Dropkick Murphys and Rancid Punked Out at Pops Sunday
–Photos and review by Keith Brake
Hello again MwRw family! Live music is back in full swing for the STL area and I am back with another review. I was at Pops this past weekend for an absolute banger of a punk show. On the bill for this outdoor event- The Bronx, Rancid and Dropkick Murphys. The weather was great, the crowd was energized and the music was on point!
           One of my favorite things about a good punk show is the energy and diversity of the crowd. I love how the bands and the crowd feed off of one another until the air is electric. On this day that is exactly what happened. First to take the stage (a VERY tall stage I might add) was The Bronx from LA…yes you read that correctly. The LA boys hit the crowd square in the face with a hard driving classic punk sound. The audience responded in kind with circle pits – one after another for what seemed like most of the set. Matt Caughthran (vocals) had the big Pops crowd in the palm of his hand as he belted out song after song with amazing energy and presence.
           Once The Bronx had sufficiently warmed up an already sweaty crowd the boys from Berkley took the stage to raucous applause and the Rancid set was under way. Tim Armstrong (guitar/vocals) and Lars Frederiksen (guitar/vocals) work the stage with amazing energy. Stage left, stage right, running, jumping and trading places. Just an absolute joy to watch and so much fun to photograph. Rancid has been on the punk scene since 1991 and their performance left no questions about their longevity…the set was fantastic. As a 90’s kid my personal highlight from this set was “Ruby Soho”. Yes, yes I know it is a radio play song but it is just a great fun song to see live with a couple thousand of your closest friends.
           A sky of darkness with only a glimpse of the moon peeking out from behind the stage was the setting when the stage lights dropped. Lights drop – crowd roars – traditional Irish folk tunes start to play. Under the shroud of a darkened stage the Murphy’s took their places and with zero warning they kicked off their set as the lights seemed to explode like lightning. The set contained a great mixture of new tunes and older ones as well as some of the deeper cuts that adamant fans would appreciate. The stage lighting was very moody with the band often bathed in green, red and bluish colored lights.
      Al Barr (vocals) and Ken Casey (vocals/bass) are masters at working the crowd and trading the lyrics back and forth then joining in unison. The sound for the show was also on point and the band was as tight as you would expect. The set kicked off with “The Boys Are Back” which seemed rather fitting as they played an outdoor show at this same venue before CV19 shut down our beloved live music. The band spoke to the fact that they used the shutdown to record a new record, some of which was on display for their set. Crowd interaction was at a nice level and the DKM boys took some time to chat with those crowding the barricade as well as a few words for the security.
           The Boston To Berkley Tour has a deeper connection for these two bands than some may be aware of. Lars Frederiksen was the man who signed DKM to their very first deal. During the encore members of Rancid joined the Murphy’s on stage for a killer version of “Barroom Hero”, it was during this time that Casey told the masses how there would be no DKM if Frederiksen had not “taken a chance” on them. The show ended with a great encore which followed a very solid, well performed set and I walked away from yet another DKM show thoroughly satisfied. If you like punk and have never watched these three bands I recommend you fix that asap. Stay safe music lovers!
 Be sure to check out the photo gallery after the setlists below.
-Peace, Keith
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Dropkick Murphys Setlist:
The boys are back
Turn Up That Dial
L-EE-B-O-Y
Middle Finger
The State Of Massachusetts
Queen of Suffolk County
Mick Jones Nicked My Pudding
Good As Gold
H.B.D.M.F.
Workers Song
Citizen C.I.A.
Smash Shit Up
Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya
Out of Our Heads
I wish You Were Here
Captain Kelly’s Kitchen
Having a Party
Encore:
Rose Tattoo
Barroom Hero (With Rancid)
I’m Shipping Up To Boston
Rancid Setlist:
Roots Radicals
Radio
Journey to the End of East bay
Maxwell Murder
Listed M.I.A.
Old Friend
Where I’m Going
Rejected
The Wars End
It’s Quite Alright
Last One to Die
East Bay Night
Ghost of a Chance
Salvation
Olympia WA.
Fall Back Down
Telegraph Avenue
Time Bomb
Ruby Soho
