LIVE REVIEW: THE DROPKICK MURPHYS With Special Guests ALKALINE TRIO

I cannot begin to tell you what a fun show this was and what a perfect pairing Alkaline Trio and Dropkick Murphy’s are. There was such an energy in the room, and I can confirm that all in attendance had the time of their lives.

Canada’s Alkaline Trio kicked off things tonight and have finally returned to Australia after a decade’s absence from our shores.

This three-piece have been one of my favourite bands since I first heard them way back to 2001 where their 3rd album “from here to Infirmary” captured my ears, staying on my radar ever since. They are one of those bands I have constantly checked out any new material from them and obviously when I discovered them, I went back to their first two releases. This years ‘Blood, Eyeballs and Hair’ marked their tenth album and saw the band back in fine form.

The voices of the band come from guitarist/vocalist Mike Skiba and bassist/vocalist Dan Andriano both sharing lead vocal duties. Some may best know Skiba from his tenure in Blink 182 as he replaced Tom Delonge from 2015-2022. This stringed duo dressed in suits certainly looked the part tonight.

Drummer Atom Willard is just a powerhouse and hits so damn hard. Willard would have to be one of the hardest hitting drummers in modern punk rock. Visibly drenched in his own sweat by the 3rd song this guy is a powerhouse. His collection of broken sticks that he shared with the crowd at the end of the set was impressive.

If you haven’t heard Alkaline Trio I can possibly put them into the category of matured Blink 182 and knowing Skiba replaced DeLonge makes perfect sense as I can’t think of anyone else that would do it better.

Tonight, there was a sea of Alkaline Trio shirts and hoodies in the crowd which is always a good sign for a band. It was evident that they have been missed. The bands sixteen song set was ‘Blood, Eyeballs and Hair’ strong with five new tracks being played for us. Opening with “Hot For Preacher” from the new album the tone had been set early on. The band was not here to mess around. The ‘From Here to Infirmary’ and ‘Good Mourning’ albums were also well represented in the set with four song a piece. Keen to make up for lost time between visits the band kept between song banter to a minimum and just delivered one powerhouse song after another.

Being a three piece with both Skiba and Andriano upfront and sharing vocal duties there wasn’t a whole lot of stage movement, but as I mentioned before tonight was all about the songs and the time lapses between tours to our country. Sure, they grooved in the positions but the energy from the stage tonight came from the performance and the songs and what a collection of fine tunes they have.

With no time for encores the band finished with the song that started it all for them ‘Radio’. An extremely grateful and appreciative band took their time leaving the stage tonight handing out set lists, broken drum sticks and guitar picks.

Alkaline Trio for me played an amazing set that not only satisfied the eager fans but introduced themselves to a whole new legion of fans. As a fan I couldn’t be happier with the set and performance. My only regret is that I didn’t get to see them play more than one show on this tour.

Setlist : Hot For Preacher, We’ve Had Enough, One Hundred Stories, Bad Time, Versions Of You, Calling All Skeletons, Mr. Chainsaw, Stupid Kid, Mercy Me, Fatally Yours, Broken Down In A Time Machine, Armageddon, Blood Hair & Eyeballs, Private Eye, This Could Be Love, Radio.

Alkaline Trio Gallery

Dropkick Murphys, what can I say about a band that are so much fun to watch, engage with and simply party along-side. This was their second show at Melbourne, The Forum and as advertised they delivered a completely different set from the night before with exception to four hits and classics they simply couldn’t have gotten away with without playing.

There is so much energy in this band, in their performance and their songs. From the moment the seven-piece took to the stage it was a frenzy on stage and in the pit. While tonight hadn’t sold out prior to the show starting I’m sure that it had by this stage. The room was elbow to elbow.

Frontman Ken Casey ran onto the stage and simply did not stop. Taking moment within each song to step into the photo put and plant himself against the barrier where he stood on road-cases to better interact with the crowd, and the crowd just loved it, they lapped it up and sang so hard and loud to almost every word.

The band were just as energised as they simply rocked out all night long. Lead guitarist Jeff Lynch is just such a cool customer, his Les Paul slung low just gave the songs their edge. If you aren’t familiar with the band, they are Boston Massachusetts natives who have embrace that whole Irish American way of life and put a great punk rock twist on traditional Irish themed songs. Banjo’s, flutes, accordion, bagpipes and mandolins all feature in the band’s sound. Put all of that into a big punk rock blender you get this band.

With forty-four of the band own songs played over the two nights, the setlist we got tonight was twenty-six songs long and featured two covers. More about those soon.

We even got a Christmas song tonight in “The Seasons Upon Us” which was proclaimed as being their story of dysfunctional families during the holidays. Casey going on to say, “we don’t get much of a chance to play this one in America because there are just so many holiday we need to get through before Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, you guys are luck the next one you have is Christmas so it Ok to play it”.

Dropkick Murphy’s have always had a message and have always had a strong support for the working class, a strong understanding of the working class and have had a strong outlook and passion for American political issues and a firm dislike for Trump which was voiced tonight not in serious tone but in light and the realisation that they can’t change what has been voted. Tonight “First Class Loser” was dedicated to Trump as they offered their apology to the world on his re-election.

The other side of the band is just fun, energy and more fun. They truly are the greatest sing along fun band I have ever seen. That running from stage to barrier just kept going all night. That kind of interaction with fans leaves no doubt as to why they have the following they do. I simply love that stuff.

Tonight’s crowd were simply nuts and there for a great time. There were so many crowd surfers which security handled so safely and respectfully all night. There were so many repeat surfers tonight it was fun to watch. From crowd surfer to a hectic mosh out everyone had a blast. Every word was sung by the front row and the voices deeper were loud and proud. Tonight was a party and it simply fuelled the band. So much so that frontman Casey went on to say “Can you keep a secret, please don’t be putting this on the internet but you guys are much better than last night. Fuck those guys” laughingly.

There were moments where Casey also showed true gratitude to Australia and the fans here. Thanking us for supporting them every-time they have visited us over the last 25 years.

It’s hard to tell which doing got the biggest reaction tonight. The bands version of AC/DC’s “It’s A Long Way To The Top” was killer and sung by bass player Kevin Rheault who nailed it and didn’t we just love it !!! The other cover in tonight’s set was “The Field Of Athenry” by Irish singer/songwriter Pete St.John held true to their heritage and roots.

Closing out tonight’s set is the classic “I’m Shipping Up To Boston”. The Forum was in peak voice and the crowd surfers, I think I counted twenty-five over the barrier just in this song were steady.

The encore feature two of the band’s finest songs, from what could be their finest album ‘Signed and Sealed In Blood’. “The Boys Are Back” and “Rose Tattoo” are without a doubt receiving tonight’s best reception. Standing in the middle of The Forum for these two made me truly understand how passionate every-one was about this band. It was chilling, incredibly special and jaw dropping. Based upon tonight’s show I will be back to see these guys again and I will be bringing friends with me as this is certainly there for gig of the year for me. Setlist : Workers Song, The State Of Massachusetts, Mick Jones Nicked My Pudding, Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya, Blood, Skinhead on The MBTA, Which Side Are You On?, The Season’s Upon Us, Captain Kelly’s Kitchen, Queen Of Suffolk County, Tessie, First Class Loser, Caps & Bottles, Bastards On Parade, Walk Away, Barroom Hero, Turn Up That Dial, The Fields of Athenry, Going Out In Style, Out Of Our Heads, It’s A Long Way To The Top, I’m Shipping Up Boston.