DROPKICK MURPHYS // OVO HYDRO, GLASGOW
DROPKICK MURPHYS bring their best show to Glasgow’s OVO Hydro.
★★★★★ (5/5)
DROPKICK MURPHYS PERFORMING AT GLASGOW’S OVO HYDRO
PHOTOCREDIT: STUART WESTWOOD
I had the pleasure of going along to the OVO Hydro, one of the best, if not the best, larger scale music venues in Glasgow to see the Dropkick Murphys bring their high octane show to town. Support was provided by Jesse Ahern, The Rumjacks and Pennywise, if nothing else it was clear from that line up that the show was going to be value for money, always a good thing in these financially difficult times.
Unfortunately due to work commitments I wasn’t able to make it in time to see either Jesse Ahern or the Rumjacks (Jesse Ahern was on stage about 6.30). I did however speak to a few people at the gig who confirmed both put on tremendous performances.
I was lucky enough, however, to be there for Pennywise taking the stage. Talk about making an entrance! They tore the place up with their first few songs, demanding that an initially strangely subdued audience, dance and party with them, what choice did they audience have, they succumbed.
What was most impressive about them however was their ability to mix it up, how many bands would change pace suddenly in the middle of their gig to give a delighted audience a bit of soul? There was a high level of political commentary in their show but none of it preachy, it was very much skewed towards looking after each other and doing the right thing by each other, I’m not sure anyone can complain about that. All in all they were excellent, they were so good in fact that one guy in the toilet tried to persuade everyone coming in that Pennywise had already stolen the show and there was no point in the Dropkick Murphys coming on! It wasn’t a view universally shared but for all I know he’s still in there making his case.
ATMOSHPHERE AT DROPKICK MURPHY’S GLASGOW OVO HYDRO SHOW
PHOTOCREDIT: STUART WESTWOOD
I waited patiently for the Dropkick Murphys to arrive, they are a band with a reputation for putting on a blistering live show and when they strolled out on to stage and launched into their set they didn’t disappoint. If I have one criticism it was that the bulk of the crowd, excepting a hardcore group at the front, took a while to warm up. That didn’t stop the Dropkicks or cause them to break their stride, they went for it with a full on aural assault.
It's nice to know the lead singer loves Scotland so much that his daughter now studies here, I suspect this means that we may get a few more visits from them to let hm see his daughter.
I think the highlight for me personally was Dirty Old Town, I know it’s a song by Ewan MacColl rather than the band but they did it so well it felt like they inhabited it, took it over and made it all their own, were they singing about Boston, Glasgow, Dublin? Who knows? This is a band who have always taken pride in their American Irish root and for whom the phrase Celtic Punk may well have been invented but they are currently taking an interesting new direction.
Quite a few of the songs from the new album ‘This Machine Still Kills Fascists’ were given an airing tonight, it’s a change of tone and direction for them in some ways but in others it’s an obvious continuation of who they are. Basically it’s the Dropkick Murphys do Woody Guthrie. I’m not sure its one I saw coming but it absolutely works. It means some of the songs sounds more acoustic, more country almost but that’s not a bad thing, a few of the band’s audience are a little bit older than when they first started going to Dropkicks gigs, I’m sure they welcome a bit of respite from the full on madness of the celtic punk behemoth.
Was there a weak spot to this show? No. Did they play many of their classic songs? Yes. Did the new material slip seamlessly into the show? Emphatically yes which is not a trick many bands who’ve been going as long as the Dropkicks have can pull off.
The Dropkick Murphys remain an excellent live band, one worth seeing whenever they are in town and the show itself with, all of the support acts, is some of the best value for money in gig going I’ve seen in a long time!
REVIEW BY: IAIN MCCLAY
PHOTOS BY: STUART WESTWOOD
SETLIST:
OVO HYDRO, GLASGOW
Foggy Drew- (Charles O’Neill song) - (Sinéad O'Connor & The Chieftains version)
The Lonesome Boatman - (The Fureys cover)
The Boys Are Back
The State Of Massachusetts
Good As Gold
Middle Finger
Two 6’s Upside Down
All You Fonies
Turn Up That Dial
Barroom Hero
Queen Of Suffolk County
Cadillac, Cadillac
The Last One
Going Out In Style
Smash Shit Up
The Bonny - (Gerry Cinnamon cover)
Never Git Drunk No More - (with Jaime Wyatt on vocals)
Worker’s Song - (Acoustic version with Jesse Ahern on vocals)
Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya
Rose Tattoo
Kiss Me, I’m Shitfaced
ENCORE:
Dirty Old Town - (Ewan MacColl cover)
I’m Shipping Up To Boston
The Dirty Glass - (with Jamie Wyatt on vocals)
My Way - (Frank Sinatra song)