The Dropkick Murphys feel right at home at Boston Calling

Photo Credits: Henry Shifrin

A last-minute replacement for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs after the group dropped out due to illness, the Dropkick Murphys felt perfectly comfortable playing in front of a massive hometown crowd. Their performance felt so seamless, and their energy bouncing off the crowd fit so well, you wouldn’t have guessed that they were not originally scheduled to play.

The Dropkick Murphys opened with “The Boys Are Back,” starting off the set with a rapid fire, power chord-heavy song reminiscent of their fellow ‘90s punks Green Day and Rancid. Signer Ken Casey brought the energy right away, skittering across the stage and even into the crowd to connect with the sea of thousands of bouncing fans and remind them that he was just as excited to see them as they were to see him.

The Quincy-based act made sure to curry the local crowd’s favor by playing two songs rooted in Massachusetts culture with “Queen of Suffolk County” and “The State of Massachusetts.” The lyrical contents may not paint Massachusetts residents in the best light, but many of the older fans in the audience could easily identify someone in their old neighborhoods who matched the descriptions of the street toughs and violent drunkards in the lyrics.

The middle section of their setlist included many songs that were direct or indirect tributes to their influences growing up. “Cadillac Cadillac” felt like their unique spin on The Clash’s rendition of the rockabilly ditty “Brand New Cadillac.” Following that were two songs originally written but left unfinished by folk icon Woody Guthrie, whose political activism and pro-union stances resonated with the Dropkick Murphys. The first song was “Gotta Get to Peekskill,” a new track inspired by Woody Guthrie’s experiences at the 1949 Peekskill Riots, when white supremacists attacked Guthrie and civil rights activist Paul Robeson. The band took glee in reminding the audience to fight against fascism like their icon Woody did. The second track, “Two 6’s Upside Down,” is a revenge ballad similar in content to the country standard “Hey Joe,” accompanied by a more acoustic, folk-punk sound. The bass drum was even adorned with a picture of Woody.

The band closed out their hour-long set with their two most streamed songs: the first, “Rose Tattoo,” was inspired by bassist Ken Casey Jr.’s own tattoo in honor of his grandfather, and memorializes all things near and dear to the Dropkick Murphys’ heart, from family to the Boston Bruins. The lyrics in this case were changed to the Boston Celtics to support the team’s playoff push. The second and final song of their set was “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” immortalized by its use in the 2006 film The Departed and its use in Boston sports arenas. A song that also used lyrics to an unfinished Woody song, the band encouraged the crowd to shout along with pride about their hometown as various images of Boston landmarks played on the video screen behind them. The Dropkick Murphys’ set proved a reminder that, even though this is a festival that attracts attendees from both near and far, this is still Boston, their proud rough-and-tumble home that they are happy to share with the wider world.