Reviewed by Kenny Lenehan
Photos by Sabrina Ramdoyal (Manchester)
Sensational Celtic Punk Giants Dropkick Murphy’s continue their UK tour with two sold out shows at the 02 Academy Glasgow. I caught the first night on 22 April 2019, check out my thoughts below.
Upon waiting for the Dropkick Murphy’s to take the stage the atmosphere of the capacity crowd was well oiled in anticipation. Many had clearly made the best of the weather and the holiday weekend adding to the party atmosphere. As line check progressed behind a black curtain and spotlights the crowd reacted to the unmistakable sound of the mandolin and accordion.
‘The Foggy Dew’ by Sinead O’Conner opens the set and then rather abruptly the curtain drops as the piper appears opening the show with ‘Scotland The Brave’ which lead into the band taking the stage with both vocalists appearing in tandem to an explosive reaction from the audience. The rendition of ‘Scotland The Brave’ was outstanding and very tasteful which is not an easy thing to pull off.
The band proceed to burst into ‘Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya’ with the capacity audience instantly reacting with a full-on response. The atmosphere is outstanding with a crowd filled with all walks of life not just a typical rock audience.
Next on the set was ‘Blood’, another of the bands trademark tracks being featured early in the set. Instantly met with recurring enthusiasm from the audience! By this point I thought I would check out the balcony for a different perspective and it was equally an outstanding experience.
So far there wasn’t a lot of interaction from the band, but Ken Casey introduced the band before the 4th song of the set with “How’s it going Glasgow? We Are Dropkick Murphy’s from Boston MA. It’s great to be back, you are our family”.
‘State Of Massachusetts’ was met with another eruption from the audience being one of the Murphy’s signature tracks. There was even a small Ceilidh happening at the main bar!
‘Let’s Go Murphy’s!’ the audience chants as the lights dimmed between tracks in tandem with the bass drum. Which led into ‘The Irish Rover’ which yet again was met with the famous Glasgow audience.
The band introduce a couple from Greece and the man proceeds to propose to the woman on stage to which the audience yet again erupts with applause! Which warmed up the next track ‘You Will Never Walk Alone’.
‘Rose Tattoo’, a personal favourite of mine was mind blowing and had the venue roaring in unison.
More chanting as the encore started 15 minutes before curfew. An outstanding performance featuring old school classics and signature tracks. There was never a moment that was dull or unenthusiastic. I highly recommend you check out the Dropkick Murphy’s live! They truly deliver and it’s a unique experience.
Website
Streaming Outta Fenway | Free Livestream
Social Media
http://facebook.com/DropkickMurphys
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Kenny Lenehan 