NYC night 1 (March 16)

**Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:37 pm**

Ive made it to 3 of the NYC dates thus far and Thursday had to be the worst night. Shane was f*ing up lyrics and unfortunately the vocals were so high in the mix that the garbled rant as all too obvious. After about 20 minutes into it though, I thought he sounded alright. Or it could have been the $7 Heinekens kicking in. (HIGHWAY ROBERRY! NOTHING ON TAP! AND LET'S NOT DISCUSS THE 1-DRINK PER CSR RULE!)

In my opinion he made up for it on St.Patricks Day; the band was flawless from the get go.

**Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:52 pm**

Let me reiterate however, it was a great night. Don't want to be a nitpicky bastard. I was singing along to every goddamn tune. Hopefully at some point in the future they'll make it out west. It was a pleasure to hear him do his impression of "Native New Yorker" (the disco song) as part of his stage banter.

**Mon Mar 20, 2006 1:18 am**

Did anyone notice that Spider seemed pissed at shane numerous times through the set?

**Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:05 am**

just walked back in the door from nyc SO TIRED will fill in later...went to connolys too packed didnt meet anyone after an hour and a half so I went next door to o lunneys lots better.... drank at least 14 guiness and had some jameson hell i was triple fisting it at the show got my 1 in line and two from the walk about waitress took some pics after deveoplment i will post them THANKS PHILLIP AND BAND I THOUGH THURS WAS GREAT start to finish..period...... everything I could have asked for and more...time to sleep

**Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:57 pm**

Took too long to get to this, but needed a few days to come to grips with what I saw last Thursday. First of all, a huge thank-you to everyone, especially the Pogues obviously, who made a 20+ year dream come true. This band has been the most important musical adventure of my life, and to finally see, not just hear, those wonderful songs was so much better than I hoped it would be. I really hope to be able to do this again.

Should that occur however, there are a few things I will remember for the next time:

1.) I don't need to be front row centre. In a venue like the Nokia, there are a million places to properly view the band. Being that close was a great way to experience the crowd, but it can be a crap way to experience the band. Got to let go of that "closer is better" mentality.

2.) Pre-concert warm-up is a good thing - to a point. I arrived in NYC at four, met an old friend whom I hadn't seen in a few years, and hit Manhattan. By the time of the show, I had a full head of steam. I know I would have made better vantage point decisions if I wasn't drunk. And I certainly wouldn't have turned to the guy next to me when the band started "Pair of Brown Eyes" and said, "What song is this?" THAT was embarassing.

3.) Don't discount the warm-up acts. I managed to catch three or four Slackers' songs, and was impressed. From what I've read in these fora about William Elliot Whitmore, and have subsequently heard, I really blew it. Huge regret not seeing him. Too busy getting my game face on. (See 2, above.)

4.) If there's a chance that you can go to more than just the one show - take it! When I bought the tickets for the 16th, the 17th hadn't sold out, and I stupidly thought that I'd be satisfied with one show. Won't let that happen again, given the opportunity.

So, even though I've got a few regrets, I can still say I've seen the Pogues. And that's something, isn't it?

**Wed Mar 22, 2006 7:45 pm**

Great rundown, RunJohnRun, loved it.

**Wed Mar 22, 2006 8:15 pm**

Great post, run, hope you get to do it again too! As a matter of fact, think I'll take a crack at your "to remember" list, starting at the bottom.

4 - You know that expression "less is more"? It doesn't apply to Pogues shows. Go to as many as your energy and bank account will allow. No, wait - just go with your heart, you'll find a way to heal the bank account, and lord knows the shows will give you energy.

3 - William Whitmore was fantastic. I'm glad I got to see him and am just frustrated that I never managed to buy his CD. So it's true - you do risk missing something wonderful by skipping the opening act. Sometimes. I saw all the openers and would have only regretted not seeing him.

2 - Can't speak to this one, as I don't drink. I would just say this - you can always get shitfaced. You can't always see the Pogues.

1 - Oy, I would like to say something wise and mature here, but the sad truth is I'm still a sucker for the front row. I chalk it up to being short and near sighted, although I suppose a case can also be made for my stunning immaturity where these things are concerned.

