‘LET’S GO MURPHYS!’ CELTIC PUNKS DROPKICK MURPHYS DELIVER

LIVE REVIEW | Dropkick Murphys | Manchester Academy 6th February 2025 by Craig Harston

The Dropkick Murphys have now been around for 28 years and are showing no signs of slowing down. Well known for their excellent live shows, their show in Manchester on a very cold February night was no exception.

First up though were Gogol Bordello who you’d be forgiven for thinking were the headliners! The gypsy punks delivered an insanely entertaining show, with the bands stage presence really getting the crowd warmed up. They did not stop playing throughout their 45 minute set, which included the likes of ‘Not A Crime‘, ‘Fire On Ice Floe‘, ‘We Mean It Man‘ and ‘Start Wearing Purple‘. They really set the bar high for Dropkick Murphys to follow.

But of course, the boys from Boston kept the party going in style! Walking on stage as usual following Sham 69‘s ‘The Kid’s Are United‘ and the Sinead O’Connor and The Chieftains version of ‘The Foggy Due‘ they proceeded to play an eclectic set from across their extensive career, including more than a few surprises!

Kicking things off with the triple whammy of ‘Captain Kelly’s Kitchen‘, ‘The Boys Are Back‘ and ‘Prisoner’s Song‘, the entire room was soon singing and clapping along with Ken Casey and co. Clash-guitarist bashing song ‘Mick Jones Nicked My Pudding‘ followed, kick-starting a circle pit.

Taking some time to thank the Manchester crowd for coming back to see them time after time for nearly 3 decades, a raucous version of ‘(F)Lannigans Ball‘ followed before the first surprise of the night – early song ‘Which Side Are You On?, which hasn’t been in the Murphys live rotation for a very long time! Next up was the fists-in-the-air anthem ‘The Warriors Code‘ before a bra was thrown on the stage (twice) during ‘Ripping Up The Boundary Line‘ and a blistering rendition of ‘Going Out In Style‘ – that song gets so fast towards it’s end it’s amazing how well the Murphys nail it every time.

‘Bastards On Parade‘, ‘James Connelly‘ and ‘Middle Finger‘ all got a great response from the crowd before another surprise came in the form of ‘Curse Of A Fallen Soul‘ from second album ‘The Gang’s All Here‘. ‘The Hardest Mile‘ featured a superb accordion solo from Tim Brennan and ‘Walk Away‘ absolutely raised the roof! Casey explained that the next song had been requested the night before and had gone down well so they were going to play it again – the introspective ‘Forever‘, which found Casey singing along with a girl raised on someone’s shoulders.

Things ramped up again with ‘Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya‘, AC/DC cover ‘It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)‘ and ‘The State Of Massachusetts‘ before the band finished the first portion of their set with a great singalong with the crowd on ‘Rose Tattoo‘. Returning the stage a few minutes later, the Murphys blasted through the ever popular ‘I’m Shipping Up To Boston‘ and closed the night with ‘Until The Next Time‘.

It was a great show, featuring plenty of songs from across the Murphys discography and a slight emphasis on their earlier stuff (new song, the old school sounding ‘Sirens‘, was noticeable by it’s absence). As ever, the entire room was united under the banner of punk rock!

The Dropkick Murphys have a few more UK dates to go before moving to mainland Europe. Tickets are on sale here https://dropkickmurphys.com/tour/