Chicago March 5th-6th 2007 - impressions, reviews, pics

[Lammyts1]

Was there any new merch offered at the second Chicago show? I saw a beer stein that I hadn't seen before but I didn't notice many new shirts. The merch counter guy seemed to elude to a shipment not arriving yet or something. Hopefully some of the new stuff will be left for purchase on cinderblock.com.

[OrionSafari]

The show was excellent - some surprises in the set list from the shows I saw last year - thanks for clearing up the lack of Fairytale, Phillip. We were wondering if Ella had taken ill - hope she does well on her exams As for the crowd last night, we were sitting in the balcony as befits our age and this gave us a good bird's eye view of the pit. The crowd seemed to get livelier as the show went on - from scattered attempts at moshing during Sunnyside to a climatic maelstrom of movement during Sally MacLennane. I wouldn't say the crowd was more energetic than the ATC or LA crowds I saw last year, but it was a different kind of energy - Chicago is not East Coast or West Coast and neither are Chicago fans. As someone who grew up in the midwest, this blue collar enthusiasm is a welcome trip down memory lane, reminding me of good times spent at minor league hockey games, crowded clubs, cold trains and and steaming hot dogs... The Pogues were in top form last night, I expected no less, but the reason I'd rate last night's show higher than the shows I saw last year are more personal. It was good to be back in Chicago, if only for a night.

As for the opening band, they seemed out of place. The young girl had a great voice but the songwriting seemed to suffer from a ghastly fear of anything melodic. While this may be keeping up with current trends (I honestly don't know these days) it seemed very out of place at a Pogues show.

I'm also curious as to the house music played between sets. Specifically the music with the prominent horn section. It sounded very similar to the Czech composer Goran Bregovic's work in the movie Underground (go rent this movie now, quite wasting time, just do it) but I could not be sure. Could someone help with this?

[OrionSafari]

Oh, one more thing:

Phillip, do you recall a lighthearted conversation on this forum about Colorado being too cold to play? Well it was over 50 degrees here in Colorado Springs when my flight landed this evening I was very happy to see the tour making roads inland a bit with the Chicago dates, I'm looking forward to seeing if this happens with the West Coast tour this fall. If you play Denver I'll have a chance to have seen the show in all four US continental time zones!

[runjohnnyrun]

As much as I loved the March 16/06 show at the Nokia in NYC, I thought last night's was even better. The sound was near perfect, the performances were amazing, and the crowd was "nicer." (I'm from Canada. These things are important.) And, despite many other comments to the contrary, I thought the Congress was a grand old place. Shabby to be sure, but a great venue nonetheless.

Phillip - very pleased to meet you. Thank you. Looking forward to seeing you in Canada at some point.

-Craig

[philipchevron]

I thought the Chicago audiences were pretty fantastic myself. And as for the Congress, I love old movie palaces and vaudeville houses like this. Better dilapidated and in use than derelict. The New Amsterdam Theatre in New York, one of the most beautiful in the world, was little more than an indoor cesspool for most of its life, and it was little short of miraculous that New 42nd Street/Disney Theatricals and the City of New York were able not only to save it but to restore it to the glory of its days as the home of the Ziegfeld Follies (approx 1903-1923).

The band too is wondering what the music is that Paul Scully plays in the interval. I will ask and report back.

Finally, I personally loved Girl In A Coma.

[Zuzana]

I'm also curious as to the house music played between sets. Specifically the music with the prominent horn section. It sounded very similar to the Czech composer Goran Bregovic's work in the movie Underground

I really wouldn't mind calling Bregovic my countryman as his music is great - but unfortunately, his home is a bit more to the south, in the Balkans.

[philipchevron]

Pogues deliver stirring kick to tradition

By Joshua Klein

ChicagoTribune

Published March 7, 2007

Full URL

Forget the Pixies, Police and even the Stooges: few foresaw a full-fledged Pogues reunion because few imagined frontman Shane MacGowan in a condition to rejoin anyone short of his maker. MacGowan, the hardest-living man in show business, spent many of his post-Pogues years in a haze of drink and drugs, so seeing him on stage at the Congress Theatre Monday night, surrounded by the classic line-up of his bandmates (no slouches themselves in the hard living department), was nothing short of a St. Patrick's Day miracle.

