Just in time for the cooler weather, Massachusetts’ own Dropkick Murphys will be crisscrossing the United States and parts of Canada for their fall tour. Along for the ride are their friends in Pennywise and from Ireland, The Scratch. If there was one tour to come inside and warm up to with sing-a-longs and mosh pits, it is this tour.
The Scratch opened the Fayetteville, AR show to a room that instantly loved their unique sound. Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, The Scratch combine the sounds of punk, folk, and at times metal break downs. Even though guitarist Conor Dockery came out with an acoustic guitar and singer Daniel Lang played the cajon, this wasn’t a campfire sit around type band. Don’t let what instruments they are using fool you, The Scratch play loud, and they play fast. Each song had a story to tell which drew everyone into the point that when their set was ending the crowd wanted more. With The Scratch being from overseas, I am not sure how often they visit North America, but their next visit can’t come soon enough.
For over 35 years, Pennywise has been a band that sticks to their ethos and still put on a great show. Guitarist Fletcher joked in the beginning of the set that maybe they performed in this area years ago, probably at someone’s backyard. Northwest Arkansas is getting better at hosting more punk bands, and a band like Pennywise had plenty of old and young fans in attendance which for the younger fans probably meant the world to them. Even if this was Pennywise’s first or second time in the area, they gave the crowd more of an old-school set with almost all the songs being from albums before 2021. There were many songs performed from About Time, which came out in 1995, and that makes one think they are prepping for something next year.
By mid-set, Pennywise went around the room and called out band names on fans t-shirts. They played parts of songs and then went into a three-song medley of NoFX songs including, “Kill All The White Man,” “Bob,” and “The Brews.” Like Dropkick Murphys, come this weekend, Pennywise will also be part of NoFX’s final weekend shows, and it will probably a very emotional weekend. Then, towards the end of their set, Pennywise did their version of “Stand By Me” which included multiple mosh pits which. The last song of the set was “Bro Hymn Tribute,” and if you don’t know the song or what it stands for, this is the part where when you are at a Pennywise show, you give it your all just as the band does. The song was dedicated to two people in the crowd that recently lost someone, but of course, it is always dedicated to everyone that has lost someone. The crowd sang out the song until Pennywise left the stage, and while this was Pennywise’s first or second time in the area, hopefully it isn’t their last.
Prior to the start of their fall tour, Dropkick Murphys released a new song titled “Sirens” which is a perfect anthem to our status as a nation. The song is more straightforward punk rock with a catchy guitar riff that, when they played live, had the crowd moving with fists in the air. Could this mean we will be getting a new Dropkick Murphy album? We can’t say for sure, but if we do, if this song is the taste of what is to come, it is going to be a hard-hitting album. The rest of their set was a constant two-three punch, and Dropkick Murphys did not slow down let alone talk that much in between songs. I am unsure if this was their first time in Northwest Arkansas, but if it was, I think having an intense and fast song set was intentional to make this show an unforgettable one for the fans.
The only time they did slow their set was during “Forever,” which was a request they received from a fan who had a 20-year-old tattoo of the song’s lyrics on them in remembrance of their Mom passing. Afterwards they were right back at it with “Captain Kelly’s Kitchen” and didn’t slow down again until “Rose Tattoo.” Like Pennywise, Dropkick Murphys kept to a setlist which only featured songs before 2013. Again, I’m not sure if it was because this was their first time in Northwest Arkansas, but overall, it was a stacked setlist.
This was only the fifth show of their fall tour, and with a month left of shows, it is imperative to get to one of them. Dropkick Murphys always put on an electric show, and to hear their new song “Sirens” is worth it alone. Their last two albums were acoustic-based, but now it seems Dropkick Murphys want to crank the volume back up. The current state of the nation has definitely fueled what is to come from Dropkick Murphys, and we are all here for it.
Dropkick Murphys
Pennywise
The Scratch
