Pop Break Live: The Dropkick Murphys, Agnostic Front, and Bim Skala Bim at House of Blues Boston – St. Patrick’s Day 2018
Words & Photos by Patrick Gilrane
It was a cold St Patrick’s Day weekend 2018 in Boston, the pubs were full to capacity and everywhere you look was a sea of green.
To some St Paddy’s Day has a different theme, possibly a pub crawl or local Irish music at one of the many pubs, or like myself the Dropkick Murphys hometown gigs leading up to St Paddy’s Day.
A sort of migration happens this time of year with fans descending on Boston from all over the world, braving the sometimes-harsh winter elements to join the Murphys community in celebration. The venue for this weekend’s festivities is the Iconic House of Blues Boston with the Dropkick’s selling out multiple shows over several days. Also, on the ticket depending on the show, Agnostic Front, Hatebreed and Bim Skala Bim.
The Dropkick Murphys (DKM) are a Celtic punk band formed in Quincy Massachusetts in 1996 and includes band members Al Barr on Vocals, Ken Casey on bass and vocals, Jeff DaRosa on banjo, mandolin, guitar and vocals, Tim Brennan on guitar, accordion and vocals, Matt Kelly on drums, James Lynch on guitar and vocals and Lee Forshner on pipes and whistle. DKM are an Born & Bred recording artist whose latest album 11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory dropped in January of 2017.
The thunderous version of “The Foggy Dew” performed by Sinead O’Connor and the Chieftains awakens the crowd at House of Blues Boston. The excitement continues to build as the song plays on, leading us to the beginning of show.
DKM took the stage delivering a raucous set of working-class anthems to the sellout crowd at HOB. Known for its rowdy and frenetic gigs, tonight would not disappoint.
In addition to bagpipes DKM seamlessly merges banjo, mandolin, tin whistle and accordion into their trademark Boston Celtic style of punk rock. Watching the crowd, you could see people in their comfort zones, some in the pit deep into the mayhem, and others rocking out from the sidelines while loudly chanting “The Boys Are Back” with the band. A few highlights from this show were “The State of Massachusetts” and “The Gauntlet” which clearly demonstrates what the Murphys do best – deliver high energy in your face Celtic punk rock. The Murphys ended this show in typical fashion with “Kiss Me I’m Shitfaced”, including the stage invasion, followed by a blistering rendition of “Skinhead on the MBTA” that had the crowd in a frenzy.
The Dropkick Murphys played a total of twenty-five songs tonight including the encore for the rowdy bunch at HOB Boston!
Set List
The Boys Are Back
Captain Kelly’s Kitchen
The Legend of Finn MacCumhail
The Gangs All Here
Going Out In Style
Blood
Citizen CIA
Walk Away
You’ll Never Walk Alone
Cruel
Irish Rover
First Class Looser
Never Forget
Barroom Hero
The Gauntlet
Spicy McHaggis Jig
Hardest Mile
Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya
Prisoner’s Song
Rose Tattoo
I Had a Hat
Shipping Up to Boston
Encore
Out of Our Heads
Kiss Me I’m Shitfaced
Skinhead on The MBTA
Agnostic Front
Agnostic Front (AF) is a hardcore band based in New York City, originally formed in 1980 its members include Vinnie Stigma on guitar and vocals, Roger Miret on lead vocals, Craig Silverman on guitar and vocals, Mike Gallo on bass and vocals and Pokey Mo on drums. AF is a Nuclear Blast Records recording artist whose latest album “The American Dream Died” dropped in 2015.
IMHO Agnostic Front has no equal in the Hardcore scene and are referred to as the Godfathers of Hardcore for a very good reason. On this night HOB is sold out and packed with a mixture of old and new school hardcore and Celtic punk fans. Absolute madness ensued as the band took the stage and plowed through a set that had front man Roger Miret directing the crowd to get the mosh pit going!
The best way I can describe this set is balls-to-the-walls from start to finish, with the high points being “Never Walk Alone” and a scorching version of the Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop”. Being an older enthusiast of the scene it makes me proud to see AF still going strong, these are some old dogs, but man they still fucking bite!!
Bim Skala Bim
Bim Skala Bim (BSB) is a Boston based Ska band formed in 1983 and includes band members Dan Vitale on lead vocals, Mark Farranti on bass, Jim Jones on guitar and vocals, Jim Arhelger on drums, Vince Nobile on trombone and keyboard and Dave Butts on keyboard and sax. BSB’s latest work “Musical Biscuits” dropped in 2013.
Bim Skala Bim got things started tonight and was a great addition to this show bringing the crowd at HOB to life. BSB swooned the crowd with its infectious up-tempo ska style of music clearly showcasing its reggae / Caribbean influence.
In closing I could think of nowhere I’d rather be than with the Dropkick Murphys on St Paddy’s Day in Boston Massachusetts. I would like to thank team Dropkick Murphys for always putting together a great show, as well as the fine people at HOB Boston for hosting this event!
