Dropkick Murphys

 Today is our last full day in Austin ... we'll be busy getting ready for the trek home but do hope to catch a last act at Guero's under the live oaks tonight.

Last night we had dinner and saw (from a distance at least) several bands headlined by the Dropkick Murphy's at Stubb's Bar-B-Q in the Red River Road area of the downtown entertainment area .. just up the street from Esther's Follies. That was another great adventure I ought to record.

The picture above is the Revilers who opened the show shortly after 7:00 in the huge outdoor amphitheatre behind the restaurant. We quite enjoyed them -- their sound was somewhere between Motorhead and DOA. Loud, fast head banger punk. They're from Massachusetts like the Dropkick Murphys and describe their music as Hardcore / Punk / Rock. As you can see I was able to get up close to the front and snapped a few pictures with Kate's pocket camera.

Cameras and concerts! I've got a gripe. This has happened a few times lately and happened again last night. I have a Canon T4i with a battery pack. It's black, it's an SLR, it's a nice camera but not a professional camera and I don't pretend to be anything other than an amateur taking pictures for personal enjoyment. I arrive at a concert and they tell me I can't bring in "that camera". Oh yes everyone can bring in iPhones, pocket cameras, etc. but you can't bring in "that camera" -- it's an SLR. What's the deal there anyways?

Kate and I had a vegan lunch in East Austin at Counter Culture (tofu "eggs", cashew "cheese", nothing but veggies) so a bit of Bar-B-Q at Stubb's was my reward. Slow cooked BBQ dry rub pork ribs, falling of the bone, with pinto beans, mashed potatoes and white gravy. Mmmm ... ain't that Texas cooking something!

Kate toughed that out by ordering some vegetarian sides. She's not as keen on Texas cooking but is willing to indulge my weakness.

Back to the concert. We were aware that this was going to be an outside standing room only event and were hoping for good weather as they have a "rain or shine" policy -- the show goes on no matter what! The weather has been a little cooler the last few days so we bundled up accordingly. The other issue was finding a place for Kate to sit -- with her bad knees she can't stand for very long. We had read that they were sympathetic and would accommodate anyone with disabilities. You weren't allowed to bring a chair or stool; they'd provide a place to sit. At arrival, we got there promptly at 6:30 as the doors opened, I asked for help and we were given a folding chair at the very back of the area. They told me we couldn't take the chair elsewhere as apparently they could be used as weapons (sic!) in a rowdy crowd. Those with disabilities aren't accommodated very well to my mind.

We declined the offer and ended up instead sitting on a short wall near the entrance in about the middle of the outdoor area and met a lovely young couple from Fort Hood who had driven down for the event. Fort Hood is about 1:30 hours north on the IH-35. She was about 7 months pregnant and had seen the Dropkick Murphys in San Antonio recently -- pre-pregnancy we assume because she told us how she ended up black and blue in the mosh pit. Her husband is a big fan of the Dropkick Murphys (and hockey which seems to be an integral part of being a fan) and this event was a treat especially for him.

As the evening progressed the placed filled up to standing room only -- standing only in the sense that you couldn't move one step in any direction. It was really packed. Those at the front of the stage seemed to have a great time -- fists pumping, body surfing, singing along with band members who jumped into the audience. From a distance it looked like quite a great time was being had by all who could participate. But there were a couple of thousand there and for those who weren't at the front the music was muddy and the words impossible to make out.

We are fans of Celtic punk -- the Pogues, Flogging Molly, the Mahones, the Dropkick Murphys and more. However, Celtic punk should be more than Irish tunes played at break neck speed by amphetamine fired banshees tearing around the stage. There should be an occasional subtlety and tunes should be more than bellowed slogans. There's never been a band yet that can match the Pogues, there wasn't one last night. We ducked out early to catch a cab home (before the several thousand were let loose on the streets).

The middle act was Old Man Markley from LA was a bit of an exception.  They're a Celtic punk band as well and we liked them very much -- I bought their latest CD. They're a large group of players including two young women -- one on violin and the other on autoharp. The violin adds a distinctive sound, the autoharp adds very little. The women's voices modulated the music down from the tired bellowing of head banger punk. Yet they played loud and fast with a great stand up bass beat. Like the other acts members were always careening around the stage. I find it hard to imagine that one can sustain that energy very long. And sometimes it becomes a bit of a parody of itself.

It was an interesting evening of punk and Celtic punk music. I'd have rather seen all the acts focus a bit more on their music and a little less on the theatrics for the mosh pit.