There's nothing quite like the anticipation of seeing one of your favourite bands, especially when their last gig brings back so many fond memories.  Such was the case with the Dropkick Murphys.  Sure, Ryan Foltz and Spicy McHaggis were no longer in the band and the gig was at a dodgy venue, but my enthusiasm could not be dampened.

 Drunk and excited, a bunch of us piled into the cab and proceeded to run through the songs we wanted to hear.  Upstarts and Broken Hearts and Rocky Road to Dublin were at the top of the list for a couple of us.  Arriving at the Metro, there was a pretty big queue inside as well as outside the foyer, which was fine until I found out that the queue inside was for the merch stall.  Now, I don't know about you, but a
merch line that intersects with the queue to get in to the actual venue is a pretty badly organised plan.    Nonetheless, with t-shirt and badges finally in hand (after being served by the wonderfully friendly and all around cute-as-a-button Stephanie Doherty - yes, she who helps out on vocals on The Dirty Glass), it was time to try and not get too bored by the rather dull and unexciting support band (where are Charter 77 when you need them?!), drink more beer and wait for (one of) Boston's finest. 

 After what seemed like an eternity, although it was certainly a good chance to socialise and whatnot, the Dropkick Murphys made it to the stage.  Now, I must admit that the order of songs is a bit of a blur to me, so I'm not going to try and recall what song was played at what stage of the gig.  It was no great surprise that most of the songs were from Blackout given that it was the album they were touring.  Bastards on Parade and The Dirty Glass were the highlights for me off the new album, but the ultimate highlight was definitely Pipebomb On Lansdowne, one of my all-time favourite DKM tunes.  Hell, getting to hear that made up for the fact that they didn't play Rocky Road To Dublin, albeit marginally.  Of course, there was the standard "now it's time for the ladies" portions, mainly for the Spicy McHaggis Jig which just doesn't seem the same without Spicy actually there.   Speaking of pipers, Scruffy Wallace certainly lived up to what we've come to expect from this fine band, as did Ryan Foltz's replacement Tim.
 
It's A Long Way To The Top was given top treatment by the band and was definitely done justice.  Considering I'm not much of an AC/DC fan, that says a lot, I reckon.  Other tunes that got a guernsey that night included Gonna Be A Blackout Tonight, Walk Away, It's Your Life, Barroom Heroes, The Gauntlet, For Boston, Curse Of A Fallen Soul, The Workers Song, Fields Of Athenry (which comes up far better live than I thought it would) and Time To Go.  The show was finished with, of course, Skinhead On The MBTA, which allowed all in sundry to find their way onto the stage and sing along to their hearts content.  

 There's something about DKM songs that seem to stir up a well of camaraderie amongst their fans which was confirmed by the sight of many drunken lads sporting a pint in one hand, their other arm around their mates, slurring along in heartfelt sincerity and passion.   Well, once again, Dropkick Murphys came, saw and conquered.  I'm just glad I was there to see it (again!).

 - Reviewed by Dominique -

Be first to comment this article

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.

Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.4