Off The Bucket List: The Pogues Live!

This past weekend, I was blessed with the honor and privilege of finally seeing one of my favorite bands of all time, The Pogues, perform here in Detroit for their farewell tour. It had been 20 years since they last graced us with their presence. I was only 17 then and did not make it to that show. At the risk of sounding like a starstruck teenager at 37, I felt the need to write this post.

One of my very first punk rock crushes was on the lead singer, Shane MacGowan. A quirky, some would say odd-looking fella, with messed up teeth and a penchant for the drink. One undisputed fact, however, is his amazing talent for songwriting. I'm a sucker for a thoughtful, talented man with unique features. I find beauty in that. Shane has been nothing but beautiful in my eyes, ever since my teenage days.

Needless to say, the show was amazing. From the flute, the accordion and the ukulele (I think that's what it was!), the music, best described as "Celtic punk" was outstanding. Lively. Deep. Touching. Raw. In the crowd were die-hard fans, lifting their beers in toast and swaying as one to the music. Some old fan even crowd surfed. Awesome. The beauty of it all easily carried you away.

You know how you have those moments few and far between in life that everything seems perfect? It could have been the Guinness, but, closing my eyes, listening to the music and feeling the energy of the crowd - for those few moments - it was all perfect. My husband, Jim, and I agreed, that this was, hands down, in the top three live shows we have ever seen. And we've seen alot over the years.

And my time in space with Mr. Shane MacGowan was nothing less than I could have hoped for. Through the chain smoke and swagger, his energy was palpable. The dude has some seriously beautiful energy surrounding him.

We attended the show with two dear friends, Jason and Renee, who have walked with us through the ups and downs of our life path. Friends til the end kind of friends. Toward the end of the show, Jason (a die-hard Pogues fan himself) leaned over to us, and said with tears in his eyes "This will be the last time you ever experience this in your life."

It was heavy. He was right. This was the farewell tour. Not the Cher kind of a farewell tour, but the real deal. His comment still weighs heavy on my heart. These perfect moments. They don't last forever. Only in your heart and memories can they. I'm going to hang on to that night.

Thank you, Mr. MacGowan for sharing your beautiful soul with us. I check one more thing off my bucket list.