Miriam Trujillo
Flashing lights, a seven piece band, and a load of stories: For the Love of Shane MacGowan was a show that started off a with a bang and took its audience along for the ride.
For the Love of Shane MacGowan was conceived as a tribute piece to the late great Shane MacGowan, a pioneer in Irish and Punk music. The singer passed away this last November, and For The Love of Shane MacGowan is in his memory. It’s a show designed and endorsed by people dear to the singer, featuring the vocals and stories of MacGowan’s friend John McLaughlin. McLaughlin lead his Scotland-based band through several covers of the MacGowan’s famous songs, including “If I Should Fall from Grace with God”, “Sick Bed of Cuchúlainn”, “Body of an American”, the sublime “Rainy Night in Soho,” and MacGowan’s ever popular Christmas original “Fairytale of New York.”
In tribute to Macgowan’s championship of traditional Irish music, McLaughlin also lead us through Pogues-style renditions of Irish classics such as “Dirty Old Town” and “Poor Paddy on the Railway”. With his band, he explored the gamut of MacGowan’s Pogues-era repertoire. From the meloncholy to the stirring, the bonkers to the beautiful, the spirit of Shane was in the room that night and everyone felt it. What started out as a crowd in an overpacked Fringe venue, more pressed by seating issues than anything else, soon turned into a chorus, joyfully singing the immortal poetry of a man from Ireland.
The music of Shane MacGowan and the Pogues is a paradox: simple, yet richly rounded out by the seven piece band; folksy yet unmistakeably punk; quintessentially Irish, yet containing so much love for England. McLaughin’s tribute band beautifully explored all these nuances, both with their selections and in their intepretation. The Irish love was there with songs like “Broad Majestic Shannon”, yet they also sang a “Lullaby to London”. They rocked out to a “Fiesta” but wholly embraced the tenderness of “Rainy Night in Soho.” The concert felt curated to recognize, above all, MacGowan’s lyric genius. The man was a poet, and the tribute celebrated that fact. Performers encouraged the audience to sing along to words about mighty rivers and lost souls; lovers and no-hopers. I, at least, sang with all my might.
In my opinion, the tribute was missing one thing from the incredible emotional range of Macgowan’s music: MacGowan could write songs of great happiness, great longing, and great fun; but he also wrote songs of incredible sadness. Songs such as “The Old Main Drag,” and “Christmas Lullaby,” evoke a feeling of hopeleness that I’ve rarely heard in music since. That entire side of Macgowan was omitted from the programme. Perhaps it was for the best. The absence of MacGowan’s grief kept the tribute light and festive, which I suppose is what you’d want out of such a rich celebration of life.
McLaughlin peppered the concert with stories of his friendship with Macgowan. He shared that it all began as a tentative partnership to record some music. Then blossomed into a friendship complete with pub visits, drinking, and so much music. McLaughlin was there for MacGowan’s involvement with the Celtic football team, as well as his recording some Christmas carols. McLaughlin shared some insights into these sessions, making us all laugh, telling of little moments that made MacGowan so iconic.
The execution of the music was impeccable, the energy of the band was delightful, the spoken word parts of the show came from the heart. The lighting and other staging elements really added to show, helping the tribute achieve exactly what it hoped to: bring the musical and personal spirit of Shane MacGowan into this room for an hour.
Never has there been a voice like Shane Macgowan’s. In my experience, he sounds so wrong the first time one hears him. But his hoarseness and slurred phrasing encases one of the most profound cries of humanity I have ever heard. Macgowan’s voice has touched me more deeply than any other sound in the world, and every second of this party thrown in his honour had me laughing, crying, and just plain exulting. For the Love of Shane MacGowan vividly evoked the great man’s soul and his voice, clearly showing the love those behind the tribute had for him. I felt privileged to have attended.
Recommended Drink: Guinness, whisky, rum… what wouldn’t you drink? It’s an evening with Shane MacGowan!
For the Love of Shane MacGowan has completed its run at EdFringe 2024.
Jake Mace
