Last year, the legendary Pogues leader Shane MacGowan passed away at the age of 65. Last month, the Pogues announced plans for a 2025 tour, where they’ll welcome some “special guests” and perform the classic album Rum, Sodomy & The Lash in full. (This won’t be an entirely new situation for the Pogues. They fired MacGowan in 1991, and they recorded 1993’s Waiting For Herb without him. Still, the circumstances for this tour are nothing like that.) On Monday night, the Pogues played a special one-off gig at Dublin’s 3Arena, celebrating the 40th anniversary of their debut album Red Roses For Me. Their set featured a bunch of guests, one of whom was Fontaines D.C. leader Grian Chatten.

It’s probably not that surprising that Dublin native Grian Chatten is a big Pogues fan. He posted a tribute when MacGowan died. In a Billboard interview earlier this year, Chatten said, “We were in the middle of recording the album when Shane died, and I had to fucking take a break. I was really, deeply affected by it, partly because he enhanced my relationship with my family! You know, he connected me to my Irishness, maybe in a way that I wouldn’t have been able to do without him.”

At last night’s Pogues show, Chatten joined the Pogues for a raucous rendition of their Red Roses For Me banger “Streams Of Whiskey,” and he seemed slightly lost amid the army of fired-up musicians onstage. (The same thing sometimes happened to MacGowan.) Other guests included Lankum’s Ian and Daragh Lynch, as well as Nadine Shah, John Francis Flynn, and Brigid Mae Power. MacGowan’s widow Victoria Mary Clarke made a speech. Below, check out Chatten’s performance and the show’s setlist.

Grian Chatten singing ‘Streams Of Whiskey’ at the Pogues night tonight in Dublin

Greg Fitzsimons pic.twitter.com/kzt25YertI

— The Rock Revival (@TheRockRevival_) December 17, 2024

@thepoguesband What a night! Here's a bit of "Streams Of Whiskey" from the 40th anniversary show- thanks to @Grian Chatten, @LANKUM, @The Mary Wallopers, and @Fontaines D.C. and everyone else who made it such a special night. #pogues #christmas2024 #shanemacgowan #dublin Streams of Whiskey – The Pogues

SETLIST:
01 “Transmetropolitan”
02 “The Battle of Brisbane”
03 “Greenland Whale Fisheries” (with Ian Lynch)
04 “Boys From The County Hell” (with Kojaque)
05 “Poor Paddy Works on the Railway” (with Iona Zajac)
06 “Dingle Regatta”
07 “Whiskey You’re The Devil”
08 “Dark Streets of London” (with Stick In The Wheel)
09 “The Auld Triangle” (with Nadine Shah)
10 “Repeal Of The Licensing Laws”
11 “The Leaving Of Liverpool” (with Brigid Mae Power)
12 “Sea Shanty” (with Junior Brother)
13 “Waxie’s Dargle” (with Andrew Hendy & Séan McKenna)
14 “Kitty” (with John Francis Flynn)
15 “Muirshin Durkin” (with Sean Fitzgerald)
16 “Down In The Ground Where The Dead Men Go” (with Daragh Lynch)
17 “And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda” (with Jim Sclavunos)
18 “Streams Of Whiskey” (with Grian Chatten)
19 “The Irish Rover” (with Jordan O’Leary)
////
20 “Fairytale Of New York” (with Charles Hendy) & Radie Peat)
21 “Dirty Old Town” (with everyone)
22 “Streams Of Whiskey” (with everyone)