Two of my very favorite punk bands ever will be gracing New York City's Roseland Ballroom with their presence on Saturday, March 7, so if you are lucky enough to be in the Big Apple next month, say hi to your mother for me!
I almost don't know where to start with these two bands. They hold a special place in my heart. From that bright afternoon in Lewiston, Maine when a half-Jewish, half-shiksa girl walked up to me before class and handed me a cassette tape copy of their 1998 album, "Do or Die," in a pure show of friendship that rivals any since, I have loved the Dropkick Murphys. Their slightly drunken, mostly aggressive, all-Irish brand of Boston punk can be compared to none other, except maybe the Pogues. But even the Pogues lacked their streetwise, hardcore tough-guyness, which once upon a time for me was the sexiest sexy could get.
Of course, times have changed since "Do or Die" for this band (including a line-up change after their original frontman, Mike McColgan, left the band to become a firefighter shortly after "Do or Die" was released, leading to replacement by Al Barr), but they continue to be quite a force on the music scene (which couldn't have been hurt by their being absolutely slathered all over Martin Scorsese's 2002 ode-to-Boston film, "The Departed" and according to Wikipedia, their heavy involvement with sports teams like the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Bruins), leading to the 2008 limited edition release of their 2007 album, "The Meanest of Times."
H2O is New York Hardcore at its finest. Formed in 1994 by Toby Morse, a former roadie for NYC hardcore faves Sick Of It All, toured like mofos for the next couple of years (including opening up for heavy-hitters No Doubt and Rancid) and they've been on everyone's friends list ever since. I'm in love with their positive, straight up punk rock/hardcore sound. Punk and hardcore was, and in many ways, still is, a way of life for me. It was the right music for the right time.
Please bask in the glow of true-to-life punk rawk:
Dropkick Murphys - "Barroom Hero" from their 1998 album, "Do or Die"
H2O - "I See It In Us" from their 1997 album, "Thicker Than Water"
Mmmmm...Warped Tour.
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