Fillmore Charlotte – 01 March 2023
Drop Kickin off the St. Paddy's season!
I may be only about 1/6th Irish, but starting every March leading up to one of my favorite holidays, I really start to embrace that small part of my ancestry. I can't think of a much better way to start the St. Patrick's Day season off than seeing the Dropkick Murphys live. This was the opening night of their St. Patrick's Day tour that ends in Boston of course on the holiday weekend. I wasn't sure what to expect seeing them in Charlotte and was cool to see the fans came out and the show officially sold out. There was a wide mix of all different ages from older dudes with more grey hair than me to younger kids up way past their bed time.
I really wanted to check out the opening act Jesse Ahern but a few things delayed me and the opening bands actually started early. As I walked in Jesse was on his last song unfortunately. What little bit I heard sounded great and the crowd seemed into it.
The place was really filling in when the Rumjacks took the stage. They are a similar style Celtic Punk band and I was concerned it may be a little too close to the headliners in music style. However, this Australian band definitely had their own style. They really got the crown fired up with a good mix of songs, with some having more of a harder rock feel. I was not very familiar with their music and found myself really in to them and the crowd was dancing, clapping, and singing along. I was quite impressed with their lead singer Mike Rivkees going back and forth between playing the tin whistle and pumping out the vocals without missing a beat. As soon as the Rumjacks left the stage my earlier concerns of having an opening band that was too similar was long gone and I was pumped up and ready for the Dropkick Murphys.
As the stage was getting set up for them someone behind me mentioned that there was a lot of crosses getting set up. In addition to all the crosses the stage was dressed with white lace, statues, and lots of candles giving it a church altar theme. I had not seen the Dropkick Murphys before so I don't know if this is standard for them or if they are taking more of the original religious approach to the St. Patrick Day Holiday. It was a different look than most of the punk shows I have gone to, and although I am not religious, I can appreciate the extra effort they put into it.
The headliners took the stage right on time and the crowd got very loud as they opened with the banger “The State of Massachusetts” and then went right into the fan favorite “The Boys Are Back”. The band sounded great and the sound mixer had everything dialed just right. The room was filled to the brim with energy and it was good to see a dance pit with crowd surfers that all seemed to respect each other. Al Barr is still on hiatus and Ken Casey now handles most of the vocals taking on both of their parts with the exception of bass player Kevin Rheault who I believe may have filled in for Al on one song. Ken Casey was very interactive with the crowd making everyone feel welcome (accept fascists), and gave big props to the younger kids up front. I was especially impressed with Tim Brennan who plays guitar, rocks the accordion, jumps behind the piano, blows the tin whistle and even banged on a drum!
The set included a good mix of hits and newer ditties. After a few favorites they played two numbers off their recently released acoustic album This Machine Still Kills Fascists, which included the chant song “Ten Times More” and “Cadillac, Cadillac”. These slower paced tunes were a nice break and gave the crowd a chance to catch their breath.
Later in the set the band announced they were dropping a brand new song the next day off their new upcoming album Okemah Rising coming out in May. The song is called “I Know How It Feels” and then they proceeded to play it for the crowd.
The Dropkick's ended the set with “I'm Shipping Up to Boston” and “Worker's Song” and after ending with these two crowd-pleasers I thought for a second maybe they weren't going to do an encore. Of course they did come back out to play “Rose Tattoo”, “Boys on the Docks” and ending appropriately with “Kiss Me I'm Shitfaced”. After the last song Ken started handing out set lists to the younger kids in the front and Tim gave out guitar picks to the kids that didn't get set lists which was a nice touch. This being my first time seeing DKM live I wish Al Barr was back playing with them but I knew up front he wouldn't be there and I understand his absence. Never the less I had a blast and would definitely recommend if they are coming near your town and you are at all interested in them, you score some tickets soon.
The remaining itinerary for Pega Presents…Dropkick Murphys St. Patrick's Day 2023 Tour is as follows:
| Wed., Mar. 8 | Indianapolis, IN | Egyptian Room * |
| Fri., Mar. 10 | Louisville, KY | Old Forester's Paristown Hall * (SOLD OUT) |
| Sat., Mar. 11 | Milwaukee, WI | UW Milwaukee Panther Arena(solo show) |
| Sun., Mar. 12 | Grand Rapids, MI | 20 Monroe * |
| Mon., Mar. 13 | Columbus, OH | Kemba Live! * |
| Tue., Mar. 14 | Wilkes-Barre, PA | Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza * |
| Thu., Mar. 16 | Boston, MA | MGM Music Hall at Fenway ** (SOLD OUT) |
| Fri., Mar. 17 | Boston, MA | MGM Music Hall at Fenway *** (SOLD OUT) |
| Sat., Mar. 18 | Boston, MA | MGM Music Hall at Fenway **** (SOLD OUT) |
| Sun., Mar. 19 | Boston, MA | House of Blues * (SOLD OUT) |
* with The Rumjacks & Jesse Ahern
** with Turnpike Troubadours & Nikki Lane
*** with Turnpike Troubadours & The Rumjacks
**** with Turnpike Troubadours & Jesse Ahern
Likes fine beer and cheap cheese. He has been a DJ, sound mixer for commercials and television, and currently designs motorcycle parts. He also has a habit of creating pastiche style cover songs and changing the chorus to incorporate “Jeff” or “Sorley.” (sigh… it's true – Jeff)
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