It hard to believe it was two St. Patrick's Day ago, that my dear friend Miss Connell and myself made our way through a frigid night and a not so traditional dinner of fondue before heading to Roseland to see The Pogues. We arrived just in time for a rousing rendition of Turkish Song of The Damned and were lucky enough to make our way past the mosh pit to a much safer perch in the balcony. Shane McGowan lead the infamous Irishmen in song and was in fine form save for the wheelchair.
The site of Mr. McGowan so infirmed and apparently at death's door upset Miss Connell who, under the influence of a kind heart and a healthy amount of Jameson, vowed that he must be saved from further depravity and whisked off to a rehabilitative spa of sorts. I watched with a combination of awe, amusement and admiration as Miss Connell made a case for rehab to several fellow members of the audience. Perhaps had I not been a wee bit pregnant at the time, and limited to a couple of sips of Guinness, I would have taken up the cause as well.
McGowan as it turns out was not wheelchair bound due to his lifelong flirtation with self-destruction or as near to death as imagined. He had injured his knee in a fall off the stage earlier in the week at a gig in Boston. How could that have happened? Well perhaps self-destruction did play a part. Happily McGowan lives to tell the tale, as do we. If you read this Miss Connell, cheers to us!
The Pogues will be performing at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC tonight. To those lucky enough to have tickets, I wish you as brilliant an evening as we had. Sláinte!
2 comments:
I remember seeing the Pogues at the Ritz so many years ago with my friend Mary, who was an Irish-ophile or however you call someone who loves Ireland and punk music! I think we may have even gone both nights they played. I didn't catch them this time around in DC but also envy those who did. I bet it was a great show.
Yeah, I was thinking they are in Liz's hometown for St. Patrick's Day! Would have been fun.
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