Dropkick Murphys

April 6, 2001 @ The Palace in Hollywood, CA 
Review By: Scott Harding 
Pictures By: Scott Harding  

Once again we traveled out to one of the best venues in southern California to see yet another rippin show. Yes Im talk’n about The Palace and yes Im talk’n about Dropkick Murphys, Swingin Utters, Larz Frederiksen and the Bastards and Thug Murder. Waiting outside to get in was a pretty cool site to see because there were so many damn punks out side eger to get in and see the bands! From skins to mohaks to skaters to hot ass bettys!

So we finally get in and Thug Murder was taking the stage. Now for those who don’t know who this trio is, they are another great band  from TKO records and they come all the way from Japan to show us what they got. Oh and did I mention they are all small petite cute girls? Yup! And they fuck’n rock! Sounding like a cross between the Ramones, Rancid and Bruce Lee, Thug Murder gave us Americans a wake up call to asian punk rock! And man, did they play with force or what? They made use of the full stage and made sure they stomped over every square inch of it And they were so fucking loud I almost couldn’t take it! I have to say, after they played I made my way to the merch booth and got my self a copy of their new cd “The 13^th Round”, check it out at www.tkorecords.com!

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So next up was the band I was really stoked to see.  And that’s Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards! For those that don’t know this is Lars from Rancid side project. But if you any fan of punk you would know this already.  I just hope that they become more than just a side project because they keep it old school and tear shit up! With Mohawks ablaze and guitars a roarin Lars and they guys turned the Palace inside out. And the crowd showed their respect by creating the largest pit I have seen since NOFX at the Warped tour 2000! As bodies flew all over the floor The Bastards took took control of the stage. And that guy they have singing back up, ya know, the guy who wears the ski mask? Well that bloke sure put on a show. Launching from one side of the stage to the other in seconds flat I thought he was gonna dive off the stage and join the massive pit! But he didn’t and I guess it was a good thing because he is pretty big and the kids in the first rows would have been crushed. Lars and the Bastards are certainly a band you have to see live. They are energetic and they sound even better live than the already killer sound they have on their cd!

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So Swingin Utters was up next and I have to say that I missed their set because we were interviewing Thug Murder and Dropkick Murphys back stage. The interviews went very well and you will be able to hear them very soon in our interviews section. Anyway Im sure the Utters sounded great judging from the roar from the crowd that I could hear while doing the interviews.

Now it was time for the band most people in the Palace was eager to see…The Dropkick Murpys! Kicking things off in the Dropkick tradition, Mc Haggis came out on the bagpipes getting everyone in the Celtic mood. Then with a rage from the crowd the rest of they guys came out to join. And Lars joined DKM as a fill in because DKM guitarist busted his arm in a drunken accident.  Although I have seen DKM several times, this was the first time I have seen them in full Celtic mode. Sporting mandolins and tin whistles DKM showed off their full talent and potential. I think its pretty cool how on their recent release “Sing Loud Sing Proud” they have expressed more of the Celtic Irish roots in their music while still maintaining the full flavor of their original sounds.  And seeing it all live brings the band to much higher and new levels. I was pretty amazing to see the dedication the fans had towards DKM as well. Not only did they pit like mad but not a single mouth in the crowd was still as just about every one was singing along word for word. And Al Barr and sure keep the audience moving because he performs with such charisma and force its had to not get caught up in the moment. Their whole set was nonstop action and just plain fun. Then at the very end the whole crowd was invited up on stage to join in the last song. It was amazing that the strict rules at the palace were completely ignored by the bouncers at this point. Gotta love the Murphys for allowing this to go on just about every show they play. One great band and one great show!

- Scott

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