There've been a few performers who've gone down the 'maybe you should reconsider getting on that stage tonight...' path...

My thoughts should be pretty obvious from the above - I don't think it's a simple choice of 'play or don't play'. Having been on stage in front of moderate and somewhat disinterested festival crowds, I can just imagine what it's like to have a crowd of fans waiting for you. I don't know if *I* would have it in me to walk away from that - regardless of the damage it was doing to me - so I don't really know if I'm qualified to come down on someone else for the same.

But as to MacGowan being one of the "Great Poets"...

That's a question that will likely be argued for years to come, until the question answers itself. Many 'popular' figures get put through this same mill... for some reason, Jim Morrison comes to mind. Morrison, though, may not make it through as a 'great poet'. Both his detractors and supporters seem to be fewer the longer time goes on, and the focus shifts back to the band he came from.

That, I think, is what will eventually determine how 'history' sees MacGowan. How well his lyrics stand up long after he's gone, and whether the lyrics function well outside of the music that the Pogues created along with it. I think he's got a chance. Out here in California, I don't know a single 'Pub Band' that doesn't have at least one or two MacGowan originals in their lineup.

But, time will tell. For a while, you couldn't heave a brick in LA without hitting at least 15 Morrison impersonators.

M