Dropkick Murphy’s Sham’Rock Nashville

Dropkick Murphy’s with Pennywise and The Scratch

Saint Patrick’s Day came early for Nashville this year as the Dropkick Murphy’s, Pennywise and a young, up and coming band known as The Scratch strolled into Marathon Music Works. 

On a personal note, the last time that I saw the Dropkick Murphy’s with Pennywise ,was in the 1900’s. Yes, it was 1999, at the Vans Warped Tour. Not only were the Dropkicks and Pennywise there at The Central Florida Fairgrounds, but some of my other favorites like Orange 9mm, Sevendust, Blink-182, The Black Eyed Peas, Eminem , Suicidal Tendencies and many more.

I had waited 25 years to see this culmination of Irish and punk rock, and it was finally happening again.  In Nashville of all places. As you approach the venue, you can’t help but be in awe of the spectacular brick structure. The edifice dates back to the early 1900s and was once a piece of industrial Americana, as it hosted Marathon Auto Works. 

The line was filled with a bastion of Bostonians that came to see what would be an idyllic concert. As we entered the interior we proceed to a vast concert space that holds roughly 1,500-1,800 people.  The aesthetic of brick lines the inside walls as well and creates an engaging look that is reminiscent of turn of the century manufacturing plants. Big steel beams hover above the palatial floor as a massive ceiling fan spins angelically over the center of what will become the mosh pit.  With all this space and hand mortared surroundings, I worried about the sound, but that was certainly not the case.

The show opened with a band called The Scratch from Dublin, Ireland. I sometimes worry about the opening band. How will they respond? A large portion of the audience was draped in Celtics jerseys and hockey sweaters. The rest of the crowd was donning their Pennywise gear or something that let you know they knew about Hermosa Beach. They were waiting to see their favorite band and didn’t know what to expect from the “opening act”. However, when The Scratch started playing everyone looked up from their phones, stopped their conversations and started listening with a rhythmic attentiveness.

Big thunderous drums started melodically pounding vibes in a primal fashion.  These four Irish fellas had all eyes on them as they leaned into their first song.  It was a monumental bellowing of beats and harmonized chanting that caught the ear unlike anything else I have heard before.  It was as if they had perfectly figured out a way to amalgamate Slayer with The Pogues. 

The band has been selling out all over the island across the pond and is now set to start a tour of their own. My advice: Go!

The show then shifted to pure punk rock with the likes of Pennywise.  I first heard that euphonious, high-energy sound that fused classic punk, surf punk, and heightening hardcore behind my high school around 1991, and it changed all I knew.  This little coastal town known as Hermosa Beach was also home to Black Flag, The Descendants, and The Circle Jerks.

Pennywise was still loud, fast and challenging the bureaucracy.  They made sure you knew what they were all about and that was independency with a respect to others.  You can be punk rock without being a dick.

The band members may have changed over the years, but the sound is still very much the same.  They played all the hits with veracity.  “Fuck Authority” incited the gathering to throw up those middle fingers and sing along with a distain for polite society.

As I watched and screamed along, I couldn’t help but peer over the crowd.  People from all walks of life gathered in one setting to celebrate their favorite band and their youth.  We all got a little older and we may have changed over those years, but we stood on common ground tonight. I probably disagreed with most there about politics, or religion or their beliefs in general, but for this moment in time we all gathered like-minded with a common goal to sing away our pain.  That’s the beauty of the music.  Some say it’s a universal language.  I like to imagine it’s a universal truth.

The show never let up, and man did they put on a brilliant show.  They slipped in a few covers along their musical pathway with “Fight For Your Right” by the Beastie Boys and the classical spiritual “Stand By Me” written by Ben E King.  They stopped to sign a poster held up by a young fan (maybe 10) and cautioned the swirling pit during “Society” to be mindful of the youth who were brought to the show by their parents, to possibly have them hear the song they were conceived to.

Pennywise ended the show with “Bro Hymn”.  It’s a song that they wrote as a tribute to those they lost.  It certainly rings just as true today as we get on with our lives and tend to lose more of those family members and great friends.

These guys are on the Mt Rushmore of punk rock, if ever there was one. Pennywise doesn’t play by the rules, it plows straight through the barriers of society and creates its own culture.

There was a quick break after the SoCal collective left the stage.  A chance for the lights to come up for a bit and to grab another beer before the headliner.  If you have never seen the Dropkick Murphy’s live it’s a beautiful experience. The music is upbeat and cheerful and full of life… so are their fans.

Formed in 1996, in Quincy, Massachusetts, this American Celtic juggernaut is known for its energetic shows.  Though it’s been nearly 30 years of jumping around the stage like madmen warriors, they haven’t slowed down a bit.  I mentioned at the beginning of this article that I had witnessed DKM in 1999 and it took me right back to that period in time.  I felt like I was still hopping up and down as high and hard as a could in that grassy field with my friend Mike Redd and two tall cold ones.

As the set started, two large tv’s revealed sports clips of Boston Bruins hockey legends throwing haymakers at their opponents.  It was poetry on ice for the sons and daughters of Beantown.  Then those famous cheers of “Let’s Go Murphys!” over and over again as a bleating of bagpipe filled our hearts and our spirits because “For Boston” was on the precipice of our lips.  Big sounds and bigger passionate smiles then filled the room, and our heroes had hit the stage.

The band then headed into “The Boys Are Back” and never looked over their shoulders as they powered through the next 16 songs including the classics, “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya”, “Rose Tattoo”, “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” and a 4 song encore that closed the show with “Kiss Me, I’m Shitfaced”.

The performance never slowed.  The crowd never wavered.  We stood effectively arm and arm wanting more the entire night.  The Dropkick Murphy’s may have even gotten better since the last time I saw them live.  They were polished yet still super raw if that can make any sense to you.  They had gotten this far, and we had too, thanks to their sounds and lyrics.

I left Marathon Music Works with a gigantic sense of hope and love.  This is what the music brings to us.  No matter what your taste is in sound, there’s a warmth, a joy, and a recognition that we share the same ideas for two and a half to five minutes.  Support live music and support musicians.  We need them and they need us.