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Location: NJ | I went to see the Pogues on Saturday at the borgata in Atlantic City. Great casino many hot young bims not the usual grandma with a cup of quarters crowd.
anyway the venue is spectacular, even though it was sold out there was plenty of room to move around and check out the show.
the saw doctors opened up and they are an irish band that plays on the typical buzz words and causes that get the Irish Americans in an uproar. Since I am not Irish and really have little interest in the causes, I miss a ton of the references and just enjoy the music. the band was tight but it sorta reminded me of a well rehearsed usa country band that knew how to push the crowd;'s buttons. I later realized that they used the electric guitar for what would traditionally be the fiddle parts and it wound up being "heavy metal Irish". Not my thing and about 10 db louder than it should have been, but a pretty cool show.
The Pogues broke up in 91 when Shane Macgowan left the band (to for the popes) but in 01 they got together and do these reunions. they did 11 dates on the east coast of the US apparently where there is a major Irish american fan base. The trick is always if shane will show up to the gig or not. He has a long history of drug abuse and alcohol problems but he is a great lyricist and song writer.
well the band took the stage and the mandola player went up to the mic and said "someone's missing" I figured that was it no Shane but then he staggered on stage in a sort of half ozzy and half homeless shuffle to the mic. I have to admit knowing he is one year younger than me makes me look like the picture of health.
well with shane on stage the band played almost 3 hours playing all the tunes you wanted to hear and then some. shane drank from a quart of johnnie walker black label and nearly finished the bottle by the time the 6th and final encore was finished.
shane's lyricts are rather cynical and I think their irony is lost on most of the crowd,.his voice suffered from the constant cigarette in his mouth and shots of whiskey. but it was great to finally see the pogues live. It is an experience that if you have the opportunity, you should not miss.
if you want to check out more about the pogues there is a great dvd biography of shane macgowan that is sometimes played on the sundance channel or you can rent it. check out the cd "if I should fall from grace with God" This punk Irish music sure made st patty's day for this non Irish listener. |
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Location: Tennessee | Good to hear the great review, Al. Always was a Pogues fan. My boys seem drawn to the Irish punk melancholy (my Mom was Irish) and have two current favs ... Flogging Molly, and The Dropkick Murphys. I'd like to think it was exposure to the Pogues early in their lives, but somehow I'm not sure anyones buying. The Macgowan biopic is really good. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Total Pogues Nut. I saw them in DC back in the 80's and was just blown away at their energy and the music was sick. I didn't know they were still knocking about. Great news, Al and very cool you caught them.
I saw the MacGowan bio...terrific |
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Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | I met up with some folks at the show that I have not seen for 20 years. they saw the Pogues in the 80's in Philly and told me that shane was really out of it back then...well he seemed out of it at the show. my friends thought they would see more younger people at the show and I just laughed. I said that is like saying you will see young kids at a sex pistols concert. I guess we don't want to admit we all grew older. One of the women there was someone that hung out with me and we went to shows together back in college. we started nameing off the bands and the list was staggering. ramones, b 52's, david johansen (before buster poindexter), elvis costello, kraftwerk, jonathan richman and the modern lovers, romantics, joe jackson, iggy pop, the cramps, the shirts, the shoes, X, Xtc, talking heads, john cale, lou reed, and on and on it read like a list of late seventies early 80's pop music LOL
back to the pogues
They scheduled 11 dates in the usa just enough so that they would not all start drinking and killing themselves at the end of the show.
It would have been a good show with out shane but with shane it was a great show.
btw the accordian player made playing accordian look cool. |
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Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Shane MacGowan
The Pogues
Al, that's a great list, I'll add the Ramones, Dire Straits, The Feelies, the Hooters, Warren Zevon, REM, Gaudalcanal Diary, The Smitherines yatta yatta yatta..... |
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Location: NJ | damn I forgot about the feelies the hooters zevon I can add captain beefheart, psychedelic furs, adam ant, and a few others to the list...but I just can't remember them |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Coming from Jersey you can't forget the Roches. And that other North Jersey guy whose real famous, but alot of people here seem not to like. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | I like him.
Nobody will ever convince me that "The Wild, The Innocenct and the E Street Suffle" and "Greetings from Asbury Park" weren't some of very best albums of their era and classics which stand the test of time.
(no matter what Cliff says) |
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Location: NJ | :D |
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Location: NJ | seeing bruce in the early days was like a religous experience but most of the stuff after born to run leaves me cold.
oh yeah local heros
robert hazard and the heros
quincy
kenn kweeder and the secret kids
the reds
alan mann band
I used to spend a ton of time in bars |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | I haven't thought about Robert Hazard & The Hero's since 1988!!..., I'm gonna dig up some of their stuff.
Robert Hazard Today
And then there's: Witness, Richard Bush, The Young Rumblers, Ruin..... |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Al, do you remember Emerald City on Rt70 in Cherry Hill?
Way back it used to be the Latin Casino.
I saw many of these acts at Blondies in Absecon too. |
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Location: NJ | Jeff
where do you think I saw most of those acts?
how about he hollaran plaza?
or alexanders in browns mills?
I saw john cale, nico, jorma kaukonen's white gland and a few other acts there.
man was that a long ride down 206 when you were plastered...LOL |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub |  |
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the pogues
