Close your eyes, and imagine: Traditional Irish music is pouring out of every open bar door in Boston while Jameson, Guinness, and a comical amount of BORGs flow freely to further blur the vision and slur the speech of every age demographic imaginable. The chaos of the morning’s annual parade still buzzes in the air while droves of townies and travelers alike, sporting scally caps and mohawks, flock to Lansdowne Street and congregate just outside the brick facade of Fenway Park. At least one dude with a bald head and a greyish white beard says “I know the Dropkick guys from way back.”
It’s the Sunday before St. Patrick’s Day in Boston, and as you could imagine, it’s the most Boston-y day that could ever be Boston’d – complete with the penultimate installment of the annual weekend-long bagpipe bacchanalia curated by the city’s reigning favorite Irish sons, much to the chagrin of the Kennedy family, the Dropkick Murphys. Pulling up for the last of three shows at MGM Music Hall at Fenway on March 16, the boys were back and as good as ever as they filled the room with sounds of Celtic joy, punk angst, and a smidge of Bostonian mischief to boot, all with a familiar ferocity that welcomes their growing fanbase back to the city every March with a big hug – before sneaking in a quick jab to the jaw.
DKMMGM
The buzz was already alive and humming well ahead of show time, thanks in part to the growing curiosity surrounding what frontman Ken Casey might say about the current administration and the cartoon villains that are at the wheel, as he has done almost poetically over the course of the band’s extensive tour schedule these last few months. Although it surely would’ve been a fascinating sociology experiment to see how support for human decency, fighting nazis, and shunning dangerous rhetoric would split the room, Casey and crew let the music do the talking for the most part, with a smattering of top-notch friends to help echo the sentiment.
Kicking things off were the other local guys on the bill in Rebuilder, who brought a bit of their brand of summertime sweetness to the very end of a bitter New England winter (and not just for their common lemon-themed motif) as they hit the gas and got things going early. They were loud, they were fun, and offered a whole lot of what is sure to make their set at this year’s Boston Calling such an attraction by staying in the pocket and delivering a tight set that wasted no time in crushing. 10 outta 10 lemons, hands down.
Rebuilder
Rebuilder
Rebuilder
Rebuilder
Rebuilder
Rebuilder
Next up, Chuck Ragan and the Hot Water Music gang did what they do best by turning up the heat, and blasting some heartfelt punk rock into every corner of the room. Truthfully, there’s nothing to be said that hasn’t already been about Ragan as a songwriter and performer, and the reason why is because he and his crew are just that good, and to maintain that amount of dominance for as long as he has just goes to show why he’s such a legend of the scene.
Hot Water Music
Hot Water Music
Hot Water Music
Hot Water Music
Hot Water Music
Hot Water Music
Even with a southern grit deeply embedded in Ragan’s artistic DNA, the east coast energy of the night was felt to the core, and further fueling that very particular east coast energy of the evening was The Bouncing Souls, who cranked it to 11 on all levels as they delivered a set of energetic, feel-good rock and roll that got the crowd stirring more than enough to grease the wheels for the rest of the night. Churning out track after memorable track, frontman Greg Attonito held court up close and personal with the rail riders for a majority of the set, ensuring that the security team at the barricade got some reps in early, as a handful of crowd surfers made their way over the metal bar before the guys closed up shop to make way for the main event.
Bouncing Souls
Bouncing Souls
Bouncing Souls
Bouncing Souls
As the metaphorical fog rolled in just after 9:30 p.m., and that all-too-familiar (and still very eerie) Sinead O’Connor cover of “The Foggy Dew” blared while the lights went down, the crowd swelled with an audible anticipation that confirmed it was bound to be a special night in a long and storied landscape of local gatherings through every era of Dropkick Murphys lore. While the silhouette of drummer Matt Kelly took to his kit and the battle anthem faded, the band raced in with a furious rendition of “The Lonesome Boatman,” effectively igniting a sweaty and energetic hour and a half set that embarked on a journey through the band’s expansive catalog, meshing a cavalcade of time-tested fan favorites with a taste of what’s to come of the band’s next album later this summer.