**Wed Mar 22, 2006 8:38 pm**

Hey Sheva nice one :lol:

**Wed Mar 22, 2006 8:45 pm**

Thanks sheva

sheva wrote:1 - Oy, I would like to say something wise and mature here, but the sad truth is I'm still a sucker for the front row. I chalk it up to being short and near sighted, although I suppose a case can also be made for my stunning immaturity where these things are concerned.

The front row. Crunchy with the smooth I guess.

Smooth - Spider handed me a bottle of water.
Crunchy - I got bitten on the chest by a very tiny and very wasted girl. Which made for an interesting souvenir (bite-mark shaped bruise), but a lotta 'splainin' to me wife.

**Wed Mar 22, 2006 8:49 pm**

Yer wife's name's not Lucy is eet? :lol:

Great after-tale. 8.9 from this judge :lol:

**Wed Mar 22, 2006 10:46 pm**

sheva wrote:1 - Oy, I would like to say something wise and mature here, but the sad truth is I'm still a sucker for the front row. I chalk it up to being short and near sighted, although I suppose a case can also be made for my stunning immaturity where these things are concerned.

Some prefer pears, others prefer apples... can't compare the two

I prefer front row, but the hell if I'm freezing my arse off for 5 to 6 hours in a queue to acheive that.

And as for immature... we only live once! I don't care if it's considered immature or not. (But I draw the line at throwing pink teddybears - or bras - onstage!)

@runjohnnyrun: hope your wife didn't get too upset... At least it's a very original story. Hard to make up that kind of things *laughs*

**Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:09 pm**

Maija wrote:Some prefer pears, others prefer apples... can't compare the two I prefer front row, but the hell if I'm freezing my arse off for 5 to 6 hours in a queue to acheive that.

Well hell, who said anything about waiting in a freezing queue? I wouldn't do that either unless absolutely necessary; fortunately, it was not.

Didn't see any bears or bras thrown onstage (although as I mentioned in another thread, I did see the latter on the floor after the Saturday show), just lots of tee shirts, scarves, and a couple of notes.

**Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:17 pm**

Fortunately, the weather on the nights o' the DC gigs was very, very pleasant -- unseasonably so -- and several of us had carry-out Chinese food and decent conversation while standin' in line, so there was nothin' torturous about the wait.

**Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:19 am**

Philip,

I love the Pogues and I think you are great - 'Thousands are Sailing' is one of my all time favs, however, how about keeping politics off of the board?

People come to this board to talk about the Pogues, not to be subjected to your somewhat ignorant and (excuse me) dopey Euro Anti-American B.S.

The quickest way to kill intelligent discussion on any music related message board is to bring up irrelevant and divisive political discussion.

Best Wishes - Mark Higgins

philipchevron wrote:
Eamo wrote:
philipchevron wrote:Ah yes, would that be the same Bertie Ay-hern who pimped Ireland's precious neutrality to allow Dubya to use Shannon as a US Military Air Base??

Dat be him! Let me know next time you're in Shannon and I'll give you a lend of my hatchet!

I changed planes at Shannon en route to NYC last December and the place was absolutely SWARMING with US troops. Only 2 weeks ago, Dubya dropped in to say hi to "his" boys and gals on his way to India. This caused something of a diplomatic hiccup (heads of state do not simply just land in other territories without prior arrangement and planning) but revealed all we needed to know about Bush's view of both Shannon and of Irish Sovereignty. Ireland is also now complicit in Torture Rendition.

**Thu Mar 23, 2006 1:11 am**

sheva wrote:3 - William Whitmore was fantastic. I'm glad I got to see him and am just frustrated that I never managed to buy his CD.

Will's CDs are available from several sites, including the almighty Amazon.com. For a recording most like a live set, I recommend his limited edition EP, which was recorded in the hallway of Southern Records of London: untitled (Latitude series.) It is available from Southern in Europe.

MP3s, too: http://www.southern.com/southern/band/WILEW/. Look under 'catalog', then 'hear a song.'

NYC night 1 (March 16)

Philip Chevrons Comments

William Elliott Whitmore

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