The Pogues at Nokia Theater on 3/17/06

By: Dan Schultz

Shane MacGowan - Photo by Dan Schultz (see more photos from this show here)

A roar erupted from the crowd as The Clash's "Straight to Hell" started to play on the speakers in the Nokia Theater on Times Square, and many fans recognized it as the cue that their long-anticipated dream of seeing The Pogues play on St. Patrick's Day was one song away.

The convergence of many events and associations made this such an anticipated concert. The location, New York and Broadway Avenue, was the setting of the band's most popular song "Fairytale of New York,” a song about the immigrants’ experience in the mythic city. “In Ireland, you’re either dead or in America” lead singer Shane MacGowan has said, referring to everyone who left. The Pogues never gained widespread popularity here during the 80’s, but they’ve only become more influential since. They were the first to take Irish folk and play it with punk attitude and speed, using instruments like the accordion, mandolin, and a beer tray bashed against the head as occasional percussion. With lyrics focused on drinking, poverty, love, death, and more drinking, they could appeal to and offend anyone. Popular American acts like the Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly owe almost their entire sound to the Pogues; gypsy-punk band Gogol Bordello is the latest to follow their format. Traditional Irish folk was re-invigorated as well. Fellow Irishman Bob Geldoff has written that he couldn't listen to a great predecessor, The Dubliners, until the Pogues set the music free of old associations.

The crowd was mostly excited to see MacGowan re-teamed with the rest of the band. Other than their brilliantly obvious marriage of musical genres, the Pogues two main strengths have always been the musicianship of the band and the songwriting of MacGowan. These two elements split chaotically in 1991, and the parts were never quite the sum. Observers and fans morbidly awaited the death of MacGowan, who was widely assumed to be drinking himself in that direction, and odds of the band reuniting were given odds much worse than 20-fucking-5-to-1. So everyone was pleasantly surprised when the band played a reunion show in 2001 with the entire line-up. A couple Christmas tours of the U.K. and a trip to Japan followed. The legendarily unreliable and tour-hating MacGowan continued to show up reasonably on time, and was in better voice (though still unbelievably rough and garbled) than he’d been in years. The skepticism that accompanies reunion shows was abated, and shows in Boston, D.C. and New York were announced last October and quickly sold out. St. Patrick’s Day, the hottest ticket, was the second of four NYC shows at the plush new 2,100 seat Nokia Theater.

Despite all this pressure, the show itself seemed to meet everyone’s expectations. Playing to such a partisan crowd, it was difficult to distinguish crowd favorites. The show opened with “Streams of Whiskey,” an homage to writer Brendan Behan from their first album, and moved quickly through a list of defiant and sentimental favorites. “Body of an American” was a favorite for many, played long ago at another NYC gig on Saturday Night Live, the story of a bruising second-generation son returned to the Mother country:

And he never threw a fight
Unless the fight was right
So they sent him to the war

The whole thronging mosh-pit screamed along with the song’s refrain: “I'm a free born man of the USA!” The fans at the latest tours have been a solid mix of new and old. Some clung tenaciously up-front while others watched from the theater’s comfy chairs, taking it in like a wide-screen movie with excellent sound.

It’s difficult not to speculate about MacGowan’s appearance or lack of sobriety; everyone had a comment on it. It’s easy to be a bit saddened by fans cheering on his excesses. But it can at least be said that he is resolutely himself; frequent correlations to Keith Richards, a pretty boy by comparison, are inadequate. And it’s still worthwhile to hear him sing, if you know the words. Consider this lyric from the song “Sunnyside of the Street,” an average song on the Pogues' weakest album, played halfway through the show:

As my mother wept
It was then I swore
Just take my life
As I would a whore

Simple, timeless, and gut-turning. Friend and fellow-songwriter Nick Cave described his own lyrics as hopelessly contrived in comparison. There were no misses in the set list regardless of who was singing lead, whether it was Shane, penny whistle maestro Spider Stacy on “Tuesday Morning,” guitarist Philip Chevron on “Thousands are Sailing,” or drummer Andrew Ranken stepping forward for a cover of the old ballad “Star of the County Down.” The band sounded great throughout. Accordian player James Fearnley was on piano to open the most anticipated song of the night, the aforementioned “Fairytale of New York.” Nervous with the movie cameras nearby and perhaps caught in the moment like the rest of us, he miss-struck a couple keys to the song's intro. But the transcendent melody withstood, the flaw a highlight to the Platonic ideal already embedded in the minds of the audience. Banjo player Jem Finer’s daughter, Ella, sung the female part, sitting in for the late Kirsty MacColl. It was followed by the final encore, the raucous traditional closer “Fiesta,” with good-byes from Shane and Spider, who both lingered to get in the last word.

Fans afterwards were unusually subdued, claiming speechlessness and awe. Filing slowly out, the girl ahead of me text messaged someone: “one word, brilliant.”

Iowa native William Elliot Whitmore opened the night and was well received, playing the blues solo on a banjo. The Walkmen also opened, playing a tight short set of well-crafted alt-rock.

Set List

Streams of Whiskey
If I Should Fall from Grace with God
The Broad Majestic Shannon
Turkish Song of the Damned

Young Ned of the Hill
A Pair of Brown Eyes
Boys from the County Hell

White City
Tuesday Morning

Old Main Drag
Sayonara
Repeal of the Licensing Laws
Sunnyside of the Street
Body of an American
Lullaby of London

Thousands are Sailing
Dirty Old Town
Bottle of Smoke
Sickbed of Cuchulainn

Encore--

Sally MacLennane
Rainy Night in Soho
The Irish Rover

2nd Encore--

Star of the County Down
Fairytale of New York
Fiesta

Location Info: Nokia Theater
Artist Info: The Pogues, The Walkmen, William Elliot Whitmore

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