Spending most of his time entrenched with the crowd from the riser connecting the stage to the barricade, frontman Ken Casey led the charge through a 24-song setlist that was echoed, nearly line for line, by the largely (but not aggressively) intoxicated crowd in a joyous chorus of raised glasses and fists in the air.
DKM Ken Casey
The songs are one thing, of course beloved by droves of fans who have filled rooms around the city on this specific weekend in March every year for nearly 30 years. But as is the case with most in the room on any given night leading up to the final shindig on St. Paddy’s Day, this isn’t their first rodeo of swashbuckling fun with the Dropkicks. So what, beyond the classics like “The State of Massachusetts,” “Fields of Athenry,” “Going Out In Style,” and “Tessie,” or the brand new songs like “Sirens” or the previously unheard “The Big Guy from Pennywise,” makes this weekend such a magnet for locals and tourists alike year after year? Well, for anyone who has seen them three, four, or perhaps even sixteen times over the years, it’s the little details that may have gone unnoticed or under-appreciated before that keep them coming back for more.
DKMJames Lynch
DKMJeff DeRosa
First, Casey could run for Mayor and win solely based on how much his fans love him. Not only is he a gifted songwriter and frontman, but he’s never been afraid to speak his mind when it comes to supporting causes and movements like labor unions and the defense of Ukraine (and that’s just in recent years. He truly stands on business, and his genuine love for all he does is apparent to an unfathomable degree. Guitarist and occasional accordion crusher Tim Brennan is the heartbeat, always bringing the crowd back into it at points where most bands would let things simmer a bit. He’s like the Brad Marchand of the bunch, and there will be hell to pay if he ever gets traded. Jeff DeRosa, an absolute menace on the guitar, banjo, mandolin, and probably the sax-a-boom and kazoo too, never stops moving. His musical feats are impressive in and of themselves, but when you pay attention to how much jumping, running and playing with the crowd the guy does every show, you’ll see that this badger does give a shit, and he does so with ease and a smile.
DKMJeff DeRosa
DKM Ken Casey
The beatdown punk riffs that flow through James Lynch’s amps further highlight the blood-curdling screams he provides throughout the night with backing vocal duties, even while staying virtually stationary in his telltale wide-legged power stance.
DKMJames Lynch
And if you had to choose a better one-two punch of rhythm, you’d be hard-pressed to find one that is truly as dangerous and consistent as drummer Matt Kelly and bassist Kevin Rheault. While Kelly seemingly strives to dismantle his kit with every smack of the skins, his precision and ability to provide the beat when we need it most put him in an elite class that he may not even realize he’s in, let alone gets the credit he deserves for his work, especially as the second-longest tenured member of the band. Rheault, on the other hand, is the newest full-time member, and he’s fit in seamlessly since assuming Casey’s position as bassist in 2018. Not only does he add an extra level of boom with his rumbling basslines, but he also hammers an AC/DC cover like a gent, which has endeared him with fans from the jump.
DKM Kevin Rheault + James Lynch
All of those elements have continuously worked in tandem to bring an electric show to the band’s loyal fan base all over the world for nearly three full decades, which in turn brings out the best in their crowds – and on Sunday night in Boston, it was no different. Except for maybe that one guy in the back that gave Casey the middle finger while he spoke about the band’s support of Ukraine. F**k that guy.
DKM Ken Casey
DKMJeff DeRosa
The connection between the band and their fans is unmatched, though, with a bond that should be heralded up there with Dead Heads, Parrot Heads and the like. The best part is that it’s only seeming to get bigger and stronger as time rolls on. Who’s to say where things will be in a year, but you can bet that the vibe will still be immaculate on Lansdowne Street come St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
DKM Ken Casey
DKM Ken Casey
Overall, the vibe of Sunday’s festivities felt familiar in all the right ways. Even as the scent of sweat, beer and sticky floors lingered well beyond the show’s end, the obvious joy of the night reciprocated from both sides of the barricade only further confirmed that regardless of how many times the boys have made their way back home, or how many times we’ve heard “I’m Shipping Up To Boston,” the global legion of fans will stay true to the ritual of finding that goddamn wooden leg year after year, as long as the Murphys keep stirring the ship through the storm.
Article/Words: Jason Greenough
