DROPKICK MURPHYS @ The Sylvee – Madison, WI
February 27, 2022
Review and Photos by David Urmanski
Boston-proud Celtic punk band, Dropkick Murphys, kicked off their highly-anticipated St. Patrick’s Day Tour six short days ago in Reading, PA before making their initial appearance at The Sylvee in Madison Sunday evening for their inevitable return to Wisconsin since last performing at The World’s Largest Music Festival, Summerfest, just over six months ago. As the sixth stop on the 22-date run, the band were welcomed by their loyal Madison fanbase with heartfelt cheering and hands held high throughout their entire 26-song, hour and 45 minute set, along with openers Jim Lindberg, The Bombpops and direct supporting act The Rumjacks, who thoroughly prepped and energized the near capacity crowd prior to the headliner taking stage.
The Dropkick Murphys have been working extremely hard during rehearsals in preparation for their first St. Patrick’s Day Tour in three years, despite being one man down with co-frontman Al Barr missing the tour as he stayed home to care for his ailing mother Ingrid who was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia and has suffered a series of strokes. Notwithstanding, fellow lead vocalist Ken Casey performed flawlessly during the Sunday evening performance as he took on Al’s parts, along with a little help from his friends and special guests from each of the opening acts Jim Lindberg, Jesse Ahern and Mikey Rivkees from The Rumjacks and Jen Razavi from The Bombpops.
With one week of touring behind them, the Dropkick Murphys were in full swing of their Celtic celebration. It may have been a Sunday night, but that didn’t stop them from turning up the dial or the fans singing along to the lyrics of every song. When finishing up one of the band’s classic numbers, Ken Casey acknowledged several young fans in the audience who responded they were 11, 9, 12, 14 and 8 years of age. “They know every word to the old shit. You don’t learn that stuff in school. You learn that from parents that got good taste in music,” replied Casey. “Let that be a lesson for all of you alleged old-school fans that, like me, forget the words every now and then, but we won’t bring up last night. We got another kid here. Hold old?” “Eleven,” answers the youth with Casey quickly responding, “Anyone have school tomorrow?” Needless to say, Monday morning was not on the mind of any of the attendees during the high-powered performance.
The tour also marks the 2021 release of the band’s tenth studio album, Turn Up That Dial. As Casey stated in reference to the new release, “If you’re in a band and thinking about putting out a record, we don’t know much, but we know this… it might not be a good idea to release an album during a global pandemic. Because we did that, we didn’t get to play the songs for you but it was fun to write it as we worked from our basements and like 10,000 were sold of Turn Up That Dial. Did anyone hear it? For those who didn’t, we will be re-releasing it the day after St. Patrick’s Day. It’s gonna have two kinda rare B-sides that weren’t on the album and one brand new song that we’re going to release a few days before and if you’re alright we will play it right now if you wouldn’t mind (with attendees responding with exuberant applause).”
Per Casey, “We try not to get political up here you know because most people just want to have a good time, but if you ever thought that we were in a political band, you haven’t been listening from the beginning. Because, sometimes people will say, ‘shut up and sing.’ So we’re trying to say, ‘you’re lucky we’re not in front of you because we would kick the shit out of you.’ But secondly, sometimes shit is important and you gotta sing about it. Okay? I ain’t telling you what to believe, I ain’t telling you how to vote, but that capital building right up the street, holy shit man, you guys can decide the future of this ###-damn country man! So we decided to do this old song because, one, we normally do a rock version of it and, two, we thought it was important. It started as a labor anthem, better known as a civil rights song and it’s very, very, very important in these times when people are trying to take away people’s rights… their ###-damn, ####ing vote in this country. So it’s called We Shall Overcome.”
While the Dropkick Murphys may moonlight as rockstars, they are equal part humanitarians. The band took a few moments during their show to highlight some of their charitable efforts through lead singer Ken Casey’s nonprofit organization The Claddagh Fund. Founded in Boston in 2009, the mission of the foundation is to raise money for the most underfunded non-profit organizations that support vulnerable populations within their communities. When expanding the operation to Philadelphia, The Claddagh Fund Founder explained, “My decision to expand to Philadelphia was an easy one. It’s a natural fit. There are so many similarities between Boston and Philly. They both love their communities, families, and sports teams. Philadelphians are good hardworking people and have always been good to the Dropkick Murphys. We want to do what we can to give back to a community that has been so good to us.” Supporting charities is good for rock n’ roll and it’s a much better world for having the Dropkick Murphys harness their passion of generosity and positivity to their fans and local communities and I don’t believe anyone in Madison would disagree as the band continues to prove they are rockstars both on and off stage with each passing day.
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THE BAND:
Ken Casey Lead Vocals & Bass Guitar
Al Barr – Lead Vocals (absent)
Tim Brennan – Guitars, Accordion, Mellotron, Whistles & Vocals)
Jeff DaRosa – Banjo, Bouzouki, Mandolin, Harmonica, Acoustic Guitars & Vocals)
Matt Kelly – Drums, Percussion & Vocals)
James Lynch – Guitar & Vocals)
Kevin Rheault – Touring Bassist
Lee Forshner – Touring Bagpipe Player
SETLIST:
The Lonesome Boatman (The Fureys cover)
The Boys Are Back
Do or Die
Barroom Hero
Blood
Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya
Turn Up That Dial
Middle Finger
The Warrior’s Code
Caps and Bottles
Boys on the Docks
We Shall Overcome
The State of Massachusetts
Queen of Suffolk County
Curse of a Fallen Soul
Which Side Are You On? (The Almanac Singers cover)
4-15-13
Going Out in Style
Caught in a Jar
The Body of an American (The Pogues cover)
The Dirty Glass
Rose Tattoo
Kiss Me, I’m Shitfaced
ENCORE:
Worker’s Song
Good as Gold
I’m Shipping Up to Boston
