Having toured together four times now, the Sick Of It All and Dropkick Murphys combination has become a finely tuned punk juggernaut leaving a trail of drunken destruction in its wake.
New York hardcore punk veterans Sick Of It All played a blistering set of back-to-back, no frills tracks to varying degrees of success. Although perhaps trying a little too hard to get the crowd going at times, they played a super energetic set and held it together well in front of a crowd that was obviously hanging out to see Dropkick Murphys. A special mention must go to guitarist Pete Koller for providing constant entertainment with his incredible athleticism. Without a second of rest for the whole set, Koller jumped, sprinted, hopped and spun his way around the stage without showing any signs of tiring. It’s always liberating to see someone so passionate and energetic when performing.
By the time the lights went down and the Dropkick Murphys’ intro music began, the crowd was well lubricated and brimming with anticipation for what one of the great punk bands of our time would have to offer. The Boston seven-piece played a flawless set of their unique brand of Celtic folk/hardcore punk mostly taken from 2007’s album, The Meanest Of Times. Early highlights from the tight collection of beer-drinking anthems came in the form of The State of Massachusetts – which utilised some more traditional instruments such as the accordion, banjo and piccolo – while the catchy God Willing had most of the crowd proudly singing along while bagpipes kept the tune chugging along throughout.
Other memorable moments included the band’s very hospitable invitation for all the ladies in the crowd to climb on stage to dance, sing and push each other around for a while. It turned out to be a hilarious and extremely entertaining stunt, creating the perfect amount of chaos needed to top off a quality, unpretentious punk rock show.
