Saturday reviews

Dropkick Murphys

Review: Dropkick Murphys

If the festivallers wanted a lazy Sunday afternoon, watching Dropkick Murphys was not the right way to go about it. After The Rasmus were bottled off stage in just five minutes, the Murphys got on stage early and in no other words, overwhelmed the crowd from start to finish.

I had the uncertain duty of carrying a large flag in the middle of a moshing crowd so, as per usual, I was knocked about and bruised. And that was before the band had even started!

The seven-man band themselves had played in Oxford’s Zodiac club the night before and it was clear that no emotion, or passion was lost at all for Reading. Watching a tear roll down Al Barr’s face during the crowd singing ‘Forever’ proved this enormously. Playing a variety of different songs From ‘Kiss Me I’m S*** Faced’ sung by Ken Casey to the emotional ‘Forever’ dedicated to deceased roadie ‘The Chicken Man’.

Having a group of random teenage girls on stage baffled me slightly but I was assured by an obsessed fan that it was normal procedure for when the band plays ‘The Spicy McHaggis Jig’. I was still none the wiser.

The Dropkick Murphys were purely outstanding. Not only did it show that they obviously enjoy what they do, it is clear that they are down to earth team, using their merchandise girl, Stephanie Dougherty, as a guest vocalist on a very out of season but exceptional version of ‘Fairytale Of New York’. This is a band that has an obvious passion for life and a more obvious passion for music. Well worth a see.