The Pogues!

Yesterday was a wild and raucous Friday evening at MTELUS. The Pogues were at full throttle on stage, the fans in the standing area at full throttle too (beer launching, pogoing, crowd surfing) and Louis and I had a great time in our comfortable seats on the balcony. 

The occasion was the 40th anniversary of the release of Rum, Sodomy & the Lash, an album which I only came to enjoy in retrospect. At the time it was released I was a bit of a sniffy purist about Irish trad and didn't really appreciate where the Pogues were coming from. But now, as a long-term emigrant myself with sons who have grown up in Montreal but are culturally Irish, well the Pogue's songs of the Irish diaspora hit home.

But the Pogues in concert are not really about listening to the songs. They create such a din that it's hard to hear words or individual instruments, but they also create a powerful energy that grabs hold of everyone. So, while we couldn't really hear the lyrics to The Irish Rover, or Sally MacLennane, we belted them out at the tops of our voices and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Spider Stacy was on front man duties and was quite brilliant, and a lot more coherent than the late-lamented Shane McGowan would have been. Stacy added smatterings of French to his anecdotes, even launching an incendiary "Vive le Québec libre!" at one point in classic republican fashion, then indulging in a few bars of La Marseillaise. Several Irish tricolours appeared in the crowd at the end, but thankfully there were no calls of Up the RA or anything hateful.

Lisa O'Neill was the most impressive singer. She has a sharp voice that can cut through any noise which was handy for the night that was in it. She also recounted visiting Leonard Cohen's grave earlier in the day, which I shamefully have to admit that I've never done (though I pass his childhood home all the time on my evening walks around the block).

Daragh Lynch from Lankum was also a Pogue for the night, sang a few songs and joined in with the crowd's Olé'ing at the end. I'll be seeing him again soon when Lankum comes to town in a few weeks. September 2025 is turning into a month of Irish music in Montreal.