Aint it the truth...Im not sure why people attend such shows expecting the same band and energy they got 30-40 yrs ago...I had the brief misfortune of seeing a youtube vid with Shane Magowan of the Pogues..singing or rather slurring on some tv show...I just felt sorry for him.
I don't really go to the big gigs these days, never have much to be honest, I usually go to gigs in smaller venues, but I saw SLF and The Pogues at the same venue, within a year of each other, having never seen either live before. In both cases, I got dragged along by a mate who was on the guest list. I would have loved to see the Pogues when they were younger, but MacGowan is a pitiful sight today. When they tour, they use local session musicians, which was how my mate was on the guest list, as he was every time they played in Leeds, because he knew the drummer. MacGowan had got new teeth, but he was a slurring wreck, going off stage every other song, and the band sounded better without him. Possibly, the worst thing was how formulaic everything was, my mate knew the band's set list, as it was the same every year. At the end, after the second encore, he told me, "It's not over, a girl will get onto the stage, that's actually the drummer's daughter, then artificial snow will start falling, MacGowan will stagger back on, and they'll start singing Fairytale of New York." That's exactly how it happened, and though the crowd seemed to enjoy it, it was a bit tawdry and hollow.
Being on the guest list, didn't actually amount to much, just the chance to stay behind in the large venue, and buy another pint or two of overpriced lager. My mate told me that the previous year, they had actually gone back to the hotel with the band. After a good deal of drinking, he had gone to the bar to get another round. MacGowan had installed himself, alone, at a large table, right next to the bar, which was covered with drinks he'd been bought. My mate had to pass him, and while he could see he had plenty of drinks, he thought he'd ask, out of politeness, if MacGowan wanted one. I think my mate said he asked for a large creme de menthe! My mate was thinking he'd just wasted his money, but he told me, "To be fair to him, before he went up to his room, he poured all the drinks on the table into a pint glass, and took them up with him."
I've not wanted to see them again
Hard work trying to find good tradesmen these days. Good luck James 
So I ran in and got the camera and took a couple of shots of the moon and a couple of the backyard snow pile where I throw most of the driveway snow I shovel. Kind of dark for point-n-shoot photos, but I'm an artiste! 
They also usually give me three words that they say I'll have to remember, but they usually ask for them immediately, so I tell them I'll alphabetize them before I repeat them.
