By: Matt Lambert
Two nights before St. Patrick’s Day in Boston, the Dropkick Murphys were in the midst of their annual shows. Thursday was the kick off night at the intimate house of blues club, with local hardcore band Death Before Dishonor and Pennywise, who opened all the shows.
I was able to attend on Friday at MGM Music Hall at Fenway, and to kick things off were Dublin Ireland’s The Scratch. It was the last night of the tour for them they played before Pennywise. Those guys were pretty wild, their style ranged from Irish folk infused punk, that included some heavy breakdowns. They were highly animated, and the guy in front sat on a drum box as opposed to a traditional drum kit.
Pennywise took the stage and played a set of high energetic skate punk rock. They have been around since the late 80s and I was so glad to be able to see them. Jim Lindberg is a great frontman who knows how to get an audience warmed up. He even grabbed a fellow photographer's camera to get a pic of the crowd.
Dropkick Murphys encapsulate what is Boston and especially around St. Patrick’s Day where everyone's a little Irish. Their camaraderie, spirit and high energy makes it for a great annual tradition with their brand of Celtic-Punk music. Ken Casey (who has been the bands sole front man since Al Barr's 2022 hiatus to take care of family matters) has one of the best stage presences where he’s off the stage with the fans singing along more than he is on the stage. It was union night where members of workers unions were invited to the show to represent all the hard work that makes the city run. They are a band that has catapulted to the forefront of local bands that are almost mascots to the state of Massachusetts. They played their hits like “I’m Shipping up to Boston,” “Tessie,” that also included a heartwarming tribute to the late Tim and Stacy Wakefield. They played other greats like “Rose Tattoo” “For Boston,” “The Boys are Back” and a well fitting tribute to the recently deceased Shane MacGowan by covering the Pogues “The Body of an American.”
I’m not sure how they had the stamina to play all the shows this past weekend but it’s in the books, and I was glad to be a small part of it. The boys are headed to Europe this coming summer.