a spade, the Pogues and Shane influenced a virtual empire of good music. These kinds of chops must have really spoiled life east of Tipperary or west of London however you want to look at it…so like others I was pretty upset when the band broke up. But to every cloud comes a silver lining and when Shane started hanging out with Johnny Depp in lipstick city- life had to be fun again. No wonder Jamie F. decided to stick around and raise what last night appeared to be his own family of Angels in the city of Angels….very cute hair bows girls! You should be very proud of all your good work Maestro- your moves with the accordion are now and always have been more rock star than anything David Lee Roth could ever conceive.

Since I am a LA native- back to the import stuff now- ME. From this auspicious birth into Poguetry I started a Celtic show on college radio. I soon got accepted to go to school in London. There I saw the band all over the UK concert circuit. Even got to hang out with the Dubliners at the Mean Fiddler (RIP Ronnie/ parting glass to Barney). Met Christy Moore and asked him once what the song Aisling meant…. he wasn’t too happy about that, mostly because I think he had no clue. I came home and saw some shows in the US. And just who could forget when the guys shut down the John Anson Ford, opened for Dylan, the Wiltern, HOB, etc…. you get the point when I tell you that the Club Nokia show was not my first Pogues/ Popes rodeo….I even named a dog Aisling once and she ended up being one of the best working Border Collie dogs in the country. Those Pogues dudes were a heavy influence in my life.

I live in the south-eastern US now, and I did not miss the opportunity to see the band when they came to Atlanta to play this March. Besides a few Brixton Academy shows this was the best show I ever saw the band do. It was fabulous and Shane was in rare form and the guys were incredible. But I must say last night at the Nokia, Shane was in a bad way and the first fall could be written off to accident. But when my man fell during Sunny of the Street it was no accident and even if the fall was hypothetically substance related- Shane dude you better get your nervous system and spinal column checked out, because literally you lost consciousness within a split second. Not once, not twice, but three times, within the span of like 10 or 15 minutes. Special thanks to Joey and Spider to package WHATEVER happened for mass consumption.

No matter how serious this incident was (for real Shane you better see a doc…), I will say that it was classic when Shane rolled to the ground and kept time while recovering consciousness during the lyrics to ‘Sunnyside of the Steet.” He kept up spectacularly while lying flat out on his back. Believe me when I say this- out of all the gigs, out of all the years, out of all the sweaty drunken mosh pits, out of all the tube rides, train rides, ferry rides, and carpools, out of all the caught A. Rankin drum sticks, out off all the drunken next day hangovers and less than perfect ten Pogues princesses, out of all the outside and inside of the venue yob fights, out of all the hours of listening to the cassettes, rare vinyl, and cd’s and all the live shows from Atlanta to Zurich...........................

................................ this had to be the most priceless moment ever.

To see Shane flat on his back belting the lyrics “…. stay right here on the Sunny Side of the Street….” while totally down and out. The devil exists because I saw him/her/it in a red dress in Cuba once, but also because he struck the Pogues front man down on the most relevant and positive of all Pogues lyrics. Finally, God exists because he/she/it convinced Spider Stacey that he could sing at all. We should all learn valuable lessons from these experiences.

I will not be reconstructed.

Unbelievable.

And when I go out, I’m going out the same way.

Fuck all.

Best hopes and prayers to Shane. May he find his heaven….whether it be here on earth, in the tent backstage, or in the next dimension. Wherever you end up my friend, the Bottle of Smoke is sure to come in, again, and again, and again…..Just don’t go down and out in lipstick city man at the Nokia, the place is seriously lacking soul….as homeboy Vin Scully would say in quoting Gertrude Stein (but Vin is diplomatic enough to throw the insult to Oakland instead of LA)….”There is no there there.” Especially at f-ing Club Nokia! Bukowski must be rolling in his grave- and Behan is probably right next to him. So especially to AIG- Lakers fans and Pogues fans should never have to mix company- perhaps even in the best of times- could have been the culture clash that put Shane under- FOR REAL! And to Phillip C.- rock on man with Thousands Are Sailing, that was the only thing in the universe that could possibly have appeased both Bukowski, Behan and probably even Vin Scully. And to Spider- until the next great Fiesta comes along, lend me $10 and I’ll drink yet another parting glass to Shane’s health....in the meantime you should run the United Nations with Bono. To Andrew- I’m moving to the County Down to find me that chick that you sung about man….that was the best thing I have ever heard since Shane teamed with Christy on Spancil Hill- seriously that was a real classic and it should be made standard operating procedure at all shows. And to Shane, WTF kind of sh*t do I have to smoke to ever understand what the lyrics to Aisling really mean anyway? In any case I don’t do drugs so maybe someone else can explain it to me? And to Bill G…I agree with you, Rainy Night in Soho did sound like a very serious, and from the soul of God’s own universe, g-o-o-d-b-y-e in a way that only Shane and the devil himself can really truly hope to understand.

As we used to say in ’85- later days and better ways dude…..or until the next wave comes in.

[MJ1]

Blimey! Good job you didn't see some of Shane's gigs with The Popes over the years!

[maureen]

Blimey! Good job you didn't see some of Shane's gigs with The Popes over the years!

