Congress Theatre – March 3, 2011
Chicago, IL
By Anthony Kuzminski
It’s been said that everyone has a little bit of Irish in them, especially when the festivities of March begin. There’s something in the air in highly populated areas when March rolls around. It’s something that can’t be expressed in mere words but has to be experienced to be believed. Whether you live in Chicago, Boston or New York, walking into an Irish bar as St. Patrick’s Day approaches is a jolt to the senses. Even those people who are sloppy with their liquor intake seem to be more about love than picking a fight. Football season has ended, baseball has yet to begin, basketball and hockey have not hit the playoffs and while spring may occasionally be in the air, it’s still a ways off. I have a friend who runs an Irish bar and he tells me about the 10-days before St. Patrick’s day and the 4-days following it; they’re his biggest weeks of the year. One may assume that a mainstream Irish band like U2 would be the go-to band for these festivities, but they’re not. The Pogues and the Dropkick Murphy’s in recent years have overtaken the digital jukeboxes and cd players. Both acts took to the stage at the Congress Theatre in Chicago in the weeks leading up to St. Patrick’s Day and I was on hand to witness (possibly for the last time) the jaunty jigs of the Pogues.
The band last performed in December for a series of farewell gigs in the UK. The tour is being billed as “A Parting Glass With the Pogues” and whether this means the band is breaking up or this is simply the last time these eight musicians share one stage has yet to be seen. Despite this, at no point in the evening did the band give the feeling this was a farewell. There were no moments of flowing emotion or melancholy farewell speeches. The band may have arrived to the stage almost an hour later than expected, but they made up for it with a set that elicited joy as the band delivered a succinct 21-song set high on Irish folk punk at its best. “Streams Of Whiskey” kicked off the festivities and despite the long wait, the crowd was ready and willing to let go of their worries for a few hours. The jaunty jig “If I Should Fall From Grace With God” followed in short order with a sleazy vocal from Shane MacGowan who appeared in good form delivering one song after another with barely any interruption. Drummer Andrew Ranken was especially succinct in his tattered skipping drums. The band attacked their instruments with seed and precision knocking out the first five songs in less than fifteen minutes.
Over the course of their 90-minute show, the Pogues marched like a band of brothers into battle with defiance and a bevy of anthems for you dance the night away, as they did on “Boat Train”. “A Pair of Brown Eyes” found 3,000-plus fans with arms in the air waving back and forth as they toasted each other with their plastic cups of beer. It may not have been as romantic as an Irish pub where glasses clinked with Guinness, but no pub has the Pogues for mood music. For a band whose first go round was filled with such success and turmoil simultaneously, it really is a miracle to see a group of musicians appear to enjoy themselves so much, performing nightly and evoking such glee from sold out crowds every March, evidenced by a superb performance of “The Sunny Side of the Street”. “Repeal of the Licensing Laws” was dedicated to Shane’s wife in a wonderfully enthusiastic rocker where the crowd cheered and clapped along in unison. One of the few shows where inebriation actually elicited more of a connection between the band and their fans. “Thousands Are Sailing” was dedicated to a young fan that traveled all the way from Columbus, OH to catch the gig. Their 90-minute set was full of hits, album cuts and traditional Irish numbers like “Dirty Old Town” which I first experienced through U2 bootlegs.
Latter set songs such as “Bottle of Smoke”, “Irish Rover” and “Fiesta” were every bit as compelling as the opening numbers as the crowd seemed to hang with the band every step of the way. The Pogues has gone on record saying this may be they final trek on US shores, which culminate in a three night run in New York. If it is, it will be a shame, because despite having their music blast through the speakers hourly at every Irish bar, it will be a reminder of a time that has passed by. The chaos that defined the early part of their career may not be on display, but the music is and it’s still invigorating as ever. Let’s face it; toasting good cheer to one another in the month of March just won’t be the same knowing that the Pogues aren’t playing live somewhere evoking jigs and joy along the way.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com and can be followed on Twitter
