The Pogues, with three original members, travelling as a 14-piece band, wrapped their Australia/New Zealand tour at Auckland’s Te Paepae Theatre. The place was packed for the event, awash with Boomers and Gen-Xers out for a great night of nostalgia. They got what they came for.
Let’s be honest here, sending a critic to review a show like this is risky business. The punters filling the seats were clearly having a great time. I was surrounded by people who sang along to every song and enthusiastically applauded. And there I sat with my critical ears and eyes wondering what I’m supposed to say about it.
Original Pogues James Fearnley, Jem Finer, and Spider Stacy, were joined by Holly Mullineaux (bass), Jordan O’Leary (banjo), Fiachra Meek (pipes/whistles – Alfi), Jim Sclavunos (drums – Bad Seeds), plus a 3- piece brass section Pete Fraser, Daniel Hayes, and Ian Williamson. Taking turns at the mic were Daragh Lynch, Iona Zajac, Lisa O’Neill, and John Francis Flynn along with Spider Stacy.
Stacy also MC’ed the show, and spent an inordinate amount of time introducing every member of the band and giving thanks to all and sundry. That said, he is and probably always been the brains and heart of the band, and his tribute to Shane MacGowan as the band’s soul was deeply felt.
The show is billed as The Pogues – Rum, Sodomy & the Lash 40th Anniversary Celebration. Rum, Sodomy & the Lash happens to be one of my all-time favourite albums and I listened to it several times before the show and again on my way home after. One thing is clear, Shane MacGown WAS The Pogues on that album. His distinctive, gritty voice was front and centre in the mix and his astonishingly songwriting are what made the album great.
The musicians backing him up did a fine job, but never took the lead, despite the three instrumental cuts, which I found rather generic.
The album was produced by Elvis Costello, who was originally hired to produce two tracks, but it soon became clear he should take charge of the whole thing. Reflecting on the project he said, “I saw my task was to capture them in their dilapidated glory before some more professional producer fucked them up.”
I’m not suggesting the non-MacGowan Pogues were irrelevant. That rag-tag bunch kept the notoriously alcoholic MacGowan alive and were responsible for the band’s success. In 1991 they finally kicked him out of the band, replacing him with Joe Strummer. They took him back in 2001, but never recorded another album together.
While MacGowan did eventually become sober, he suffered innumerable health problems and died of pneumonia in 2023, leaving a trove of impossibly beautiful songs.
While MacGowan was a founding member, the Pogues have been a thriving band since 1982. They may have been dilettantes at the outset, they’ve had 44 years to hone their craft. And tonight’s show was proof of that. What we got was a polished, professional production, 14 most excellent musicians, presenting a collection of gorgeous songs, with an interesting combination of singers taking the mic.
In a sense, the show was quite like Come Together, though The Pogues did not perform Rum, Sodomy & the Lash in the order presented on the album.
The set seemed randomly mixed and never quite hit a vibe. They opened full of energy with Sick Bed of Cuchulainn and Wild Cats of Kilkenny, then moved into the mournful A Pair of Brown Eyes, back into high gear with Billy’s Bones, then into the dirge-like Navigator.
Highlights were I’m a Man You Don’t Meet Every Day, with Lisa O’Neill on vocals and playing the harp; the crowd joined for a singalong on Dirty Old Town, and the rousing Jesse James where Spider Stacy managed to sound quite like Shane MacGowan. The surprising low-light was And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda. John Francis Flynn didn’t deliver the grief-stricken sense of the original and seemed to drone on excessively.
Best part of the show was the first encore – a rollicking set at last! Shame I had to leave during Sally MacLennane – but Cyclone Vaianu was bearing down and I had to get my Uber home in time to write this review!
Did I enjoy it? Yes, it was nice to hear some of my old favourite songs even though the outstanding polished professionalism of the delivery sounded so unlike the raw originals. I don’t think the 1985 Pogues ever imagined they be doing this today with a brass section! Shane MacGowan may be gone, but his songs live on. The band lives on, and any artist with this kind of longevity is getting something right.
But if I hadn’t been there to review, I wouldn’t have been there at all. To me, The Pogues felt like a Pogues tribute band. But the nearly 3000 punters in the theatre loved it. And that’s what matters.
Veronica McLaughlin
Photography by Leonie Moreland and John Forster
The Pogues
John Frances Flynn
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What an interesting review. We sat behind you during the concert, to which you just sat on your phone all night and spent little to no time actually watching or appreciating the performance.
It was very clear to us and many people who we spoke to afterwards that the sound of the band’s music was amazing, lively and what you expect from a band as unique as the Pogues.
They were clearly plagued by poor microphone quality likely from rented mikes as the audio was deeply affected and illegible, despite the band having a reputation for clarity and diction despite how fast and intricate their music is.
If you had stayed for the Encores (MULTIPLE) which was the highlight of the entire performance you would be singing a completely different tune. The energy and clear enjoyment from the two female singers, Spider + original bandmates was excellent and full of joy which myself and my father loved.
The male standin singers were not the best and did not seem to grasp the concepts of some of their songs but they and the entire show played their instruments perfectly and not a key out of tune.
Spider did an amazing job singing through the shit microphones as well as frontmanning the band so I give a huge hats off to him and wish you couldve been fair and stayed to appreciate the entire concert instead of sharing the clinical brightness of your phone screen with the audience members behind you for 60% of the show.
Thanks for the comment. I totally get what you’re saying and tried to reflect that in my review. I thought the performance was excellent, polished and professional. As you say, there were a few glitches, but that’s normal. And I was completely aware the audience did not share my take on the evening. It’s a show for fans, not for critics. I tried to be honest about that.
There are many artists making a living performing for longtime fans that haven’t had a ‘hit’ in decades and the Pogues are a stellar example. And I did enjoy the show! A critic wears two hats; me as me, and me as reviewer. Longtime Pogues fans are going to love it, but do I think everyone should go see them because they are so amazing? I can’t say that.
As for being on my phone – one of the real downsides of reviewing a show is one needs to make notes along the way, so every song got a brief note and then I closed the phone case so I enjoy the music. I used to jot notes on a notepad, but these days it’s on my phone. I understand it annoyed you – but was it more annoying than all the people taking photos and videos of the performance? There was a woman to my left who had her phone up high at full brightness videoing the entire show.