Getting reved up for St. Patty's with this great Irish fusion band and relative newcomver Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus was already on stage when we arrived at the 9:30 Club. Despite the sold out crowd, it was still pretty empty and we were able to make our way fairly close to the stage. I’m a passive fan of Titus Andronicus, liking but not loving their recent albums. While they sounded fine, it was nothing close to what I remembered from their albums. I wondered if knowing their audience and who they were opening for, they opted for a harder, more punk sound. Even for a Tuesday night, much of the crowd was well lubricated and ready to get down. At the slightest hint of a worthy song, about 15 or so guys in the front of the crowd took it upon themselves to start a mosh pit. While we were just far enough back to avoid the chaos, a few other people weren’t quite so lucky and were quite startled. One guy, who didn’t seem to understand that a mosh pit was a distinct possibility when standing close to the stage at a Pogues concert, was visibility angry when someone transferred the contents of his drink to his shirt. Though I feel for the guy, he was standing in the path of a tornado and such has to be expected. All this from a crowd that was amongst the oldest that I’ve ever seen at the 9:30 Club.
The Pogues took the stage and got straight into their typical set, beginning with “Streams of Whiskey.” Frontman Shane MacGowan sauntered on stage with a tumbler full of booze in one hand and a cigarette in the other. These items seldom left his hands throughout the night. He was dressed in sunglasses and a long leather jacket. With his portly, aging, drunken, and disheveled demeanor, he reminded me of a cross between Neo from the Matrix and Willy, a regular at a pub I used to frequent in Dublin who was enough of a staple of the establishment to warrant having his own dedicated bar stool and the clout to occasionally grab the microphone and belt out Irish tunes despite a complete lack of talent. Like Willy’s, Shane’s singing left much to be desired. Though he has always had a gruff and somewhat unique voice, it was just a mumbling shadow of what it once was, with most of his words slurred together and barely intelligible. The only words I could understand were those that I already knew by heart. However, the rest of the large ensemble was spot on in their sound, and I had a great time dancing amongst the crowd. The setlist was exactly what I wanted to hear, including their classic songs “A Pair of Brown Eyes,” “Sunny Side of the Street,” “Thousands Are Sailing,” and “Sally MacLennane” as well as great covers that they’ve made their own such as “Dirty Old Town” and “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda.” Certainly the highlight of the night for me was “Tuesday Morning,” a song I’ve loved since I first discovered it when I was about 11 years old. So while the concert left a little to be desired, I still certainly enjoyed it and felt that I got my money’s worth. The true test will be if I get tickets when the Pogues come back to help DC kick off St. Patty’s Day next year.
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