Dropkick Concert
Joe Bell
Issue date: 11/20/08 Section: TruLife
Never have the accordion, the banjo and the bagpipes rocked so hard.
The Dropkick Murphys made a stop at the Blue Note in downtown Columbia, and the long trip on a cold Tuesday night was more than worth the time I missed doing homework and sleeping. Upon arrival, I was greeted by fluorescent pink and green mohawks and more than a few people wearing kilts. It was going to be an interesting show, for sure.
The concert opened with Everybody Out and Angel City Outcasts and was headlined by the Irish punk-rock crooning of the Dropkick Murphys.
The show got off to an awesome start when Everybody Out hit the stage. The band was headed by former Dropkick guitarist Rick Barton and Lost City Angels front man Sweeney Todd. After an incomprehensible introduction, the band rocked the house for the next half-hour.
Everybody Out was one of the best openers I have ever seen. Instead of just filling time before the headliners hit the stage, Everybody Out was a good show in itself. The crowd was yelling along and the mosh pit was going nuts.
The next band, Angel City Outcasts, was a bit of a letdown after Everybody Out. The similar sound of Everybody Out got the crowd set to hear the Murphys, but ACO interrupted that flow. ACO still put on a fairly good set, but by the time it neared its end, the crowd was getting anxious for the Dropkick Murphys.
The Dropkick Murphys' sound is hard to describe. The band blends everything from Irish folk music, punk-rock and hardcore into a sound that is uniquely its own. And with that blend comes a mix of traditional rock instruments, guitar, bass and drums, along with several instruments that have never even been associated with the genre. Among these odd instruments are the banjo, the bagpipes and, to top it off, the accordion. Those instruments might sound like a good way to turn a rock concert into a Weird Al Yankovic show, but the band manages to blend all of these instruments into a coherent rock sound that has a distinct Irish flavor.
The Dropkick Murphys made a stop at the Blue Note in downtown Columbia, and the long trip on a cold Tuesday night was more than worth the time I missed doing homework and sleeping. Upon arrival, I was greeted by fluorescent pink and green mohawks and more than a few people wearing kilts. It was going to be an interesting show, for sure.
The concert opened with Everybody Out and Angel City Outcasts and was headlined by the Irish punk-rock crooning of the Dropkick Murphys.
The show got off to an awesome start when Everybody Out hit the stage. The band was headed by former Dropkick guitarist Rick Barton and Lost City Angels front man Sweeney Todd. After an incomprehensible introduction, the band rocked the house for the next half-hour.
Everybody Out was one of the best openers I have ever seen. Instead of just filling time before the headliners hit the stage, Everybody Out was a good show in itself. The crowd was yelling along and the mosh pit was going nuts.
The next band, Angel City Outcasts, was a bit of a letdown after Everybody Out. The similar sound of Everybody Out got the crowd set to hear the Murphys, but ACO interrupted that flow. ACO still put on a fairly good set, but by the time it neared its end, the crowd was getting anxious for the Dropkick Murphys.
The Dropkick Murphys' sound is hard to describe. The band blends everything from Irish folk music, punk-rock and hardcore into a sound that is uniquely its own. And with that blend comes a mix of traditional rock instruments, guitar, bass and drums, along with several instruments that have never even been associated with the genre. Among these odd instruments are the banjo, the bagpipes and, to top it off, the accordion. Those instruments might sound like a good way to turn a rock concert into a Weird Al Yankovic show, but the band manages to blend all of these instruments into a coherent rock sound that has a distinct Irish flavor.
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