Archive for March, 2010

*Footage & photos by Kenny Howell

The St. Patrick’s Day season is officially upon us and you know what that means – Boston’s finest purveyors of Irish punk rock the beloved DROPKICK MURPHYS are home for their traditional six-day, seven-show extravaganza residency on Lansdowne.

I have to admit, it was a little odd going to a concert at 1:00pm on a Saturday afternoon but not even the monsoon rain that had been falling outside for two days could dampen the spirits of the  matinee sold-out crowd.

The DROPKICK MURPHYS came out and lurched  into the  boot-stomping “STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS” and the bodies immediately came sailing hard and fast. The 90-minute set included infectious, fist-pumping anthems such as,“TESSIE” which was played  for the first time on this tour, “FLANNIGAN’S BALL,” and “SUNSHINE HIGHWAY” accompanied by adorable sparkly step dancers and other Gaelic accouterments.

Along with KEN CASEY’s son and grandmother, the House of Blues was jam-packed with punkers, rockers, drunken Irishmen and non-Irishmen dressed in a  combination of plaid cabbie hats, Dickies work shirts and prominent tattoos who were engaged from the start, swaying and singing lustily. It was evident that while  the Pogues may have invented Celtic-punk, the DROPKICK MURPHYS have perfected a sound that reaches its apotheosis in its rafter-shaking performance of traditional Celtic arrangements and frantic modern-day punk attitude.

The septet’s consistency extends to its band members, KEN CASEY (vocals, bass guitar)  AL BARR (vocals), MATT KELLY (drums, backing vocals), JAMES LYNCH (guitar, backing vocals), TIM BRENNAN (guitar, accordion, piano, backing vocals), JEFF DaROSA (mandolin, accordion, banjo, bouzouki, tin whistle, acoustic guitar)and SCRUFFY WALLACE (bagpipe) who provide patriotic, fierce unflinching commitment to working class people.

The highlight of the afternoon included the guest appearance of STEPHANIE DOUGHERTY lending her vocals to “THE DIRTY GLASS” and the traditional stage bombardment of young women for the bar closer staple, “KISS ME I AM SH*TFACED.” As expected, the encore and majestic building tune “I’M SHIPPING UP TO BOSTON” fomented massive pogo-ing from the pit to stage.

Whether it’s on stage at the Warped Tour or down at a Boston pub, the DROPKICK MURPHYS promise uncompromising music and a helluva good time. If you were not fortunate to catch any of the shows  pick up ‘LIVE ON LANSDOWNE’ CD/DVD out  on Tuesday, March 16th.

For more information  visit DROPKICK MURPHYS

For more footage visit us on YOUTUBE

For more photos visit us on FLICKER

*Footage & photos by Kenny Howell

Watching BLACKIE LAWLESS onstage is like taking in a familiar movie. You know what’s coming, but it’s no less entertaining. BLACKIE crept across the stage with unparalleled rock flair wearing his trademark tasseled boots and saw blades backed by lead guitarist DOUG BLAIR, bassist MIKE DUDA and drummer MIKE DUPKE.

I was not sure what to expect for a crowd on a Tuesday night at a venue that is 25 miles south of Boston in the middle of suburbia but it was obviously clear that after almost 30-years W.A.S.P. is still relevant.  The venue’s capacity is 1,050 and if it was not sold-out it was damn close.

W.A.S.P. was an invention designed to provoke American society with its spectacular raunchy stage antics but Tuesday nights lackluster stage show was without the impressive production values we have come to love and the current W.A.S.P. show is dependent on its musical virtues instead of shtick – there’s genius in simplicity.

W.A.S.P. unloaded a set of classics including, “I DON‘T NEED NO DOCTOR,” “HELLION,” “WILD CHILD” and an epic rendition of “ON YOUR KNEES.” The new material from their latest album BABYLON included, “CRAZY,” and “BABYLON IS BURNING,” and both upheld the tradition of all things W.A.S.P. BLACKIE’s sinister bellow is still solid as he successfully pushed his voice outside its comfort zone throughout the 90-minute set.

