On July 31st, 2017 Dropkick Murphys out of Boston, Massachusetts and Rancid out of Berkeley, California brought their From Boston to Berkley tour to the Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre in Sterling Heights, Michigan. It was a night of punk rocking good times.
Along for support were guest Jake Burns who did a solo acoustic set. I must apologize to Mr. Burns, because traffic was something else, and it seemed everybody and their ex-lover was on the road that day and to add in several construction zones. I got into the photo pit with maybe thirty seconds to spare, none of which really came out well. I didn’t get to hear much of his set, but the crowd applauded and cheered as he finished.
Up next was Bouncing Souls, a group out of New Jersey that’s been around since 1989. Their style of punk rock is a bit different in that it’s not the in-your-face style, but instead, they’re easy going songs played with a punk rock edge. Lead vocalist Greg Attonito gently glided around the stage as easily as his voice, while Pete Steinkopf on guitar, Bryan Kienlen on bass and George Rebelo on drums provided the noisy punk rock tunes to accompany the easy-going vocals. It was a clash of styles that Bouncing Souls carved their niche into, and kept them around for nearly three decades.
[metalwani_content_ad]The crowd had filled the venue by the time Rancid hit the stage. This was one band I’ve been a fan of for almost as long as they’ve been around. I first started hearing Rancid when their video for “Ruby Soho” got heavy play rotation on MTV. I was hooked and bought the album ‘…And Out Come the Wolves’, which is one of the strongest albums from start to finish I’ve ever found across any genre. So, feeling a smile from ear to ear on my face while these guys played was only natural. Tim Armstrong looks quite different nowadays as he sports a beard, but his guitar-playing and vocals were still on point. With Matt Freeman on bass, Lars Frederikson on guitar and Brandon Steineckert on drums, I was in awe to finally witness the mighty Rancid live for the first time. There was another musician playing on either a piano or keyboard, who I didn’t notice until I got to my seat. He was in the shadows and I didn’t see him when shooting from the photo pit. I can’t seem to find his name anywhere either. I guess he shall remain a mystery musician for now.
The crowd came alive with energy as the circle pit started and kept running on a consistent basis all night. Now I’ve heard of dinosaurs in a tar pit, but this is the first I’ve seen a dinosaur in a mosh pit. One of the great sights of the night was seeing a guy dressed up in a T-rex costume moshing and crowd surfing. Even the band had some laughs and told the dinosaur to lead the mosh. It was a delight as the crowd, including myself, sang along with Rancid as they played a nice selection of songs from old to new material. With classics like “Time Bomb”, “Fall Back Down” and “Salvation”, you couldn’t help but smile. Without question, “Ruby Soho” is still one of the greatest songs in my opinion, so when they saved that for last, I was more than ready. Coming off a newly released album, ‘Trouble Maker’, Rancid is keeping the beat alive and fresh as they sang a couple tracks off that album, them being “Ghost of a Chance” and “Telegraph Avenue”.
With the sun set, Dropkick Murphys took the stage in front of a crowd ready to keep on moshing and have an enjoyable time. There was plenty of green being worn throughout the crowd, along with many flat caps covering heads, including mine. Right away, you could hear the Irish music influence at the heart of every song Dropkick Murphys played. it was almost impossible not to dance along with the beat. Good ole T-rex was still going strong. Dropkick Murphys have long been supporters of helping those less fortunate, and expressing political views are no different. Their song “First Class Loser” had President Donald Trump displayed on the video screen behind the band. Tons of energy poured from each of the band members as they sang and played; it became infectious, and before long, we were immersed in the show and enjoying the experience the band took us on.
Lead singer Al Barr commanded the way along with bandmates Ken Casey on bass, Matt Kelly on drums, James Lynch on guitar, Tim Brennan on guitar, Jeff DaRosa on guitar and Lee Forshner on bagpipes. And many of these guys play several other instruments from piano to accordion to bouzouki amongst others. Needless to say, there was a lot of musicianship going on. One of the coolest things I’ve witnessed ever at a concert was when lead singer Al Barr stopped singing and ran off stage to stop security from removing a guy off the premises. Barr grabbed the guy who clearly was a bit too intoxicated and walked him back into the pit amongst the fellow crowd while security just hung back and let it go. Barr exclaimed: “this is a punk rock show. Not fucking Aerosmith. We don’t kick people out”. I don’t know if the guy was being too rowdy or was just too drunk, but once Barr put him back into the pit, he seemed fine. At least I didn’t notice any trouble.
[metalwani_content_ad]Later, the band invited numerous crowd members to join them onstage for a song, which further increased the party atmosphere of good times. Playing songs old and new, Dropkick Murphys also had a new album, ‘11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory’ which was released in January this year. This album focused on opiate addiction and the message they want to get out to bring awareness on the alarming rate of opiate overdose deaths that are happening right now. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” is one of the new songs they played that dealt with that subject matter.
Closing the show out in style, Rancid came back out to join Dropkick Murphys for an encore of cover songs ranging from Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues”, to The Ramones’ “Cretin Hop”, to “I Fought The Law” by The Clash. Al Barr also took time out to do a raffle for a charity donation winner and mentioned that a Challenge Coin was for sale at the merch booth for $20. All proceeds went to support charities upheld by both Rancid (Guitars for Kids) and Dropkick Murphys (The Claddagh Fund). I bought a coin and it’s a dandy. One side has the likeness of Dropkick Murphys, and the other side has the likeness of Rancid, saying “Thanks for the years of support”.
It’s nights like this that make you feel good to be alive. Anytime you mix good music with good people, only good things happen. I was more than happy to have enjoyed the songs the bands played, but allowing me to be a part of their charitable causes made me feel proud and happy to know I’m helping them help others. We all need to realize that we are in this together, and treating each other with respect and love will make this world so much brighter. Easier said than done, but at least there are people out there fighting the good fight. And I’ll be there to support that – all day, every day.
Check out our full gallery of the gig here!