Thu Mar 12, 2009 5:59 am
Well we made it back from Atlanta last night but had to fly from Minneapolis to Aberdeen twice. The first flight just circled home than had to return to Minneapolis due to low visibility. Now that I am somewhat caught up on work I thought I would jot down a few memories from the show in Atlanta.
We walked over to the venue about 5 minutes before they opened the doors and the line was wrapped around the block. There must have been 200-300 people in line ahead of us so I was surprised that we were able to grab a spot on the rail between Terry’s and Philip’s mic stands. The Tabernacle was a cool venue and I spent a lot of time gazing around at the décor. Meowhouse stopped by for a chat (great to formally meet you by the way) and snapped a couple of photos of my wife and I. I scanned the folks filling in behind us to try and gage the mosh pit potential and noticed one tall wide guy wearing a black t-shirt with a large white fist and the words “the black man is keeping me down” and a couple of other ominous looking characters nearby.
I enjoyed Dan Sartain, the support act, far more than I thought I would based on the songs I had a chance to hear on his MySpace page. I guess rockabilly would be the best description. It was great to hear The Call Up during the intermission and when Straight to Hell started, as usual, the goose bumps came out.
Jem was wearing a snazzy red suit (must be the new suit Philip mentioned earlier on another thread) and Philip looked dapper as ever in a silver (or would you call it shiny gray) suit. I think it was the same one he wore in Boston last year. Shane came out all dressed in black and I turned to my wife and commented on how good he looked.
When the show started the crowd surged behind us and I got slammed into the railing fairly hard a couple of times during Streams and IISFFGWG. I turned back to look and saw more than one mosher who was taller than my 6’-3” and outweighed me by at least 100 pounds. When I looked at one of the guys directly behind my wife he said “don’t worry I’m protecting her”. Another guy hung on my back with a hand on each shoulder until I told him “I prefer to have my wife touch me like that”. My knee, elbow and back are still a little sore but I was surprised that I did not have any bruises the next day.
After the first couple of songs, James had a technical problem, I think he lost his earphones, and while he got put back together his shirt got hiked halfway up his back then secured out of place by his accordion straps. Philip got a little chuckle out of this and pointed it out to Terry. I think it was Spider who gave Philip a warm welcome back and the crowd cheered loudly in agreement.
I was really looking forward to seeing the show from this side of the stage, up close, as we sat front row on the other side of the stage in Boston last year. I am still blown away from watching Terry’s fingers dance during Bottle of Smoke and I had never noticed the little rainbow sticker on one of Philip’s guitars previously. Philip noticed us on the rail and gave us a big smile and wave. I honestly was not sure he would remember what we looked like as we have still not had the pleasure of a formal introduction.
What can I say about the show? Shane sounded great (I don’t recall any miscues) and the band ripped through the set list taking no hostages. 1000’s had to be the highlight for me this year with Bottle of Smoke a close second due to our proximity to Terry’s magic fingers. Usually it’s Rainy Night in Soho as I sway arm in arm with my wife (and last year the kids) but being pinned on the rail we had to break from tradition.
I am glad we did it this year, but I don’t see myself on the rail ever again as it is physically exhausting to brace against the crush of the crowd and very distracting when you have to be constantly aware of which way the crowd is pushing at every moment to avoid getting smashed into the rail, knocked down or losing your spot. The person on my right changed several times during the show as various people pushed their way in. The last girl had a life-sized plastic rooster that apparently attends all concerts with her. She kept looking at me like I was not a true fan because I was not singing along like she was, then she screamed a few lines of Sick Bed of Cuchulainn directly in my ear. After the song, I told her “thanks but I know the lyrics”. She and her pals were shouting out songs so I told her the rest of the set list. I could detect a little more respect as each song appeared just as I “predicted” and she was very polite as we chatted after the show.
When the boys came out for for the second encore Philip introduced everyone except for Andrew. He realized his error and moved to the mic but was too late as Shane was rambling incoherently by then. Andrew gave the girl with the bird on my right a shout out of "You have a nice cock" as he left the stage after Fiesta.
As the crowd started to exit, I headed toward the merchandise table to pick up one of the new shirts for myself and a friend, also our daughter Seattle requested a Pogues shirt (Jamaica requested we buy her a “stuffy-wuffy” during our trip). Well the selection was down from half a dozen or so that I noticed on the way in and the price went from $30 to $40 for the remaining 2 selections. There were also some nice black hooded sweatshirts for $50. Seattle ended up with a white medium sized baseball jersey style with black sleeves and the image from the box set complete with “Just Look Them Straight In The Eye And Say Pogue Mahone”.
After the show we had a nice visit with Darryl, Spider, Louise and Meowhouse. Darryl was kind enough to give me a copy of Surrounded By Mountains. I am always taken by the generous hospitality of a few of these band members to, by all rights, complete strangers. Thanks as always...
Last edited by
Clash Cadillac on Thu Mar 12, 2009 6:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
And I don't want no grave
Just throw my ashes in the field
And hope there's some soul left to save
W. E. Whitmore
My thoughts as to what he was doing.... GOING IN FOR A REFILL.... Why else would he carry his little blue cup with him everytime he went. I do know that when Shane spoke I could barely understand what he was saying.. BUT when he sang I got every word. The man is a miracle. I know that the show in Atlanta was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me and I am grateful to have been there. To those who had a wonderful time.. I am glad you did because I did. For those who didn't... Well that's your problem.
