All over the world (streaming from Boston, MA) – St. Patrick’s Day is laden with local and worldwide tradition. The Dropkick Murphys (DKM), a Punk, Rock, Celtic Folk band has become such a tradition in Boston. While touring the globe over the last 24 years, DKM has made it a tradition to perform on St. Paddy’s Day in their hometown of Boston, MA. This year, COVID-19 tried to put a stop to tradition. However, thanks to some quick thinking, support from staff and local businesses, a desire to keep the tradition and a little Luck of the Irish, DKM not only kept the tradition going, but delivered one heck of a show to the world!
At 7PM Boston time, a live feed lit up the internet. Broadcast from an undisclosed location (to prevent curious fans from showing up), DKM went live with their St. Paddy’s show. Thankfully the show was a few minutes late in starting, as I had a couple technical glitches on my end and arrived a little late to the party. About five minutes before they took to the stage, singer Ken Casey was videoed in the ready room, preparing for the show. He had a little fun with the crew while pointing out that this was going to be a harder show. “I think playing to a lot of people is not nerve wracking because it becomes anonymous. Playing to nobody, that’s nerve wracking.” Thinking about past concert experiences I’ve experienced and watched how the energy level increased in the audience, resulting in greater band energy and in turn ramped up more audience energy, I was very curious to see how the show would pan out.
I am not going to review the performance, I think it is more appropriate of our readers check it out for themselves (link at the end of the story). As I watched the show unfold, the band did a great job of performing as they would to a live audience, often using the camera person as the focal point of the audience. It was almost like everyone watching had not just one, but several front row seats all at once. In many instances, we were up close and personal with the members of the band. The band consisting of Al Barr, Tim Brennan, Ken Casey, Jeff DaRosa, Matt Kelly, and James Lynch put on a show that I will remember for years to come, as it came at a time when many of us needed a temporary escape.
Throughout the show, DKM maintained a super high energy level and even though there was no audience (other than the crew and a little canned laughter thrown in for fun), they energized themselves as the show went on. We were treated to many fun stories of the band, as well as the announcement that Tom Brady would not longer be a Patriot and was likely going to Tampa Bay. Looking back, in their 24-year history, twenty of those years was with Brady at the helm of the Patriots. They also cheerfully pointed out that if the NHL were to end the remainder of the season, the Bruins, by default, would be Stanley Cup Champs.
They explained how this idea came to fruition in such a short time. Originally, it was to be a broadcast of cell phone quality. They reached out to a local business, PEGA Systems, who then took the lead, providing the lighting and cameras. Events United and Ultrasound also provided a ton of support and effort to pull off this uniting event. Tying it all together was DKM and their dedicated staff.
What kind of impact did this performance have? Numbers don’t lie. The morning after, the Youtube video of the stream had over 900,000 views. As of early today, 3/20/2020, that number is over 1.4 million views. Comments on the video include Jason who said, “The level of genius for a group that relies so heavily on sing along type songs to play to an empty room and still make me go hoarse in my living room with the same energy.. well hell, ya done good boys. Thank you so much” and thewatercarrier remarked, “I danced the Quarantine Jig at three in the morning in Athens, Greece!” For 2 hours, DKM brought so many together in a time when we are told to stay apart. I think Chris said it best with, “Just what the doctor ordered”!
Please, take some time to view the show. It will certainly be two hours well spent. If you want to support the Dropkick Murphys now, check out their online merchandise. We are looking to a time when we can catch DKM in person when they are back out on the road.
To Dropkick Murphys and all of those that helped support this effort, one last heartfelt thank you and a job well done!
Don’t fret if you missed it live! Check out the whole show “Streaming Up From Boston” here:
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Setlist
The Irish Rover
The Boys are Back
Paying My Way
Black Velvet Band
Don’t Tear Us Apart
First Class Loser
Johnny I Hardly Know Ya
Blood
Famous for Nothing
The Bonny
Smash Shit Up
Going Out in Style
Cruel
Workers Song
Time to Go
Fields of Athenry
Sunday Hardcore Matinee
I Fought the Law
Forever
The Rocky Road to Dublin
The State of Massachusetts
You’ll Never Walk Alone
Mick Jones Nicked my Pudding
Queen of Suffolk County
Burn it to the Ground
Rose Tattoo
Until Next Tim
I’m Shipping Up to Boston
Show Date: 3/17/2020
