Dropkick Murphys

ABOUT.COM: 2/23/10

Dropkick Murphys – ‘Live on Lansdowne, Boston MA’

The legendary St. Patrick’s Day shows are coming your CD player.

Dropkick Murphys are known for the energy of their live shows, and even more so for the energy of the annual St. Patrick’s Day shows in their hometown of Boston. These events span several days, are always sold out, and feature tons of great guests. This year, the Murphys are releasing a live CD/DVD combo from these shows last year. Recorded over the course of seven Boston shows in 2009 Live on Lansdowne, Boston MA is an attempt to share the St. Patrick’s Day shows with those of us who haven’t witnessed the holiday with the Murphys (or even those who have, but want a recording of it anyway). It’s the band’s second live release, following 2002’s Live on St. Patrick’s Day From Boston MA, an album that is currently part of my St. Patrick’s day mix. Live on Lansdowne features an entirely different (but still great) set list than the previous, and closes with a guest appearance by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones on the Murphys’ platinum-selling single “I’m Shipping Up To Boston.”

I’m always a little leery of live albums, as many are simply recorded poorly, then packaged for sale. This is not the case here. From the album’s opener, “Famous For Nothing,” the album captures all of the energy of a live Murphys set, and the recording is clean and perfect. In fact, some of the songs benefit from the live treatment even more so than they did on the original recordings. “Sunshine Highway” and “(F)Lannigan’s Ball” are injected with extra sweaty energy, and their Boston sports anthems “Time To Go” and “Tessie” are presented in best possible way, accompanied by the cheers and accompaniment of rabid Boston sports fans.

“I’m Shipping Up To Boston,” the band’s most successful song to date, is even more energetic than on the original, and when the crowd goes absolutely nuts with the appearance of the Bosstones, it’s readily apparent that this closer to the show is something absolutely amazing.

The flow is even better than the band’s previous live release, with not a lull to be found, and while I would have loved to hear a couple classic older tunes in this mix (“Boys on the Docks” or “Barroom Hero” for example), live versions of these tracks exist on the previous release, and the band’s catalog is so deep that I can understand and respect their choice not to repeat any tracks previously recorded live.

A Dropkick Murphys show is not something to miss, and the opportunity to catch them in Boston is something many of us will never get. That’s why Live on Lansdowne, Boston MA is essential listening for any Murphys fan, and if you’ve never caught them live, this album is a decent substitute that will probably serve as an incentive that forces you to make the trek the next time they’re anywhere near your town.

Track Listing

1. “Famous For Nothing”
2. “The State Of Massachusetts”
3. “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya”
4. “Time To Go”
5. “Sunshine Highway”
6. “Flannigan’s Ball”
7. “Bastards On Parade”
8. “God Willing”
9. “Caught In A Jar”
10. “Captain Kelly’s Kitchen”
11. “Citizen C.I.A.”
12. “Fields Of Athenry”
13. “Your Spirit’s Alive”
14. “The Warrior’s Code”
15. “The Dirty Glass”
16. “Tessie”
17. “Forever 2009″
18. “Worker’s Song”
19. “Kiss Me, I’m Sh*tfaced”
20. “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” (featuring The Mighty Mighty Bosstones)

Release Date – March 16, 2010 (Born and Bred Records)

Dropkick Murphys latest release “Live On Lansdowne, Boston MA – Seven Shows, Six Nights” featuring a whole new collection of St Patrick’s Day anthem will be available on Tuesday March 16th, 2010. You can order “Live On Lansdowne” direct from us through the DKM website.

The album will be available in three different formats:

+ Single CD package
+ Deluxe double disc package CD and DVD
+ Gatefold double disc green LP vinyl with bonus audio CD

As a special offer to our fans & friends pre-order your copy before midnight on March 15th & you will automatically go into a draw for some fantastic prizes. Your order must be placed through the DKM website before midnight on March 15th, 2010 to go into the running.

This is what you could get if you order your copy today:

+ A trip for 2 people to see Dropkick Murphys play live in Dublin at the Olympia Theater April 22, 2010. Trip includes round trip tickets & airport transfers for two people, plus two nights at U2’s Clarence Hotel on The Liffey and of course two tickets and VIP backstage passes for the show at the Olympia.

+ A signed guitar signed by all the members of DKM.

+ A merch shopping spree, we’ll give you $500 credit to spend at our online store.

+ And for our Boston area fans a $200 bar tab at McGreevy’s, you pick the night & we’ll buy the drinks.

+ Also all orders placed before midnight on Monday March 15th will receive a free download of a track from the album! The music file will be sent to the email address used to place the order for the album.

Order your copy now.

Limited edition autographed copies of the album are also available from Newbury Comics. Click here for more details.

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Our new album “Live On Lansdowne” hits the streets on March 16th, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day!  You can pre-order your copy now here to go into the draw for a trip for two to see the band perform at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, we will put you up in the Clarence Hotel owned by U2’s Bono & The Edge.  We’ve got some other great prizes too. Don’t miss this chance of a lifetime  to hang with us in Dublin and pre-order your copy today!

Hey Guys,

This Saturday night from 6pm-10pm come on down to McGreevy’s 3rd Base Saloon, 911 Boylston St. Boston to join us and some of our famous friends as we get behind the bar to benefit our charity, the Claddagh Fund. For $20, your pals from the Dropkick Murphys and loads of Boston celebrities will be mixing up your drinks to raise money for the Hope for Haiti Childrens Fund. Check out the attached invite!

We’ve also got lots of great raffle prizes like DKM, Bruins and Red Sox tickets, McGreevy’s gift certificates and much much more.

If you’re in town, come party with us at McGreevy’s at 911 Boylston Street and get served for a good cause!

And when you’re killing time on the web, check out our charity’s site at www.claddaghfund.org and find us on Facebook!

Hope to see ya on Saturday!

Thanks,
Ken Casey, Dropkick Murphys

Hi everyone,

Just a quick note to let you know some exciting news, that this year the Dropkick Murphys will be playing the Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester TN, Sunday June 13th.

For more information including ticket outlets please go to these websites:
http://www.bonnaroo.com/
http://www.myspace.com/bonnaroo

We will post more details on our website as we get them.

Thanks for your support!
DKM.

Hi everyone,

We are getting ready to leave Europe after an amazing run of shows in Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands. As usual we had a great time and are looking forward to hopefully getting back there in the summer to play some festivals. Please check the video tour updates (below) we have been posting to see some of what we have been up to.

In the meantime we are getting geared up for our March & April shows & are happy to announce that we have added some killer support bands to the bills. On the US shows we have Strung Out from California along with Larry & Has Flask from Oregon making the trip over from the west and for the UK, Scotland, Northern Ireland & Ireland shows Face To Face will also be traveling from California to head over the pond with us.

Also, to the demand for tickets we are adding one more (final) show to the Boston run and will be playing an early show on Saturday March 13th, doors will open at 1pm. Tickets for this show will go on sale Saturday 2/6 at 10am EST:

http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/418094

Lastly, we have a great line up of bands to play the Boston shows too but we’re going to keep you in suspense a bit longer before we announce those.

Here’s all the show info.