Stamford Riverside Festival 3rd July 2004
First time seeing the band, which has a growing reputation in Stamford and the area. The last time I saw the "real thing" some years ago at De Mont in Leicester, Shane was so out of it that the performance was'nt that great (a reason for their demise I understand). Therefore in many ways your performance was truer to the recorded material than theirs, and hence was greatly enjoyable !
Great gig and hope to catch you again soon.
Dick Beechey - Stamford
Charters Boat 13th March 2003 taken from their website
Guinness all round.
Well, what can I say? The Dead Rabbits played Charters’ Post Paddy’s day p…. er drink up on Saturday the 20th of March. Despite being neither dead nor rabbits, (The name comes from the patois of Irish immigrants to New York, literally meaning “the best feared”) they are actually a local seven piece tribute to The Pogues.
It is slightly unfortunate for the Dead Rabbits that their reviewer here is unfamiliar with the Pogues’ work. All I knew is that the bloke with black teeth is their lead shouter, and that he doesn’t live in a clean town and he swears a lot… or something along those lines. So, it was with wide eyed fervour that I braved the choppy waters that night to venture into the unknown.
The first thing I noticed about the band was that there seem to be rather a lot of them. I was dutifully informed by all around me that there were eight members, but I just counted seven. Their website (http://www.thedeadrabbits.com/) also suggests that there are just seven members. Despite not being eight, those seven filled the entire stage. The fiddler, Andy O'Neil seemed to be the most put out by this. Due to the nature of the event, I naturally assume that he wanted to move around and dance a jig, but he spent a good deal of time facing the drummer. (I’m sure that this was partially to do with the music as well.)
By the time they actually started playing, the crowd was so big (the boat was the busiest it’s been all year) that I could only ever see about half of one band member at any time and I spent most of the night trapped between the band and the bar. (Which, to be fair, was a pretty good spot for me!) Still, as soon as the set began, their sound filled the room, and the audience was theirs for the taking. Vocalist Mike Carr’s aggressive romp through Dublin’s back streets, Guinness in hand, is perfectly reminiscent of the man with the black teeth, and the rest of the band seemed to fall perfectly into place.
Towards the end of the first set, practically everyone was singing along, (rather well actually, considering that it was a post St. Patrick’s day party!) and I began to resent the fact that I’d never got into the Pogues, as I would have been singing along too. (I’m not really a singalongasortaguy, but I was about the only person there who didn’t know the words.)
As they stepped down from the first set, and headed towards the black and white pump at the end of the bar, I had a look around, and there was not one person in there without a smile on their face (With the possible exception of some very busy bar staff).
On with the second set, and I recognised Dirty Old Town. (Those are the three lyrics I knew!) This is when the dancing began. I’m sure the sway of the boat was having no small effect on their dancing, but it wasn’t unamusing to watch. Five or six girls led the way, and in no time at all, the whole crowd was on their feet. My favourite part of the night was when they played ‘the Christmas song’. “I say this every year, and it gets funnier every time, but it’s only nine months to Christmas.” (I could swear he almost smiled again when he said that.)
The band, although fairly modest, (in everything except their number) were extremely skilled. The ‘lead’ mandolin player, Mick Draycott, really stood out despite rarely looking up (he seemed deep in thought). Also impressive were Lin (accordion, vocals) and our friend Mr. Mark Randal (Drum ‘n’ Bodran) who spent as much time standing up on stage as he did sitting down.
All in all, this was a really nice surprise. I was expecting to hate every minute of it, but a wonderful atmosphere, a packed pub, and an excellent band is not a combination you’ll find very often. (Two out of three is usually the best you could hope for).
Ok…..so they get my vote, and everyone loves them, but will I go out and buy a Pogues cd? Well…. I’ll have to have a few more pints of the black stuff first.
First time seeing the band, which has a growing reputation in Stamford and the area. The last time I saw the "real thing" some years ago at De Mont in Leicester, Shane was so out of it that the performance was'nt that great (a reason for their demise I understand). Therefore in many ways your performance was truer to the recorded material than theirs, and hence was greatly enjoyable !
Great gig and hope to catch you again soon.
Dick Beechey - Stamford
Charters Boat 13th March 2003 taken from their website
Guinness all round.
Well, what can I say? The Dead Rabbits played Charters’ Post Paddy’s day p…. er drink up on Saturday the 20th of March. Despite being neither dead nor rabbits, (The name comes from the patois of Irish immigrants to New York, literally meaning “the best feared”) they are actually a local seven piece tribute to The Pogues.
It is slightly unfortunate for the Dead Rabbits that their reviewer here is unfamiliar with the Pogues’ work. All I knew is that the bloke with black teeth is their lead shouter, and that he doesn’t live in a clean town and he swears a lot… or something along those lines. So, it was with wide eyed fervour that I braved the choppy waters that night to venture into the unknown.
The first thing I noticed about the band was that there seem to be rather a lot of them. I was dutifully informed by all around me that there were eight members, but I just counted seven. Their website (http://www.thedeadrabbits.com/) also suggests that there are just seven members. Despite not being eight, those seven filled the entire stage. The fiddler, Andy O'Neil seemed to be the most put out by this. Due to the nature of the event, I naturally assume that he wanted to move around and dance a jig, but he spent a good deal of time facing the drummer. (I’m sure that this was partially to do with the music as well.)
By the time they actually started playing, the crowd was so big (the boat was the busiest it’s been all year) that I could only ever see about half of one band member at any time and I spent most of the night trapped between the band and the bar. (Which, to be fair, was a pretty good spot for me!) Still, as soon as the set began, their sound filled the room, and the audience was theirs for the taking. Vocalist Mike Carr’s aggressive romp through Dublin’s back streets, Guinness in hand, is perfectly reminiscent of the man with the black teeth, and the rest of the band seemed to fall perfectly into place.
Towards the end of the first set, practically everyone was singing along, (rather well actually, considering that it was a post St. Patrick’s day party!) and I began to resent the fact that I’d never got into the Pogues, as I would have been singing along too. (I’m not really a singalongasortaguy, but I was about the only person there who didn’t know the words.)
As they stepped down from the first set, and headed towards the black and white pump at the end of the bar, I had a look around, and there was not one person in there without a smile on their face (With the possible exception of some very busy bar staff).
On with the second set, and I recognised Dirty Old Town. (Those are the three lyrics I knew!) This is when the dancing began. I’m sure the sway of the boat was having no small effect on their dancing, but it wasn’t unamusing to watch. Five or six girls led the way, and in no time at all, the whole crowd was on their feet. My favourite part of the night was when they played ‘the Christmas song’. “I say this every year, and it gets funnier every time, but it’s only nine months to Christmas.” (I could swear he almost smiled again when he said that.)
The band, although fairly modest, (in everything except their number) were extremely skilled. The ‘lead’ mandolin player, Mick Draycott, really stood out despite rarely looking up (he seemed deep in thought). Also impressive were Lin (accordion, vocals) and our friend Mr. Mark Randal (Drum ‘n’ Bodran) who spent as much time standing up on stage as he did sitting down.
All in all, this was a really nice surprise. I was expecting to hate every minute of it, but a wonderful atmosphere, a packed pub, and an excellent band is not a combination you’ll find very often. (Two out of three is usually the best you could hope for).
Ok…..so they get my vote, and everyone loves them, but will I go out and buy a Pogues cd? Well…. I’ll have to have a few more pints of the black stuff first.
