An air of excitement was in the air at the 02 Academy in Birmingham for Dropkick Murphys' arrival in the UK. As we made our way through the crowd, plenty of eager concertgoers could be heard exclaiming how they had waited years for this lineup.
Not only is the Boston punk rock group approaching thirty years as a group, but they also brought American/Ukrainian rockers Gogol Bordello to join them on their European tour. Unfortunately, for most of the United Kingdom, they would miss out on The Scratch. That almost felt like a footnote left out as the Ukrainian group took to the stage, immediately blasting out high-energy tracks.
The group started blasting “I Would Never Wanna Be Young Again”, and an air of youthful exuberance overtook the room as their interaction with the crowd saw circle pits open and not a single person stood still. While the high-energy set continued, they would welcome fellow New York band Puzzled Panther, who, while joining in on the set, sang their parts on the collaboration between the two “From Boyarka to Boyaca”.
While the set may have been short, it seemed the perfect way to start a show for an intense band like Dropkick Murphys. As the traditional colours lit up the room for the Irish punk rock group, the energy began to pick up even more as "Captain Kelly’s Kitchen" saw chaos break out amongst the crowd. That set the pace for what seemed to be an exhilarating night with the group. Immediately, the high intensity continued as the group broke out into their hit track “The Boys Are Back”. They were certainly looking for trouble, but not in the literal sense.
At one stage in the show, a lone crowdgoer beckoned to frontman Ken Casey’s nephew in the balcony area. The lead singer addressed this to the crowd as the fan signalled for the youngster to join the chaos, stating all in attendance were one family. The show did not show any signs of slowing down as more tracks like “Mick Jones Nicked My Pudding” made the setlist.
It was not a case of slowing things down towards the end until the final song after their cover of AC/DC’s It’s A Long Way To The Top. Before their encore of “I’m Shipping Up To Boston”, fans were treated to The State Of Massachusetts and Rose Tattoo. Unfortunately, it was time to bid farewell to the group, who delivered their rendition of Until Next Time with the crowd joining them before exiting the stage and ending a thoroughly enjoyable night.
Words: Christopher Obrien
Photos: Conrad Newton
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