The Pogues @ Showbox, Seattle - 17&18 Oct 2007

[Cdn Steve]

Well - I'm just getting back to normal, after a couple of days in the dark with a WTF!? headache and flu-like symptoms. Nasty, but thankfully, temporary.
I dragged some new Pogues fans down from BC for the Wed night show. They were amazed at the energy and size of the crowd.
William Elliott Whitmore gave a great performance - and did a few new numbers, including the crowd-pleaser "Johnny Law". He heard my request for "Lee County Flood", and did a wicked rendition for his final song. The combination of his voice and the way he plays that banjo gives me chills. There were a lot of people near me at the front who hadn't heard him before, and they were most impressed. Will had the crowd hooked from the first song, which was done a capella, and was a new one that I don't know the name of. "Digging My Grave" was introduced as a 'song about killing yourself very slowly, with alcohol', and was delivered with a vengeance.
A great opener for the Pogues, and Will - get yourself up to Vancouver when you can.
The lights went down, 'Straight to Hell' swelled up, and the main event began. The band sauntered out, took up their instruments and jammed along with the track for a few bars. Joey's flashlight led Shane out to a triumphant reception - and we were off!
'Streams of Whiskey" and 'If I Should Fall From Grace With God' is an amazing one-two punch of an opener, and the crowd was wound up even more. I was at the front of the crowd, in front of Terry and James, and it was a great place to watch the interplay between the band members. The new guitarist, James Walbourne, looked like he was having a great time as well. I roared along with Terry on the chorus of 'Young Ned of the Hill'. Someone mentioned in a previous post that "these are the songs that our sons' daughters' sons will be singing in 100 years". They are, indeed.
Both shows were fantastic. I can't remember all the highlights, but will spit them out here as they come to me. Shane donned a baseball cap that someone managed to throw right on to his mike stand, and he got so involved with trying it on during the instrumental break (was it Sayonara?), that when the time came for the next verse, he was stumped, and looked over for a nod from Terry when he hesitantly started singing.
The band had already started the count-in for another song, when Shane actually managed to fit in a joke - "What did Donald Duck get hooked on? - Quack! Ksh-shh shh shh!
I think it was Thursday night that Shane responded to a shout from the audience with "I fuck like I look. And I fuck like shit!"
The crowd was great, although a bit rough up front. I had a huge friendly drunk behind me who kept apologizing for bumping into me. No worries - that's rock'n' roll.
The shows were awesome, and I wish I had some more vacation time. I'll be there in spirit at The Fillmore tonight! I've seen The Pogues 8 times in the past 2 years, and as long as they continue to climb up on that stage, I'll be there as well.
Well - this post has gone on and on, and I've still got more. I'll post again with more recollections.
Cheers to neilinseattle - hope you've got your voice back soon, KathleenwithaK - enjoy the San Diego show!
LowD - nice to meet you, as well.
Hope to see you all again soon.

Trudi was rewarded by one of the bouncers for enduring the crush up front for two nights with this copy of the setlist after Thursday night's show!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bentleys/1677735741/

[neilinseattle]

It's been 3 days and I still don't have my bloody voice back!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Low D]

LowD - nice to meet you, as well.

nice to meet you as well, sir. funny to have to go all the way to seattle to do it. hey, they checked my i.d. this time - at the owl, at the gig, and at a place called "the whiskey bar". made darcie & i feel young again, lemme tell ya. fortunately, i did NOT leave home without it this time.

It's been 3 days and I still don't have my bloody voice back!!!!!!!!!!!!

go to chinatown & get yerself some "nin jiom" lozenges. or just make lots of honey, lemon & ginger tea. and shut up! that helps lots.

[cutters]

thanks Cdn Steve for filling us in on the rest of the joke -- all i picked up was the punchline. which reminds me, this morning it occurred to me that at some point at Thursday's show, Spider started talking about Shane's "penile gourd" ... i think it was the little percussion instrument he had.

LowD - it was great to hang with you guys at the O-n-T, and thanks for the Vancouver invitation--that's really nice. my email is coryjaya@yahoo.com.

[Esther]

William Elliott Whitmore gave a great performance - and did a few new numbers, including the crowd-pleaser "Johnny Law". He heard my request for "Lee County Flood", and did a wicked rendition for his final song. The combination of his voice and the way he plays that banjo gives me chills. There were a lot of people near me at the front who hadn't heard him before, and they were most impressed. Will had the crowd hooked from the first song, which was done a capella, and was a new one that I don't know the name of. "Digging My Grave" was introduced as a 'song about killing yourself very slowly, with alcohol', and was delivered with a vengeance.

Thanks, Cdn Steve, for including Will in your review!

[Patrick]

The shows sound great!!! We had tickets and were coming down from Vancouver on the Greyhound bus when the border guards dug up a 1970 pot bust ( half a dozen joints) and turned me away forever.
I hope the bus driver enjoyed the show.
Please, please, Pogues, come back to Vancouver!!! I was out of town when you played the Commodore Ballroom and I have never seen you. Please right this terrible wrong and travel north.
Love ya.

[Barnacle Brian]

The Pogues Live @ The Showbox SODO. 17th October, 2007, Seattle, Washington.