[James]

And to Spider- until the next great Fiesta comes along, lend me $10 and I’ll drink yet another parting glass to Shane’s health....in the meantime you should run the United Nations with Bono. To Andrew- I’m moving to the County Down to find me that chick that you sung about man….that was the best thing I have ever heard since Shane teamed with Christy on Spancil Hill- seriously that was a real classic and it should be made standard operating procedure at all shows. And to Shane, WTF kind of sh*t do I have to smoke to ever understand what the lyrics to Aisling really mean anyway? In any case I don’t do drugs so maybe someone else can explain it to me?

You don't need to smoke anything to suss the lyrics out to Aisling. It's all there on the page.

[SkaPunkAndOtherJunk]

Thanks for the explanation Philip!Hopefully Shane recovers from being sick and getting his rest in between shows.

[Fr. McGreer]

Well there it was. Probably my last Pogues gig ever.

Blah blah blah....yadda yadda yadda.....

As we used to say in ’85- later days and better ways dude…..or until the next wave comes in.

As MJ1 said, good job you didn't see a Popes gig. I once saw Shane getting sick over the front row whilst sitting in a wheel chair with a broken ankle and trying to strangle himself with the mic cable at The Olympia in Dublin in 2003. I thought i'd seen the last of him then

And what about the performance at The Pinkpop back in the 90's. Who'd have thought 10 to 15, YES FIFTEEN fucking years later he'd still be having "off" nights, let alone alive?

[firehazard]

... I once saw Shane getting sick ...
And what about the performance at The Pinkpop back in the 90's. Who'd have thought 10 to 15, YES FIFTEEN fucking years later he'd still be having "off" nights, let alone alive?

How many times has Shane been "finished"? More times than any of us can remember.

He has "on" days and "off" days, as do all of us. We all get sick sometimes. But the longer Shane continues (and long may he continue to continue), the more convinced I am that he'll outlive me. I hope he will. In fact he'll probably outlive all of us.

[martie]

Ho yes i was at the pinkpop concert that time, working for a radio station.
So i was standing front-stage and thought well this is it, my hero is gonna die in front of my eyes.
Thought he looked terrible. Three hours later i saw him walking back stage with a gin tonic in hand, pff i was stunnend and happy.

[Ross]

It may be worth mentioning that Shane is still recovering from his recent bout of pneumonia, which accounts in part for his erratic performances last week. I have to be honest and say I'd rather he hadn't done Carnegie Hall in those circumstances but he did and there it is.

It certainly explains a lot. To me, he didn't look as much drunk, as he looked physically weak, tired. Watching him reach for the microphone, and then when he fell, it was clear that his strength had left him. It wouldn't have shocked me to hear that he had the flu or something similar.

The problem is that Shane's legend outstrips all reason. Everyone just assumes and expects him to be drunk. It reminds me of the stories of former Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray, who was known in his day to have a Bud or two, or five. As he got older, he drank less, but when he would make a mistake, people would still think he was drunk. When he came back after having a stroke, people *still* thought he was drunk. He wasn't, but people wanted to see him that way. The same seems true with Shane.

I appreciate you all coming back for the second encore, particularly in those circumstances. Still no complaints about the show from this fan.

[Kateheng]

I am surprised Shane had the strength and the willpower to go onstage! As an RN, I know that pneumonia can knock you out for months. Not only that, but the meds you take can make you drowsy. I hope Shane gets well soon. I don't like seeing him sick, I know he has such a big heart underneath underneath it all and I wish him all the best. Again, GUTSY to go onstage, I'd be at home whimpering...

Thank you Philip, I am glad that you informed us all. A new respect for the whole band (which is saying a lot cause I always respected all of you so much, again the Pogues are my favorite band ever, certainly the only one I would write on their web site).

Laura Kate

[philipchevron]

The problem is that Shane's legend outstrips all reason. Everyone just assumes and expects him to be drunk.

We all have our crosses to bear. That's his.

[blakemoreln2]

It certainly explains a lot. To me, he didn't look as much drunk, as he looked physically weak, tired.

I was on the right, kind of close to one of the monitors, and he really didn't look so good, no sparkle in the eye at all. Here's to feeling better and a successful rest of the tour..

[adamhunter]

Just returned to Troy, CANADA (near Toronto) this evening from L.A.

My wife and I traveled across the continent with family to see our Pogues. Now nearing our forties we've listened and been fans since high-school, So for whatever it may be worth from an unknown Canadian fan like myself.......To the ENTIRE band......the show was excellent! At this point seasoned Pogue fans know what your all about - being Great artists!! And what a pleasure it was to see everyone work together to provide such a great night!

To those of you complaining lets stop to think about how hard it is to tour - traveling, dealing with deadlines, being away from loved ones and so on. Instead of writing negative reviews on this website(which are certainly not warranted), why not simply try saying "thank you" for bringing us the music that we love!!!!

Again to the band, Thank you for making our trip so worthwhile! And we wish you safe travels on the rest of the tour.


Until the next show when you make us sing and dance,
Thank you
Adam and Susan Hunter.

[Shamus McMaster]

All the bollocks about the band dragging Shane around like a corpse for money is a farce. Shane needs/loves the money just the same as the rest of them. He's been the same human for years -- the man knows his limits. This is a non- issue.

PS.
Come to TORONTO. Our Dollar is on par with the US one...now is the time to come loot us.