Listening to MacGowan sneer and snarl his way through Ewan MacColl's "Dirty Old Town" was a sharp reminder why so many in the folk community first bristled at the Pogues' early 1980s arrival. But like any number of bands who rock the boat, the Pogues have long since become standard-bearers in their own right. As the group careened through songs such as "Streams of Whiskey," "If I Should Fall From Grace with God," "The Body of an American" and "The Irish Rover," it was hard to hear them as anything less than classics themselves, traditional music for anyone raised on punk who had their horizons expanded by groups such as this one.

Besides, the Pogues were always more punk in spirit than execution, and the group's Monday night set (the first of two shows) underscored the importance of musicianship as well as attitude. Co-founder James Fearnley dug into his accordion like it was a more typical garage band accoutrement.

Most inspiring was how, battle scared and beaten-up, the Pogues still looked and played very much like a band. Yes, MacGowan and his brilliant lyrics were a vital component to the performance, as was his ragged appearance. But even he would likely be lost without a band as tight as the Pogues keeping him in line. If MacGowan is the band's resident genius, the other guys in the group can clearly hold their own ----------

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Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

[OrionSafari]

I'm also curious as to the house music played between sets. Specifically the music with the prominent horn section. It sounded very similar to the Czech composer Goran Bregovic's work in the movie Underground

I really wouldn't mind calling Bregovic my countryman as his music is great - but unfortunately, his home is a bit more to the south, in the Balkans.

Ah, my mistake then - the movie was certainly Czech though.

[Wes G]

The show blew me away! The setlist was amazing and with Kitty, Paddy, and Auld Triangle I was in awe not expecting it at all. The crowd I thought was very into what was going down. I was kind of pleased the fairytale was not played it beeing march and all. I went to the second Vegas show last year and thought it was amazing, but it was no comparison to the show we all saw on Monday night. I met some new friends at the show and ran into a few of them at the pub after the show. Territa had a great time hangin with you and your friends at Galway Pub. One hell of a trip.

[neilinseattle]

You're unlikely to find a more appreciative, hospitable, unpretentious and fun-loving group of music fans than those in the Windy City. Glad to hear everything went well!

[jeff bollmann]

Opening night in the Windy City was fabulous. Sound was perfect and The Congress fit the mood in my opinion. The boys were spot on and the setlist was great. First encore fantastic. Kitty, Lullaby and Thousands were stunning. We raised a glass to Shane and the boys and a dozen more besides, and the tears were shed long before we got back to our empty room ......

[Corey MacLennane]

Here's a link to the Chicago Tribune review...f

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertain ... &cset=true

edit: somehow I missed Phillip's printing of this review a couple of posts up. I apologize for being an idiot.

[Salom]

I went on the second night, admittedly, but I thought it wasteful to start an entirely new thread. I just wanted to say I had an absolutely amazing time at the show. I'm 17, so I thought I was born too late to ever see the Pogues live! Girl in a Coma were very groovy (and had a nice light show to boot), and the Pogues, of course, were awesome. Though all of the show was great, my favorite parts were probably "White City"-- made me remember the first time I'd ever heard of the Pogues, which was about four years ago when I happened to see an SNL rerun where they played it-- and when James and Philip stood on their respective sides' speakers to play.
Actually, could anyone tell me what song that happened for? I had a look at the setlist, and listened to the songs on iTunes that I thought might match up, but I just can't remember.

Anyway, to recap, great show, can't wait till (hopefully) next time!

-Salom

[Guest]

The March 5, 2007, show was excellent, and the band's musicianship,and Shane's singing was top-notch. I had last seen the Pogues play as a group in 1987 in Chicago, and the band was easily as good at this show. Hopefully, the band will come back soon to Chicago, when the weather is warmer!

[miked]

I think that this will be an easy question for you all:

Can anyone help me with the name of the song played each night right before they jumped on stage? It sounded like Joe Strummer...

Thanks!