The St Patrick's Day weekend blast at the Td Garden Friday night was an enjoyable coming home party for the headliners. The Dropkick Murphys were relaxed and clearly thrilled to play in their dream home-town venue. Their set was full of energy and spirit, and the set list represented a balance, weighing their upbeat takes on Irish standards and their older hits against numbers from their new album.
The opening act listed on the bill was supposed to be New York favorites and Irish rock icons Black 47, but the local band the Mahones preceded Black 47, in effect opening for the opening act. The Mahones flat out sucked. The played and sang out of tune, they missed the breaks, and seemed to be generally trashed. In their defense it must be recognized that the Garden can be an intimidating house for a small band, and they clearly lack both the equipment and the experience for such a room . Black 47 was also ill-equipped to play Boston's best rock arena, but they are such gifted musicians that they can wow any audience, by dint of the sheer quality of their chops. Limited to a short set-list, they nevertheless offered an example of their range and tneir history, pulling numbers from as far back as their first album. The highlight of their set was an impromptu instrumental jam that would not have seemed out of place in a jazz club, or at Bonnaroo, for that matter.
TD Garden @
- Boston @
, MA @
- Fri, Mar 15, 2013 @
Favorite moment: My favorite moment occurred when a troupe of young Irish dancers joined the Murphys on stage for a number. @
Opening act(s): Mahones, Black 47 @