Dropkick Murphys – With Full Force – Ferropolis, Germany – June 23, 2017
After an energy-fueled goth-industrial metal Ministry set, the Celtic punk rock band from Massachusetts that plays Irish songs with a punk style, Dropkick Murphys took the same FeroX stage and put on an orchestrated performance with what seemed to be more band members than I have fingers on my hands. The backdrop is a busy patterned black and white, and nearly everyone donned all black, so from a distance, some members blended in. Jeff DaRosa jumped up and down while playing the banjo and then the acoustic guitar, and was the most expressive and emotive multi-instrumentalist in the band, I would say. Lee Forshner bagpiped away in the foreground, though he’s at the forefront in his career as a firefighter for the Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.
Dropkick Murphys is touring to represent their 9th studio album, 11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory, and has promised more albums this and next year. After the European summer tour, they’ll embark on a From Boston to Berkeley tour with co-headliners Rancid.
