The Dropkick Murphys sold out 4 shows for St. Patrick’s Day weekend in Boston in a couple of hours.  One of the shows was the 6000+ seat Agganis Arena at Boston University.  Six of us drove up to check out that show.  Due to a miscommunication, I didn’t have a photo pass.  Luckily, I brought my Kodak Easy Share camera which saved the day.  I am relying on my memory for the review because I forgot to take my notebook out of the bag.

 I was afraid that an arena show would lose some of the intimacy of smaller venues.  Not so with the Murphy’s playing.  Both Ken Casey and Al Barr went into the crowd several times.  Ken even went into the stands to greet fans.  Before playing “Tessie”, Al mentioned that they were playing it to give good luck to a couple that got engaged at the show the night before at The Avalon. 

 I had to rely on the kindness of fans to work my way through the packed floor to get close to the front to get some photos of the band.  I moved to a few different spots until I was against a fence that divided the floor down the middle.  It was there that I met Brian.  He saw I was having some trouble getting the shots I wanted.  He bent down on the ground and insisted I get on his shoulders.  Security quickly honed in on us and Brian put me down.  We talked for a minute afterwards before we were separated by the crowd.  He asked, “Did you get  the shot?!”  I got the shot.  It was then that I noticed he had a DKM pass on.  He said his brother was good friends with the band and they wrote “Your Spirit’s Alive” in his brother’s honor.  Shortly after that, they put a spotlight on Brian and told the crowd about his brother and told everyone that Brian loves hugs and to give him a hug.  Brian was lost in the crowd after that and I didn’t get a chance to talk to him again.

There is no better place to experience a concert than on the floor with other fans, singing and dancing together.  The camaraderie started with “For Boston” and continued with “Field’s of Athenry”, “Sunshine Highway”, “Warrior’s Code”, “Skinhead on the MTBA”, “Citizen CIA”, and “Kiss Me I’m Shitfaced”.  The crowd went wild when Stephanie Dougherty came out to sing “The Dirty Glass” with the band.

Towards the end of the show, thousands of green and white balloons were released.  Some of them were three times the size of beach balls!  Whether it’s a 400 seat bar or a 6000 seat arena, the Dropkick Murphys know how to put on  a show.