Dropkick Murphys are currently on the their annual St. Patricks Day Tour, being joined this year with punk icons Pennywise and Dublin, Ireland’s own The Scratch. This past Saturday saw the tour pull into the Theater of the Clouds in Portland, Oregon.
The crowd was buzzing all night with demanding energy, chants of “Let’s Go Murphy’s” rang out through the arena as the crowd awaited for Dropkick Murphys to come out. The large video board behind the stage lit up with the Dropkick Murphys logo as the sound of the bagpipe filled the air. The band made there was on stage to a raucous cheers from the eager fans. Vocalist Ken Casey continued to hype up the crowd to another level, running out onto a platform that was positioned just in front of the stage and the barricade, placing a foot onto the barricade, while reaching the microphone into the crowd below – inviting the fans to sing with him “The Boys are Back”.
Midway through the night Ken took a moment to pay a very touching tribute to the late Shane MacGowan of legendary Irish Punk band The Pogues. Telling the crowd that without The Pogues, there would be no Dropkick Murphys, retelling of a time the band toured Ireland with The Pogues in the early 2000’s. With a portrait of Shane filling the screen being the stage, Dropkick Murphys played a cover of “Dirty Old Town”, originally by Ewan MacColl, played to the style popularized by The Pogues. The night would finish strong with hits like “Rose Tattoo” and “Kiss Me I’m Shitfaced” prior to a solid 5 song encore, being capped off with a cover of Sam Cooke’s “Having a Party”.
Having seen Dropkick Murphys several times over the past 20 years they never fail to impress and it shows in the dedication that the fans have, coming back to these shows year after year. Like a fine Irish Whiskey the band only seems to get better with age, continually putting on an energetic show feeding directly off the 2,000 plus people in attendance. This year I sat from a seat in the lower arena taking in the sight and presence Dropkick Murphys brings with each performance. In my teen years I would have been down on the floor participating in what seemed like a never ending circle pit in the middle of the crowd. Still, I sang along with a setlist that didn’t disappoint spanning the bands historic career from their debut album “Do Or Die” up to the most recent release “Okemah Rising”.
All Photos – FatmaN Concert Photography / Anthony Moore
Dropkick Murphys 2024 St. Patricks Day Tour will continue through the United States where it will be capped off with a four night set of shows in Boston, Massachusetts. Fans through out Europe will be able to catch Dropkick Murphys this summer, kicking off June 7th in Nurburgring, Germany at the Rock am Ring festival. Full list of dates and tickets can be found on the bands website.
