Dropkick Murphys brought their For the People in The Pit Tour for a most epic evening, with support from The Aggrolites, Haywire, and Slugger.
As the night kicked off at the historical Capitol Theatre, California’s Slugger took to the stage with their high-energy style of Oi! hardcore punk. They grabbed the crowd’s full attention right from the start, and had the floor moving and proving they were more than just an opener. Slugger dropped their first full-length album, Dead State, back in 2024, which is overall killer with that West Coast style.
As many of the fans that filled the room during their set were obviously there for the headliner, Slugger’s sound and style caught the curiosity of those who may have never heard of them. It is absolutely certain to say that they acquired new followers from this performance. Definitely catch them if they happen to roll through your area.
As the anticipation grew for Boston hardcore all-stars Haywire to hit the stage, you started to hear Neil Diamond’s classic hit “Sweet Caroline” start to fill the room. The crowd was singing along, and if you know Haywire, you know what is about to come. Frontman Austin Sparkman cuts it short and busts right into their title track “Haywire,” which is, in fact, a high-energy and heavily crowd-participating sing-along. At this point, the floor opened and the mosh commenced as they plowed through their set with pure aggression, as they always do. Having a barricade at a Haywire show, without a doubt, takes away from what their true raw experience is, with the pile-ons, excessive stage dives, and the forward flips into the crowd that Austin is commonly known for. Regardless of where they are, they bring it every time, whether it’s a DIY show in an alleyway in Brooklyn or on the Williamsburg Bridge in Manhattan.As the acoustics reverberated through the venue, they set the tone for the headliner. Their set felt like a laid-back dance party with old-school reggae roots. Their unique sound cannot be duplicated, and that’s what makes The Aggrolites stand out from many others. They are super tight and really know how to kick it, root down.
This was a much-needed change before the headliners took to the stage. The crowd was more than ready for the Celtic punk legends to tear the roof off The Capitol Theatre.
Dropkick Murphys took to the stage at 9:30 PM sharp. Wasting no time, the bagpipes can be heard in total darkness until boom, the lights come up. Ken Casey and the gang dive right into “Deeds Not Words” from their 2011 release, Going Out In Style. Ken was all over the stage, doing what he does best, with lots of interactions with fans, allowing them to sing into the microphone.The pure energy that they bring is electrifying. The fans match the energy, singing the songs word for word while crowd surfing and dancing. It’s very obvious that the Irish blood in everyone has reached its boiling point. Even if you’re not Irish, for the time you are at a Dropkick show, you are.
A vast majority of their catalog was performed as they ripped through their set of 23 songs, giving just shy of two hours of pure non-stop Celtic punk. Dropkick and Haywire have released a split LP titled New England Forever featuring the song “Citizen I.C.E.” This LP is only on vinyl and only available on this current tour, so be sure to catch a show and pick up a copy.
Ken mentioned that it’s their 30-year anniversary as a band, and they’ve always stuck to their roots as a working-class band, while never hiding behind their beliefs. He went on to say you should let your voice be heard because there is “nothing to be scared about.”
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