I was away a good part of this week and Deb has been immersed in her schoolwork so we were both feeling the need to spend some quality time with the kids. We decided a little field trip would do the trick and allow us to reconnect. A trip to a museum probably would have been nice or maybe a nature walk would put things back in perspective. No, neither of these would suit our needs. What did we do instead? We took them to see the Pogues at the House of Blues in Boston. What better way to bond with Zach and Vanessa than to bring them to a loud crowded concert filled with Boston's Irish drinking and fighting elite.
If you're unfamiliar with the Pogues, you should give them a listen. They're a great mix of traditional Irish music mixed with a punk edge that bestow the virtues of a good drink, a good fight and a tad bit of profanity. If you take a look at their tragic, humorous, lovable leader Shane Macgowen, you'll understand why there aren't any songs about the benefits of brush, floss, and a consistent six month cleaning.
The show and the venue itself were brilliant. The Pogues walked on the stage to the tune of "Straight To Hell" by the Clash and once settled and tuned, broke into songs themselves with "Streams Of Whisky". Their set was paced just a bit south of a Ramones gig with the Pogues' hits coming fast and furious and without pause aside from the more than occasional libation by Shane Macgowen. He had a little table next to his mike stand which held a small cup of water, a glass of Tanqueray and a full bottle of what appeared to be Chenin Blanc. The glass of gin never seemed to get any emptier even though Shane was continuously imbibing. I suspect that the roadies for this band also must possess responsibilities in the area of mixology.
The hits kept coming: "If I Should Fall From Grace of God", "Pair of Brown Eyes", and the sing a long. "Dirty Old Town" were all played with precision and even our untoothed and unsober hero never seemed to miss a lyric or cue. They even played "Bottle Of Smoke" and "The Sickbed of Cuchulainn" with the one of my favorite lines, "Then they take you to Cloughprior and shove you in the ground , But you stick your head back out and shout we'll have another round." a great lesson for the kids indeed!
If there was anything more questionable from a parenting standpoint than the band it was the crowd. The place where we were standing was in line with the side of the stage and an exit behind us. Security continuously walked by us with bloody and sweaty stage divers, crowd surfers, fighters both victorious and defeated each covered with their own sweat, vomit, beer, and occasionally blood.
there was a small young woman standing in front of us who commented repeatedly how cute she though it was that we were their as a family. Then she repeatedly bumped and spilled beer near or on us as she danced, spun, kicked and occasional fell. Our kids thought it was so cute how she responded to her unimpressed boyfriend by calling him a "no fun prick" who was ruining her night as usual. I have to claim my share of embarrassment as she put her arm around my neck and pulling herself toward me to let me know how "f*ck*ng proud of me she was that we brought our kids here and we were keeping it real. " In truth I really liked this girl. She had great energy and was intent on having a great time regardless of those around her and their insignificant f*ck*ng opinions. I hope all goes as planned for her.
We stayed the entire set and headed home, all of us excited and satisfied. It was a classic night of Calabrese family fun. Deb stated to the kids that years from now the kids will be able to tell their friends that they saw The Pogues which I suspect will be met with, "Who?" No matter. The important thing to me is that they'll look back at the experience of the cool things we did as a family.
If you're unfamiliar with the Pogues, you should give them a listen. They're a great mix of traditional Irish music mixed with a punk edge that bestow the virtues of a good drink, a good fight and a tad bit of profanity. If you take a look at their tragic, humorous, lovable leader Shane Macgowen, you'll understand why there aren't any songs about the benefits of brush, floss, and a consistent six month cleaning.
The show and the venue itself were brilliant. The Pogues walked on the stage to the tune of "Straight To Hell" by the Clash and once settled and tuned, broke into songs themselves with "Streams Of Whisky". Their set was paced just a bit south of a Ramones gig with the Pogues' hits coming fast and furious and without pause aside from the more than occasional libation by Shane Macgowen. He had a little table next to his mike stand which held a small cup of water, a glass of Tanqueray and a full bottle of what appeared to be Chenin Blanc. The glass of gin never seemed to get any emptier even though Shane was continuously imbibing. I suspect that the roadies for this band also must possess responsibilities in the area of mixology.
The hits kept coming: "If I Should Fall From Grace of God", "Pair of Brown Eyes", and the sing a long. "Dirty Old Town" were all played with precision and even our untoothed and unsober hero never seemed to miss a lyric or cue. They even played "Bottle Of Smoke" and "The Sickbed of Cuchulainn" with the one of my favorite lines, "Then they take you to Cloughprior and shove you in the ground , But you stick your head back out and shout we'll have another round." a great lesson for the kids indeed!
If there was anything more questionable from a parenting standpoint than the band it was the crowd. The place where we were standing was in line with the side of the stage and an exit behind us. Security continuously walked by us with bloody and sweaty stage divers, crowd surfers, fighters both victorious and defeated each covered with their own sweat, vomit, beer, and occasionally blood.
there was a small young woman standing in front of us who commented repeatedly how cute she though it was that we were their as a family. Then she repeatedly bumped and spilled beer near or on us as she danced, spun, kicked and occasional fell. Our kids thought it was so cute how she responded to her unimpressed boyfriend by calling him a "no fun prick" who was ruining her night as usual. I have to claim my share of embarrassment as she put her arm around my neck and pulling herself toward me to let me know how "f*ck*ng proud of me she was that we brought our kids here and we were keeping it real. " In truth I really liked this girl. She had great energy and was intent on having a great time regardless of those around her and their insignificant f*ck*ng opinions. I hope all goes as planned for her.
We stayed the entire set and headed home, all of us excited and satisfied. It was a classic night of Calabrese family fun. Deb stated to the kids that years from now the kids will be able to tell their friends that they saw The Pogues which I suspect will be met with, "Who?" No matter. The important thing to me is that they'll look back at the experience of the cool things we did as a family.
3 comments:
Awesome review Jack. What a tender family moment.
Good strategy Jackie. Scare the crap out the kids so they think twice before trying to sneak into bars with fake ID's. That picture of Shane is enough to keep me away.
Who the hell is the Dennis Paden icon that knocked me out of my corner position in the followers block? Is that an alphabetical thing? Screw him. Next time I see him I'm letting the Billy out. (Billy Idol, that is)
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