I had heard Shane was pretty drunk on Tuesday. He wasn’t on Wednesday. He was holding onto the mic because that’s how he sings, he was immobile because decades of alcoholism and drug abuse has left him this way, but he caught every song tonight. 21 of them. Each a gem of Irish rock and roll. Each beloved.
Shane dreams of meeting Brendan and Brendan, who once called himself “a drinker with a writing problem” and claiming “I only drink on two occasions—when I’m thirsty and when I’m not”, and asking his philosophie but finding philosophy lost in streams of whiskey. Shane, a notorious drunk himself, joins Brendan and together they extol the one thing that gets them through.
Mathematics – Mos Def – “You want to know how to rhyme you better learn how to add” Mos Def advises and he makes his point on this classic whose rhythmic hook has showed has shown up ever since, on the flip side of his biggest song – A
The rock Christmas album I remember best is A Very Special Christmas, which celebrated its 25th anniversary a couple of years ago. Everyone was playing it on Christmas 1987, even my mother-in-law.
Phillip Chevron – One of the original Irish punks, the guitarist started with the great Radiators From Space before graduating to the Pogues , the guitarist was with the band back in 2011 for their last concerts.