"A Rainy Night In SODO"

Flash back to 2001, when the news broke out of a Pogues Reunion Tour. Insanity is a word commonly used to describe the feeling worldwide. I seriously debate flying all the way to London just to see the band play live. (A few freinds made it) At the time, I simply could not afford the trip, so I nervously waited 5 years for the band to arrive on American shores. Again, I back out like a cheap stupid bastard. The tour is a success, and I punch myself for not attending. I then begin to hear rumors of a full blown West Coast Tour in 2007. I await the Portland billing...(And for reasons I cannot discuss) It falls through. Luckily for me, Seattle has confirmed two dates. I order my tickets and dance a drunken jig.

October 17th arrives. I get out of work early and haul ass north to Seattle. Prior arrangements have been made to meet up at a local pub called the Owl & Thistle. We arrive to a series of cheers. The good times are certainly here! (And as we all know, a Pogues gig isn't complete without a pre-gig pub-crawl.) After an hour or so, the pub is crawling with fellow Portlanders, and our cheery pals to the north, The Canadians. After a few pints are drowned, various footy chants are sprinkled among the Pogues faithful.By the time we're about to leave, full blown Portland Timbers chants echo across the pub. (WTF?) We also raise a pint to ailing Pogues guitarist Phil Chevron, who could not attend the tour due to his recovery from cancer. Like some sort of Celt-Punk roll call, I bump into various members of The McGillicuddy's, the Scurvy Bastards, The Dolomites/Rag & Bonemen, and even had a Wages Of Sin sighting!

Eventually, the pub empties out into the rainy streets of Seattle, it's the middle of Autumn, and a chill is in the air. This does nothing to dampen our spirits, because this crew of misfits are heading to The Showbox SODO to watch the Pogues! Somehow we cut the line and walk right in. The opening band is a guy named William Elliot Whitmore and he sounded great, I was too busy at the bar to get a good view.

Then it was time. Time for me to witness The Pogues for the first time ever. (Sure, I'd seen Shane & The Popes play before, but who am I kidding?) To be honest, I had pretty much written off Shane MacGowan a few years ago, so I wasn't expecting much. In fact, I was relieved just to see Ol' Snaggletooth up on stage. (It's the first night of the tour, mind you!) The band crashes into "Streams Of Whiskey" and a mad rush toward the front of the stage begins. The crowd is hungry. Considering this is the first time The Pogues have ever played Seattle, it seemed appropriate. Within seconds, the leather jackets, the skate punks, the paddycaps, the trads, and the skins, all came together to celebrate the night. Let's not forget some the older fans a bit further back with their offspring in tow. Showing the wee ones a night they'll never forget. You couldn't catch your breath before they steam right into "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" It's about this time everyone realized how good the band sounds. In fact, The Pogues sound fucking great. Not to mention, Shane, (who was currently sporting a classy tophat) who had not sounded this good in years! "Broad Majestic Shannon" "Turkish Song Of The Damned" Phil Chevron's smiling replacement, James Walbourne subbed in perfectly. By about the time "Young Ned Of The Hill" comes I simply lose the ability to properly review this show. There's too much to take in. All those years of wishing, and waiting, have arrived and my fucking god, they have arrived with a vengeance! Overwhelming is an understatement! I am willing to bet serious amounts of money that I had by far, the biggest smile in the entire place that night!

Here's the set list of the remainder of the show:

Pair Of Brown Eyes
Boys From The County Hell
Tuesday Morning
Kitty
Sayonara
Repeal Of the Licensing Laws
Sunnyside Of The Street
Body Of An American (Shane dedicating it to Kurt Cobain)
Lullaby Of London
Greenland Whale fishers
Dirty Old Town
Bottle Of Smoke
Sickbed Of Cuchulainn

Encore!

Sally MacLennane
Rainy Night In Soho
DOG

Second Encore!

Star Of The County Down (Andrew on vocals)
Poor Paddy
Fiesta (With Shane And Spider smashing beer trays over their heads!)

And that was that. After two hours, a long term goal was fufilled. I finally saw the Pogues, and again, they sounded fucking amazing. I honestly expected a half-arsed reunion gig, instead I received a full blown kick in the ass. There was a faint buzz in the air. Not only the fans, but also the band. Accomplishment comes to mind.

Again, I must admit, Overwhelming is an understatement.

Review By: Barnacle Brian (Still smiling)

[Zuzana]

The Stranger review has been updated with pics.

[Frame]

Just got back home. Nothing to add except Shane asking if Pearl Jam was playing the first night ( do I remember this correctly?) and the house spot lights being on between songs on the second night (again do I rememeber this correctly too?). Other than that , some RAT BASTARD kid stole my hat during Fiesta at the first show. It was from dear old Donegal and lent an internal sense of balance during turbulent spiritual episodes and/or weather. But hey, its gone, I got a few new hats in Seattle, other than that, everyone else I met was cool.

[Frame]

One more thing. No offense to the replacement guitarist who was good, but I kept looking for Phillip to clap at the front of the stage during Repeal.

[Eric V]

Other than that , some RAT BASTARD kid stole my hat during Fiesta at the first show.

Fucking hat thiefs!

Maybe it was best that Philip wasn't there.

[Boots]

Hey anybody know what color/kind of baseball cap Shane was wearing towards the end? Or have any pics of it?

[Frame]

I think it was purple but he came out wearing it and sunglasses and said something that was probably pretty funny if you could understand it.

[Guest]

Yie... my only lament is that my scarf got forgotten onstage... love in every stitch, too
But still... fantastic show on the 18th

[Simon Maguire]

Nice that they deadicated Body Of An American to Kurt.

I hope Fairytale makes the set at the Christmas shows.