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What a band! what a gig! The Pogues performance in the Point Dublin, last night definitely goes down as one of the gigs of the year if not the best.

From the word go, no one was going to be disappointed by the show the Pogues were going to put on.

Proving what a legend of a band they were/are they lashed through all their classic recordings determined to give the crowd what they wanted

Streams of Whiskey, If I Should Fall From Grace, Boys From The County Hell, Broad Majestic Shannon, Young Ned of the Hill, Turkish Song of the Damned, Rainy Night in Soho, Rain Street, Medley, I'm a Man You Dont Meet Every Day, Pair of Brown Eyes, Old Main Drag, Thousands are Sailing, Body of an American,Lullaby of London, Dirty Old Town, Sick Bed of Cuchulainn, provided the main part of the set

McGowan was in top form riding the chants of 'shano' like the legend he is , irreverent as always, non plussed to the recent ridiculous no smoking laws of Ireland.

His voice was as good as it ever was snarling out the tunes where required, yet still able to capture the poetry that is 'A pair of brown eyes' and 'The old Main drag'

Cait O Riordan provided the required perfection for ' A Man You don't meet everyday. It was only a shame that 'Haunted' didnt get a look in, though she did nowt but justice to 'fairytale'.

Jem Finer and the other members of the band kept the humour upbeat as slags were thrown around the stage,and the tunes were belted out with conviction almost seamlessly.

The band played 2 encores breaking them up nicely by bringing Ronnie Drew on to guest on 'the Irish Rover' and playing tunes like 'yeah yeah yeah', and the singalong 'Dirty ol' Town' before wrapping the show up with not just Fairy tale but 'Fiesta' to fully cap it all off.

Their work was done, the Pogues had darn right managed to bring 10,000 people together as arms were wrapped around fellow party folk, hands in the air from front to back as people in the stands forgot their seats.

Is there more to be expected from the Pogues? Their performance last night proved they are very much relevant and are no less inspirational as ever they were. The Pogues are here to stay! Long live the Pogues!

[petra]

Thanks 'guest' for saying that sweet thing about my review, made my day and made me squeek - and thats always a good thing!
merry christmas
xxxxx

[Frame]

The show in Dublin was absolutely their best. Right before "Old Main Drag", Andrew Rankin left the stage to go to the bathroom. Betwenn the break, Shane broke into " The 18th of November" and it was fuckin brilliant.

[Kieran]

Wow !! Fuck me !! Went straight from the pogues to xmas eve drinking. Just sobering up now. I noticed a few changes in the order early on in the set with the "Turkish song ..." before "...Ned ..." and "Tuesday.." before "Rain st." I lost all track after that. I saw Nirvana in the same venue in 1992 and there is no way that the mosh pit was as rough. I'm 32 and was so proud that I stood my ground until "Body ..." and dived back in for the encores. I too fell in love with Cait, what a babe and man she really lit up the stage. MacGowan was amazing. I was delighted that he stayed on for "I'm a man .." with Cait and that he sang his part in "The recuiting sergeant" which he used to let Terry do in the old days near the end. I thought it was very funny when he balanced a pint glass on his head during "... Brown eyes". "The boys of Kilmichael" before "....Drag" was a real treat. When he flicked his hair on the "they ruined my good looks" part of "... Drag" was priceless. Ronnie was a nice treat if not a surprise. I never liked "Yeah yeah fucking yeah" but looking at the stage and seeing Cait, Shane & Spider all singing the "I love you baby" bit I had tears streaming down my face !! It was great to see Cait finally singing the "fairytale" which her old mate Shane wrote for her. What a night !!! K

[Maija]

'k, haven't posted anything in this thread yet, due to first being absolutely knackered, then to the thingie called Christmas and general feeling of "Shit! Why didn't I order tickets for TWO shows? How could I even begin to think that once was enough?" Then again, I'm not sure I could've handled two shows, at least not in front row.

It was bloody brilliant. Absolutely crazy. My daughter and I just discussed it and reached the conclusion that my legs look like I have been rolling in blueberry bushes. I'm still not able to sleep on my tummy, but nevermind. It was fantastic. I have wanted to see the Pogues live for 15 years, managed once, but with Spider on vocals and a less interesting setlist than this one. I mean, wow! most of the songs were picked out from my three fave albums, and I got a couple of Terry Woods songs too (must admit to having a weak spot for mr Woods and his songs). I was amazed to see mr Chevron bouncing around like rubber ball, the last time I saw him he was sat down the entire gig (in Nürnberg this summer), so I was anticipating the same again, but no - the man is a rubber plum, and when his tears started rolling during Fairytale, I got a lump in my throat too. James Fearnley - another great showman. Dunno if I've mentioned it here, but he made a "snow" angel right in front of me, that was the sweetest thing I've seen as of lately; and he kept playing whilst making it.