BLACKIE, a legend in his own musical right seems no longer  interested in pushing anybody’s buttons or taunting those waiting in the wings to take him down and for that I give him credit. He is a man who knows he’s been drained of his shock value by Twilight-style mainstream co-option. Now even BLACKIE’s most aggressive antics would seem oddly conservative by today’s standards.

I have seen W.A.S.P. perform many times over the years and had always thought that the theatrics, props and general appearance of BLACKIE himself was what made a W.A.S.P. show so superior. After Tuesday night, I realize that even without all of the extras, W.A.S.P. still put on a stellar show that I simply cannot bring myself to miss and neither should you.

SETLIST:

• On Your Knees
• The Real Me
• Hellion / I Don’t Need No Doctor / Scream Until You Like It
• L.O.V.E. Machine
• Crazy
• Babylon’s Burning
• Wild Child
• Arena Of Pleasure
• Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue)
• The Idol
• Take Me Up
• I Wanna Be Somebody
• Encore:
• Blind In Texas

For more information  visit W.A.S.P.

For more footage visit us on YOUTUBE

For more photos visit us on FLICKER

Order the “Live On Lansdowne” album through the DKM website before midnight on March 15th & you will automatically go into the draw for some fantastic prizes. Orders must be placed through the DKM website before midnight on March 15th, 2010 to go into the draw.

This is what you could get if you order your copy today:

+ A trip for 2 people to see Dropkick Murphys play live in Dublin at the Olympia Theater April 22, 2010. Trip includes round trip tickets & airport transfers for two people, plus two nights at U2’s Clarence Hotel on The Liffey and of course two tickets and VIP backstage passes for the show at the Olympia.

+ A signed guitar signed by all the members of DKM

+ A merch shopping spree, we’ll give you $500 credit to spend at our online store.

+ And for our Boston area fans a $200 bar tab at McGreevy’s, you pick the night & we’ll buy the drinks

+ Also all orders placed before midnight on Monday March 15th will receive a free download of a track from the album! The music file will be sent to the email address used to place the order for the album.

For complete details visit the DROPKICK MURPHYS

Well before Canada-philia ran rampant in conjunction with the 2010 Winter Olympics, The White Stripes made a point of hitting every single Canadian province during a 2007 tour — which meant touring everywhere from arenas to a bowling alley to a boat. The band’s escapades on that tour are preserved in Emmett Malloy’s new documentary, appropriately titled Under Great White Northern Lights, which captures the interactions between members Jack and Meg White as they make their way across some of the northernmost expanses of North America.

Of course, the Whites’ relationship represents only one side of The White Stripes’ story. Another side is built around blistering, white-knuckle performances like those documented on the no-nonsense live album which shares a name with the documentary.

To read the complete article and hear the new album visit NPR

Twelve years ago, Blur frontman Damon Albarn and Tank Girl creator Jamie Hewlett formed Gorillaz — a ”virtual band” whose animated avatars and woozy beats pastiche seemed custom-fit for a dawning era of smartphones, iPods, and other Jetson-y gizmos. ”I’m useless, but not for long/The future is comin’ on,” Albarn drawled on their first single, the dubby alt-chart hit ”Clint Eastwood.”

He was right: Gorillaz’ self-titled debut sold 
almost 2 million copies in the U.S. and made them stars, albeit in physical absentia (even in live performances, they are hidden behind 
 giant cartoon projections). A half decade after their last release, 2005’s multiplatinum sophomore outing Demon Days, the band has returned, once again gilding their four-character core with a delightfully random roster of guest stars: Snoop Dogg, legendary soul smoothie Bobby Womack, Lou Reed, and the Clash’s Mick Jones among them.

To hear some new tunes visit MYSPACE

To read the complete review visit ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

It’s almost as though Courtney Love doesn’t know it is her duty as a train wreck to announce a new record and then keep pushing the release date back and back and back until it disappears into a haze of Chinese Democracy-like proportions: Not two weeks after Nobody’s Daughter got a label and a release date of April 27th, the first single from the reanimated corpse of Hole is here… and it doesn’t suck.

To read the complete article visit ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY