Shane MacGowan, you're a drunken loser

The BBQ Pit
1

Last Thursday night, I attended a Shane MacGowan concert in Utrecht, the Netherlands. This time, the Popes would be the accompanying band.

Ready for some good old fashioned Irish fun, I boarded the train to Utrecht on time. I was supposed to meet up with my mate Willy at 20:00 at “Kafe Belgie”, right across the venue where the concert was to be held a 20:15. Knowing mr MacGowan is not exactly a man of the clock, we had two beers at the bar first. Around 20:45, we crossed the street and entered the 35 degrees celcius hellhole that is the Tivoli theater.

The opening act was still playing. If you’re interested in folk-renditions of late 70’s Dutch disco songs, these are the guys to check out. Unfortunately, I don’t have a fucking clue about their name.

They did serve a valid purpose, though. In between songs, they kept us abreast of the whereabouts of mr MacGowan.

21:00 “We just got the word that Shane is currently boarding a plane in London”

Willy and me start laughing. In fact, the whole audience does. Partially out of relief, because sometimes MacGowan doesn’t show up at all.

21:30 “Shane is airborne. He’s expected on stage round 23:00”

After this the opening act vanished and all further announcements where made over the PA, where they interupted such classics as mr Cash’s “Ring of Fire” and “Whiskey in the Jar” as performed by the Dubliners.

22:45 “Shane has landed, and is in a car headed for Utrecht”

At 23:15, mr MacGowan walks onto the stage on crutches (his body is too worn out from years and years of alcohol and drugs), carrying a 1 liter bottle of what looked like Gin (he likes his G&T’s or so I hear). That bottle lasted about 4 songs, by the way.

It was like watching Elvis three weeks before he died. Actually, to quote Willy: “No fucking way. Elvis was never in THIS bad a shape!”. He looked like shit. At least his clothes were vomit-free, which is a bonus, as seasoned Pogues fans told me.

And he slurred his speech and lyrics. From all he said in between songs, all I could make out were a couple of “go fuck yerselves” and “fuck the English”. The songs? Man, I know the sequence of all Pogues verses better than Shane does.

But those songs. Those compositions. C’mon, who can honestly tell me they can listen to songs like Dirty old Town and Rainy night in Soho without getting a tad choked up?

He’s such a brilliant songwriter. He could have gotten so much more out of it. But he decided to drop the muse, and lift the booze. How his lovely wife keeps up with him, I’ll ever know.

Shane, thanks man. I got home at 3 AM after taking the night train and a taxi (which added 15 euros to my trip, again, thanks). I was hung over the next morning. I saw you put on a mediocre show, with a formidable folk band (truth be old, the Popes rocked the house). I saw you making a drunken ass of yourself.

And it may have been the first and last time I’ve ever seen you alive. Wasted talent. Such a shame.

You’re a drunken loser, and I love you man.

2

Ouch.

3

I once saw the artist Robert Rauschenberg give a lecture at the National Gallery of Art in DC.

He was so clearly drunk, and went through a couple of big tumblers full of Jack during the lecture, that during the question and answer period an audience member asked him, “Why are you blind drunk in front of your audience?”

His reply was, “Why are you such a bitch?”. Out came the curator to end a very painful event that never should have been allowed to happen. I worked at the Gallery, and Raushenberg was drunk and offensive during the entire installation of his exhibit (about two weeks). He carried a bottle of Jack Daniels at all times, and no one said a word to him about it, he was such a “genius”.

4

I saw Shane and the Popes in Austin a couple of years ago. I had heard all the horror stories about him having to be carried out onto the stage and propped up while he sang, and he had been a complete no-show in Dallas the night before, but he came running out on stage and yelled, “Hello, San Francisco!” and put on a great show. (He was guzzling whiskey that night, by the way.)

I’ll be sorry when he goes, but I’m surprised he’s even made it this far considering how long I’ve been hearing stories like Coldfire’s.

5

It’s an awful shame. I saw The Pogues play back in 1989, and to be honest it sounds like he hasn’t changed much–although he sounds far worse for the wear he’s put himself through.
Soon enough, he’s going to be another one lost to the ravages of the bottle.

6

Yeah, I caught the Pogues in '89 too, in Atlanta. They put on a great show here, and Shane seemed fine.

Sad to see what he’s come to these days. Here’s hoping he finds a way to pull himself together.

(Ah Javamaven. As always, my musical doppelganger…)

7

I saw Jimi Hendrix play three times. The first two times he was amazing. The last time, at a concert at Madison Square Garden, he played a couple of numbers very slackly, then sat down on the floor, where he slumped picking desultorily on his guitar. He was obviously nodding out. He finally left the stage, and someone came on to apologize because Jimi “wasn’t feeling well.” A few months later he was dead.

Makes you weep.

8

He showed up? You got a good deal :wink: It’s so sad to see a man wasted like that, in all senses of the word.

9

He’s an artist Coldfire. You wait for him like a supplicant, drink at the fountain of his muse then speak ill of him as a “drunken loser” in his decline? Who are you to judge him and the life decisions he has made in pursuing his art and his life. Just be less arrogant and more grateful for the music he gave you when you go back to your workaday life.

10

I’m not arrogant, astro, and I see him for the true songwriter he is. Read the last words of the OP again, if you must.

Is it impossible to admire someone for their talent, and at the same time be pissed off at them for pissing it all away? I don’t think it is.

I’m not judging MacGowan. I just know he could have been so much more.

11

Shane is fucking wasting his life. He has an incredible talent and is throwing it away.

The sad thing is it is his to throw away.

Every Pogues fan knows this. They curse him for his indulgences which are cutting his life short, and they thank him for all the joy he has given them.
The Popes are incredible. Absolutely incredible. especially a instrumental song they do called “Release the Beast”.

12

I saw Shane with the Popes at the Fillmore in San Francisco last summer with zyzzyva and woodstockbirdybird and he put on a kickass show. Yeah, he was obviously drunk, but it didn’t seem to impair his performance.

Though we did get a laugh when, before “Whiskey in the Jar” he slurred “Thissch ish a schong about DRINKIN’!” Aren’t they all?

So I’m sorry you had a bad Shane-night, Coldy, cuz when he’s on he’s on. What a great show it was!

13

I would guess he’s the guy who plunked down his hard earned cash to see the show. He didn’t get to ‘drink at the fountain of his muse’ because the fool was drunk off his ass. I think Coldy’d be grateful if the man had shown a smidgeon of respect for his audience, or respect for himself.

If you’re an artist, you have a duty to your audience to do the best work you can. If you half-ass it, show up drunk and forget the words, you can expect to be judged. You don’t want to be bothered with the whole performing thing, then don’t book the gig.

What if Shane booked a show and no one came?

14

Just musing that the healthiest part of the man is probably…his teeth. Now there’s a thought.

A lot of people like their rock stars wasted but there has to be a line. Even Keef Richards knew/knows that

15

“Dirty old Town” wasn’t written by Shane - it’s by Ewan McColl (Kirsty’s father) and is IIRC about Cardiff, not Dublin.

Shane’s been fucking up his gigs like that for the past 20 years. he got booed in Dublin a few years ago for the same reason. I don’t see any reason for him to change.

16

Damn, you learn something new every day! Thanks jjiimm.

17

I read his biography recently (the one bizarrely narrated by his wife). An interesting chap, although I was never quite sure how mcuh was genuine or not. He certainly fails to show people the respect his book would imply he always meant to deep down.

18

jjimm, Dirty Old Town is about Salford, not Cardiff.

http://www.geocities.com/derekantrobus/SLHhome.html

http://www.southpenninering.co.uk/mbb/salford.htm

You’re welcome :wink:

19

Crusoe, ignore every word written in that book, for it is all rubbish, and he says so himself.

20

Ah well. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.