Dropkick Murphys – Skinny Lister – The Insurgence – Club Nokia – Los Angeles, CA

In the wake of the explosion that occurred at the Boston Marathon on April 15th, 2013, Dropkick Murphys, one of the most prominent Punk-Rock bands from Massachusetts was slated to perform at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, CA. Though the tone of the evening was a joyous, one filled with an unstated camaraderie amongst their fans, it would be remiss not to acknowledge the victims of the devastation that occurred only days earlier.

Notwithstanding the previously stated event, it did not damper the spirit of the show that would soon unfold. The audience in attendance was from all walks of life. Jesse and Alejandra (father and daughter), from Los Angeles represented the diversity of the fan base well. Both fans acknowledge the relatively small yet intimate nature of the venue, and were there to see Dropkick Murphy. This would be Alejandra’s first concert she had ever attended, and with the help of her father hoped to make her night one to remember.

The first band of the night was The Insurgence. They took the stage by first introducing their band as “We are The Insurgence from Seattle,” then immediately began by opening up with some of their Hardcore Punk-Rock anthems that included: "We Can't Be Stopped," and "K Street Killers." The Insurgence performance got the attention of the audience, and spawned a circle-pit as soon as they played their first cord. They only took one moment in the middle their high energy set to say “We’re happy to be here touring with Dropkick Murphy and playing for this awesome Los Angeles crowd.”

After their set Jibo (lead vocalist of The Insurgence) took time to talk about his band and what they are currently working on “We have been playing together for seven year. We have had the privilege of playing with bands like Lower Class Brats, GBH, Rancid and this is our 3rd tour with Dropkick Murphy. We have a new album coming out and will be touring with Dropkick Murphy for one more week. Our new album (not yet titled) should be coming out in a couple of months. Fans will be able to purchase it once it’s release through our website, and ITunes.”

Skinny Lister was up next. A band from London, England; they took the stage and immediately Lorna Thomas (vocalist for the band) exclaimed "cheers" holding what appeared to be a moon shine jug. Famous for their signature sea shanty musical style, Skinny Lister musical presence alone was more than enough to bring together a primarily Punk-Rock fan based audience in attendance. They played with an energy that invigorated the crowd; a crowd that reciprocated with a prolific exchange of energy represented by clapping and cheering in unison to the songs Skinny Lister played.

Daniel and Lorna of Skinny Lister took time after their performance to speak with Big Wheel Magazine about their band and experiences so far in California, “We have been together for about 3 years, and started by singing sea shanties and playing traditional songs in pubs all around England. We love Los Angles along with the sunshine and the people. However, we don’t like the traffic. We are here play Coachella Music Festival and were lucky enough to get offered the chance to play with Dropkick Murphy tonight. Currently our debut album ‘Forge & Flagon’ is out. The album was named after a good friend’s homemade pub.”

As a final appropriate yet poignant nod to Dropkick Murphy, Daniel and Lorna had this to say “Our thoughts are with everybody over there. We’re off to Boston on Monday and hope to spread a little bit of joy to the city. A program we saw put it best in saying ‘You can’t fuck with Boston,’ and that is so true. Boston is one of the oldest cities in America, and they will recover even after something as awful as the bombings at the marathon.”

Dropkick Murphy was slated to take the stage next. However, prior to Dropkick Murphy’s taking the stage longtime fans of Dropkick Murphy Gabe and Dana took time to speak about the Marathon “Our thought and prayers go out to anyone who was affected. Our friend was running the in the Boston Marathon but. Luckily she was not injured; we could only imagine how devastated people must be who lost loved ones.”

The stage went dark as Dropkick Murphy entered to an eerie Celtic tune. Drawing the crowd in as sirens did to sailors in myths of old. The ambiance changed throughout Club Nokia as the anticipation grew; everyone in attendance seemed to be filled with a nervous energy that would only break the second Dropkick Murphy started playing. The band took the stage to tune of Bagpipes and a Boston saunter and they proudly opened up with "For Boston."

Shortly after their rousing rendition of “For Boston” Ken Casey (guitarist and vocalist for the band) took a brief moment to say “We want to thank Los Angeles for showing Boston the love during this sad time. I am friends of Martin Richard, the 8 year old boy that died during Monday’s horrific events. The whole thing has hit pretty close to home for us. The next song we will play in honor of those who were affected by the bombings. We will put it to a vote; we will play either ‘Fields of Athenry,’ or an unrehearsed and probably poorly executed ‘Amazing Grace.” The audience chose to hear “Amazing Grace,” giving a sense of hope to the spirit of the audience in this trying time in the history of the United States.

The rest of Dropkick Murphy’s set went off in typical Dropkick Murphy fashion with tracks like “Jimmy Collins Wake,” “End Of The Night,” and “God Willing.” Towards the end of their show the band invited every girl in attendance to join them on the stage as they played the last song of the night “Boys on the Docks.”

Please take note of the charity Dropkick Murphy is sponsoring on their merchandise website: kingsroadmerch.com/dropkick-murphys. All Proceeds generated from the “For Boston” t-shirt will go directly to those affected by the tragedy that occurred at the Boston Marathon on April 15th, 2013.

            More photos of the show can be seen HERE

-Ryan R.-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

 

 

 

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