Dropkick Murphys / The Casualties

Live in Tampa (2003)

Edgie

Before I begin reviewing the show, I'd just like to say that throwing in "OI OI UP THE PUNX" is completely unnecessary. Yes, it was cool.. before it was done for the 2000th time. I know, I know.. you'll just have to find some other sort of way to be witty, okay? On to the actual review.

This kickass event took place at the Masquerade in Ybor City, a pretty decent venue. The sound system usually isn't that great, but this night it was pretty damn on. There were a pretty wide range of people there, from the kids who are into the more poppier punk to the skins and then to the liberty spiked punks. Very few fights throughout the night, which was both a good thing and extremely shocking.

The first band was Roger Miret and the Disasters, who came out to 'One of These Days', popularized by Operation Ivy, at least in the punk scene. After the intro, they immediately went into their set. While I wasn't personally familiar with the material, and seemingly not many others were there, they still sent the crowd into some great circle pits no matter what song they were playing. For those not familiar at all with them, their music style is pretty straight forward, but it rocks quite hard. They performed two covers that night as well, the Clash's Career Opportunities and Gotta Go. A damn fine band that'd be just as comfortable headlining shows as opening them.

Up next were the Casualties, everyone's favorite street punk band. You can make fun of their lyrical quality and straight forward sound all you want, but they really can put on a show. Every one of their song's kept a circle pit in motion, and unlike Roger Miret, they had a number of kids jumping on stage to sing along and dive off. This was the first time I've seen them as the Masquerade, and they played just as well here as they did at smaller venues. And like Roger Miret and the Disasters, the Casualties easily could have headlined a tour with all the fans they have. Despite the fact everyone here seems to hate them, they do have quite the number of kids who love them.

And, finally, the Dropkick Murphys came up and launched into Cadence of Arms. DKM put on an amazing show, covering songs from Do or Die to Blackout. While they put on a fantastic set, I'm going to have to complain about the crowd for a moment. For one, there was way too much pogoing around. Dance, thrash, climb up on someone's shoulders.. do something else, just don't stand there and jump up and down, you damn sissy. There was supposedly a skinhead fight during their set, but I completely missed it.

As far as their setlist goes, played entirely too much from Blackout. I'm glad they enjoy the album so much, but to be honest, five songs from it was a bit excessive. It's not a horrible album, but it's just lacking something from their earlier CDs. And sadly, they didn't play Kiss Me I'm Shitfaced, which I really expected them to play. For their encore, they came out and, of course, played Boys on the Dock followed by Skinhead on the MBTA. Both songs made the crowd go fucking nuts.

Aside from the minor complaints, it was a damn great show. It was definately worth the twelve dollars I paid to see it. I highly recommend going.