Opening on Wednesday was an Irish group who played well into the traditional Irish folk feel of the evening. Cardinals are a young up-and-coming group out of Cork, Ireland. The 5-piece had a much more slow-paced feel than the headliners would treat us to, but no less fitting with the style of the evening, and provided a really good warm-up for the crowd to engage in conversation and a couple of beers while they gathered into the 2,500 capacity venue for the main event.
The Pogues, probably most famous for their Christmas song “Fairytale of New York”, stopped in Toronto on Wednesday with a host of guests and friends to the delight of local fans, who had not had the pleasure of their presence in over a decade.
With the death of their original frontman Shane McGowan in late 2023, The Pogues have put together a tour that pays homage to their history, and the 40-year anniversary of their album “Rum, Sodomy, and Lash”. The Irish Folk/Punk lads and lassies made up currently of three other original members (James Fearnley, Jem Finer, and Spider Stacy) and no less than 10 guests made the stage look and feel like a raucous pub show, brought the energy to the stage with a set list spanning their entire career, including crowd favourites and covers of well known Irish folk songs, featuring their well known combination of traditional instruments (hurdy gurdy, harp, accordion, and whistles), in addition to guitars, brass, banjos, ukulele, and percussion. The stage was a feast for the senses for the entirety of their 23-song set list. Spider taking over the lead vocals in place of Shane worked well, and his charismatic stage presence, joking around with the other members of the band while trying to get through the seemingly endless introductions, brought laughs from the crowd.
An energetic show by all accounts. I advise you to go and dance to some good ‘ole Irish drinking and fighting music if you get the chance.
See photos below!
