Dropkick Murphys = #Winning


Saint Patrick may have one day dedicated to him, but the guys from Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys are taking an entire month to celebrate.

They started March’s tour de force with the debut of their seventh full-length studio album, Going Out In Style, which features guest vocals from Bruce Springsteen. (Speaking of cameos, the “Going Out In Style” music video has appearances by Bobby Orr, Shawn Thornton, and Milan Lucic.)

On Monday, they took the stage at Ken Casey’s new Irish pub, The Whiskey Republic (515 South Water St., Providence. 401-588-5158), which Casey launched with Taniya Nayak and her husband Brian O’Donnell. (Nayak wanted the interior to feel like the inside of a whiskey barrel: a lot of wood, cognac-stained floors.) “The Whiskey Republic will not be just a restaurant, a bar, or a club,” Casey said in a recent release. “[It’s] a new destination for those seeking good music, a place to watch the big game and a great meal.”

The Dropkick guys mingled with some of the 400 guests in between playing two ignited sets that featured songs from all of their albums, plus a cover of Springsteen’s “Badlands.” While Tim Brennan squeezed the accordion and Scruffy Wallace played the bagpipes, the crowd jumped higher, inched closer, stomped harder, and sang louder with each song. With that kind of scene, it’s hard to define when the energy peaked, but arguably it was when Micky Ward stepped on stage to sing along to “The Warriors Code” from The Fighter soundtrack.

Tonight and tomorrow night, the band will jam to sold-out crowds at the House of Blues; on Saturday, they head to the Tsongas Arena in Lowell; and they finish the Bay State tour with a show at the Paradise on Sunday night. After that? Look for them soon in Europe: France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, etc.

If you scored a ticket to any of the Dropkick shows, leave us a comment below. Where was it? How was it?