The boys are back and they’re looking for trouble at the impressive OVO Hydro, Glasgow’s largest indoor music venue. The last time The Dropkick Murphys played Glasgow it was the O2 Academy and what a night that was!
I got some really unique photos and Al Barr was using one of himself throwing the metal horns as his Instagram avatar! I also got some shots of the on-stage wedding proposal that Ken choreographed! I even got shots of an absolute idiot who took his wedding tackle out on stage during the stage invasion at the end… luckily the security staff were on him and he was swiftly ejected from the premises, more probably into the back of a police car! Yes, it was some night and as I remember all the individual elements that made up for one memorable evening, so the bar was set high for tonight’s performance.
Unfortunately, due to ‘Pizza priorities’ at the box office, the staff could not issue the photo passes until the aforementioned Italian cuisine had been purchased and consumed by aforementioned staff. Once bellies were full, this allowed us to progress to the issuing of photo passes. Sadly, this did not come in time for the first two acts, so I missed Jesse Ahern or The Rumjacks.
Thankfully, I made it in time for Californian legends Pennywise who put on a great show despite being swaddled in darkness with occasional flares or reds. Their iconic logo hanging high above the stage looked great and was easily visible; unlike the band members. The highlight was when frontman Jim Lindberg commented on the cameras in the pit and asked for one to be handed by him. I made eye contact, but a camera was quickly put in his hands where he proceeded to photograph the crowd, so a nice wee photo of myself photographing Lindburg, as he was photographing me is out there! Pennywise have a reputation of being a no-nonsense band, what you see is what you get and what we got in Glasgow was a solid performance, filled with energy. It was really great to see these guys on Scottish soil.
It’s been a long time coming! Here we are, back in the pit. The all too familiar lead in-walk-on music playing of ‘The Lonesome Boatman’ filled the air. The warm tones flooding over the crowd. The Glasgow crowd are not known for being shy and reserved ‘Here, we, here, we, here we are fucking go’ echoes around the auditorium to cheers as a lone piper surrounded by candles played his heart out. As the band came on and built up to ‘The Boys are Back’, the crowd went wild as Ken raced on stage, riling up the fans as he belted out the songs! The look of joy and excitement was all over each band member’s face. The energy was electric. The guys wasted no time in breaking into their next track, which is one of my favourites! The banjo kicked off ‘State of Massachusetts’. The noise of the crowd behind me was as loud as the sound coming off the stage! The guys showed no signs of slowing down and they went hell for leather through the song. Not counting ‘The Lonesome Boatman’, which is really a walk on song, that was the photographers kicked out of the pit, so two songs worth of snaps would form the night’s memories. I felt a little cheated as I was ushered out the pit, into the darkness away from the show.
The short time I spent at this show really was enjoyable and the stage setting and dressing echoed the album cover ‘This Machine Still Kills Fascists‘. This looked really good with the religious imagery, skulls and candles. The Gerry Cinnamon song ‘The Bonny’ was included in the set, which was a nice touch, given Glasgow is Gerry’s home city.
This was a really great show, and the Dropkicks did us proud! Come back again soon! Go check the guys’ socials now and see where they are playing near you.
Words and pictures: Stevie Oi! @gig_photography_glasgow