Although having heard "The star of the County Down" from the man with the purrdiest voice ever (Ralf Albers, Fiddler's Green), Andrew Ranken's rendition of it was just simply better. Not because of his voice, not because of the alcohol (I'd had none) - simply because of the magic. There was magic in the air (who'd been dipping them "snowflakes"?). In fact, most of the band seemed to be in a playful mood, joking around and (especially mr Woods) grinning like the cat from Alice in Wonderland.

So what to say about Shane that hasn't already been said? It was great to see him, but it still makes me sad. I do feel pity for him, and maybe I shouldn't - god knows. Maybe it's 70% an act, 30% him, but that one time during the concert when he was sitting down on the edge of his chair, bottle in one hand, mic in the other, unable to focus with his eyes, gazing into nothingness and looking like a 5-year-old whose parents have forgotten to pick him up from school - gives me the shivers.

I might be biased (ha ha ha), I might be blind, I might've been too overwhelmed of the moment (and constantly being squashed against the fence) - but this is the fecking best concert I've been to.

Not that I'd mind trying to see if they could top it next year or whenever they feel up to it

The only thing that was missing afterwards, was having a chat with one or two of them. I know it probably wouldn't have been possible anyway, with god knows how many people in Brixton, but I would have liked to be able to just say thanks. We waited around for a while (bands always come out after a gig in Germany), but then found our way back to the tube.

High points of the evening: Young Ned of the Hill, Recruiting Sargeant, Thousands are Sailing, Fairytale ('f course), Bottle of Smoke, Star of the County Down, Turkish Song of the Damned and of course Cait O'Riordan's guest performances. Interesting dance moves - she's still a punk at heart!

[Zuzana]

New pics from London andDublin at Filmmagic.com

[Hellbeard]

New pics from London andDublin at Filmmagic.com

Is there anyone here that got an account on that site.. im sick of watching the thumbnails of what seems to be great photos. The bastards won't reply to my mail about an account.

[blakemoreln]

Thank you for your wonderful review. My son and I traveled from California to the 21st show in Brixton, and it was fantastic. You got it right-joy, flying jigs, and bliss. I couldn't say it any better. These are songs (and moments) that are in your heart, blood, and soul. Hard to explain, perhaps, but you did a nice job. My son is 13, and during the show I couldn't help but think that we will always have this night. I still find myself thinking about it almost a week later. We were in the first row of the circle, and had a great view of the crowd below us, as well as looking at the crowd above us, who were all on their feet dancing during the encores. Joy, indeed!

I had a thought during the long flight home-I hope Shane and the boys know how happy I'd assume all of us were during those two hours. Thanks to everyone involved on that wonderful night...

[Guest]

Petra.

Nollaig Shona, gra agus sonas.
Your sentiments are just and true, and may you be blessed this christmas time and adorned for your achievements in the coming new year.
I could'nt agree more with the sentiments set out in your recent review.

I'm sure that I and many would hope that we'd like to be returning when we can to the greatsest litlle boozer and to Shane McGowan
Pol ONuallain

Thank you Pol for that and bless you too
Petra

[Guest]

Thanks to you too blakemoreln for your message, wow! flying in from the west coast is a long way to come, but hey i can understand that and glad to hear it was a worthwhile and enjoyable trip for you and your son, hope that your christmas continues in a magical way
Petra

[Kramer]

I came all the way from Ohio for this show and let me tell you it was worth every penny of the $1000 it took me to get to it. I've been waiting 18 years to see The Pogues and I wasn't going to let anything stop me from getting into this show. Thanks to some lads at a pub down the street from the Point, we managed to score some ground seats for no more than face value and then managed to get pit passes. At 6:00, we had no tickets, by 7:30, we were in the front row. Bless all of you who helped us. I've been to over 200 concerts in America and nothing compared to turning around from the front row and seeing the Point packed to the brim. The music was nothing short of brilliant. They played almost every song I wanted to hear. I don't think I could have written a better set list myself. Thousands Are Sailing brought tears to my eyes thinking about a grandfather I never met who left Ireland 80 years ago to settle in America so that someday, his family could have a better life. And I'll never forget the most beautiful Irish lass I've ever seen who smiled at me as I sang along to Rain St. What a truly amazing show. I'm glad to see Shane made it this far. I hope this isn't the last we hear from The Pogues. That would be a shame. Thank you, Ireland. I had a great time.

[MacRua]

www.shanemacgowan.com:
Pics of Pogues ReUnion have been added (Point, Dublin)

[diadomraz]

I travelled all the way from Bulgaria to Dublin just to see the show and beleive me it was worth it. It was the best Christmas present I've ever made myself.

[firehazard]

Coming back to this thread a bit late, but one week on from Brixton I'm still buzzing. Petra's review is absolutely right. I've been to a lot of gigs this year, but this one was different, amazing, life-affirming. We'd never seen the Pogues live before, though I've been listening to them since they began, and my kids since they were tiny. It was worth all the effort, the pain, the bruises, the expense. Can't wait till the next time.

[Zuzana]

More pics from Dublin added to shanemacgowan.com