The Pogues @ Roseland Ballroom, NYC
Live Reviews | Mar 18th, 2008
Opening Bands: Billy Bragg, William Elliott Whitmore
Date: March 13th 2009
Band Links: link
The Pogues returned to the East Coast this spring and I had no intention of skipping this tour. I was worried when they announced the dates that they would interfere with my Florida vacation but thankfully I made it home just in time to see this killer lineup. Before I even knew who the openers were, I bought tickets for the March 16th show. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that BOTH Billy Bragg and William Elliott Whitmore were opening. Talk about a perfect lineup for a show!
Instead of going to the show an hour beforehand and bitch about the traffic; my friends and I decided to take the train in and spend the day in Manhattan. I never do this so it was a new experience for me, a very tiring experience. I already pulled my hamstring down in Florida just from walking on the damn beach. But Sunday, I pretty much was on my feet for 8 hours. I’m seriously turning into an old man and I’m barely 30. My legs were definitely feeling it towards the end of the night. After eating at Connelly’s off Madison Ave, we briefly walked around Times Square, got annoyed by some beat boxer that was doing an awful job at doing the Super Mario Bros theme music. Of course I had to fuck with him and tell him he was doing it wrong. After that, we killed time in Central Park and then it was off to wait in line for an hour in the chilly weather.
Waiting on line took forever, as the line was getting harassed with some Muslim extremist and Stop-Loss street-teamers. If you happened to see a Stop-Loss sticker shaped as a penis on the ground; yes…that would be from my friend Frank! As everyone was getting inside the club, I was still waiting for the Pogues guestlist to show up so I had to wait in the lobby. Thankfully I didn’t have to wait too long. I meet up with my group and then William Elliott Whitmore graced the stage with his alternative bluegrass rock music…or whatever the hell you want to call it. William Elliott Whitmore came out and played a half hour set but sadly felt shorter than that. His style is really unique and he’s just amazing to hear live. His voice is so gravelly, and I never really dug his style of music until I saw him perform. The one song I did recognize that he played was “One Man’s Shame” off his latest album. I really dig that song. There were other songs I recognized from his albums but I really was just concentrating on taking photos of him. William Elliott Whitmore signed with Anti Records this month so I really hope he comes back to support his new album when it’s released. I’m sure many of the Pogues fans will be seeing him because he’s definitely a crowd favorite at the Pogues shows.
After William Elliott Whitmore, the place was absolutely packed like sardines and it was really hard to see the stage. I was getting so pissed off with tall people just shoving their way into the crowd and in my sight line, I had to just sit in the photo pit area for Billy to come up. I felt bad for my girlfriend who was shorter than me, and it was her first Pogues show too. I couldn’t believe how rude a lot of these people were. At one point, if I saw someone trying to weasel their way in front of me, I either moved up or threatened to knock their teeth out if they stood in front of me. It seemed to work for a little bit. I don’t know what it was, but that show made me wish I saw the band over in London instead because at least the audience over there is a lot more friendlier and aren’t a bunch of dickweeds.
Billy Bragg was playing only one Pogues show in the US and it happened to be at the show I was at. I couldn’t believe it when I heard it, I was so happy because I never saw Bragg before. I’ve been meaning to see him the last few times he was in New York but every time I tried to buy tickets, the show was sold out. He came out and address the crowd that he just came from SXSW and was a bit cranky on the flight. Bragg played an excellent set of favorites and new songs, and adding some hilarious commentary on NY Governor Spitzer, and playing Guitar Hero with his son. He played such songs like “To Have and To Have Not (first Bragg song I ever heard),” “Farm Boy” and “Old Clash Fan Fight Song.” The one song he kept ad-libbing to was “Waiting for the Great Leap Forward” and I thought that was the best song of the night. I knew a surprise was coming up since it’s been rumored that Kate Nash was gonna be at the Pogues show. The rumor was that she was going to play with the Pogues, but she ended up showing up with Billy Bragg. I thought she was adorable, and played the tin whistle out in public for the first time so that was interesting. Then she sang “New England” with Billy and I believe she played with him over in SXSW as well. Billy Bragg was great and I can’t wait for him to come back to NY (I think this summer?). Be sure to pick up his new album “Mr Love and Justice” because it’s awesome!
The final act was of course, the band everyone was there to see…THE POGUES! This was my 5th show in 3 years and been waiting for this one for a year. The previous 2 years I was over in London when I saw them live so I had to wait a whole year to see the Pogues again. In usual Pogues fashion, they didn’t exactly start on time that night and came on about 20 minutes late. Not sure why but I suspect it had to do with Shane because he seemed a little bit more inebriated than usual. The band opened up with “Streams of Whiskey” and after that the photographers were allowed into the photo pit. I was shooting pictures left and right, but kept getting discouraged because the Pogues lighting is always so dark. A lot of my photos came out dark and blurry, even when I spent thousands of dollars on new lenses. But I was happy to just to be there, and shooting the show thanks to Phil Chevron of the Pogues. I did manage to get some good photos out of the lot thankfully. I just wish I had my Nikon D300 already. Oh yeah, back to the music!
During “Turkish Song of the Damned,” Shane was spinning around as I was changing lenses, he took a tumble on the stage. I heard the crowd gasp and look around and see Spider helping him up, as Shane was smiling. So I knew he was okay, which is blessing considering what happened last year in Boston. I think with a few songs, Shane was rushing a lot of the singing verses and the band was trying to catch up with him. But for the most part, they were great! One important note to add is that this tour was the return of Phil Chevron, who has been conquering cancer. It was really great to see him singing “Thousands Are Sailing” and playing again!
They added a few songs I haven’t yet heard live yet like “Dark Streets of London,” “Greenland Whale Fisheries” and the newly added “Love You ‘Til The End.” I was happy to see that “Love You Til The End” had entered the setlist because I think the non-Shane albums are very under-appreciated & underrated as well. I would have loved to hear “Living In A World Without Her.” But I think “Love You..” has gained some more popularity because of that chick flick PS I Love You.
The band ended the set with the crowd favorite “Dirty Old Town,” “Bottle of Smoke” and then “Sick Bed of Cuchulainn.” They came back for two encores, and the first batch included “Sally Maclennane,” “Rainy Night in Soho” and “Irish Rover.” I think as the show went on, the band got settled in and played a better show, especially Shane MacGowan. The second encore, the fans were treated to a lovely special guest, Jem Finer’s daughter Ella as she came out to sing “Fairytale of New York” with Shane. New Yorkers were lucky since the rest of the cities didn’t hear FONY. It was great to hear the song again with Ella, and all the couples in the audience were swaying to it. I was glad to have my girlfriend along to see the band and sway with me. The Pogues ended the night with “Fiesta.” Overall, it was a long day but well worth it since the show was really good and a lot of fun. Even though I hated the crowd and it was hard to see the band, I still had a blast seeing the Pogues again.
