Review: Dropkick Murphys / Mighty Mighty Bosstones @ Fenway Park
Dropkick Murphys / Bosstones @ Fenway Park, September 8
Words and Photos: Andrew Bruss
Even with acts like The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney and Phish playing at Fenway Park, nobody with as much meaning to Red Sox Nation has played at “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark” as Boston’s own Dropkick Murphys.
The Dropkicks brought back the 1902 Sox anthem Tessie just in time for the 86-year curse to be broken with the team’s 2004 World Series Championship. Add to that the fact that I’m Shipping Up To Boston, a tune featured in the Masspoloitation classic The Departed, became the anthem to the Sox’s 2007 Championship as well. You can even see framed photographs of closing pitcher Jonathan Papelbon jigging to the tune inside the ballpark’s press box.
The history between the Sox and Dropkicks goes on and on, but with respect to this review’s word count, let’s just say that when the group decided to play two shows at Fenway with friends and fellow Bay-Staters, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, nobody was surprised when both shows sold out in a matter of minutes. READ ON for more…
The first of the two shows took place on a gorgeous New England summer night and what ensued was a sort of “Last Waltz” featuring the Dropkicks performing along side the friends and musical cohorts who have played a part in their story. Adding the Bosstones to the bill was a no brainer. Frontman Dicky Barrett and his suit clad ska-punk cohorts invited the Dropkick Murphys to open for them in the ’90s, but in an ode to their past, The Street Dogs, led by the Dropkicks original singer, Mike McColgan, took the main stage before the Bosstones.
The Bosstones played all the tunes a fan of theirs would want to hear. The Old School Off the Bright, Royal Oil and Don’t Worry Desmond Dekker all made the cut, and the group closed with their most famous hit,“The Impression That I Get. Barrett made a point of revving up the crowd between tunes with commentary about the venue, noting that he’d “caused a lot of trouble” in the Fenway Bleachers, and that they are proud to be from Boston (Cambridge, Andover, Norwood and Martha’s Vineyard to be more precise), and that’s why they call themselves The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
The crowd roared with approval when the lights went out for the main act. Surprising everyone in attendance, the Dropkicks marched across the Green Monster, followed by a bagpipe band, and made their way towards the “Bleacher Theater” set up in front of the bullpen. The set kicked off with some pyro and a run through Hang ‘Em High followed by Captain Kelly’s Kitchen and The Gang’s All Here off the album of the same name.
After they got deeper into their set, bassist/vocalist Ken Casey took to introducing each tune as though he was on VH1′s Storytellers. He told the crowd they weren’t going to play Tessie but winged it at the last minute. Casey also commented that they planned on wearing their Sox jerseys but thought: “Do we really have to prove how much we love this team?”
To everyone’s surprise, the audience was treated to a mini-acoustic set highlighted by a now-historic take on Echo’s on ‘A’ Street. The State Of Massachusetts was a major highlight, telling the story of a woman who loses her children to the Department of Social Services. This tune more than any honed in on their socially conscious lyrics. The Dropkick Murphys have deep roots in the Democratic Party in large part due to their background and the history of their family members’ affiliation with unions. Casey wrote Boys On The Docks for his grandfather (and dedicated it to his grandmother who was in attendance), who was a union worker.
Barroom Hero was the first tune the group ever wrote, and following guest appearances by The Parkington Sisters, who performed on the side stage alongside Chuck Ragan, the Dropkicks welcomed McColgan back to the stage as he and vocalist Al Barr embraced each other arm in arm to tear through the early-era song.
As predicted, the audience went wild for I’m Shipping Up To Boston, which closed the set, only to be followed by an encore of Time To Go that featured the Stanley Cup onstage (earned by the Boston Bruins 2011 victory over the Vancouver Canucks). There was more Bruins merch worn in the crowd than Sox, Celtics or Patriots gear so the Stanley Cup significantly added to a night that celebrated the success of local bands, Irish culture and Boston’s new “City of Champions” title.
The group ended the night with a performance of Kiss Me I’m Shitfaced that found Casey going deep into the crowd, as he was hoisted up in the air and led his audience through a sing-a-long that featured an extra microphone for the audience to sing into. Although seeing the Dropkicks with an assigned seat takes away from the energy you get packed into a moshpit, seeing a group so fundamentally connected to the Boston Red Sox perform at the very heart of Red Sox Nation was an experience you don’t have to be a fan of the Dropkicks to appreciate as fundamentally epic.
