They have recognized and exploited the overlooked overlap between Irish drinking songs and punk rock. That's the secret of the Dropkick Murphys, who perform at the Warehouse Live on Thursday.
Or it could have been an old Clash track if not for the bagpipes. The chorus, "And through it all, your spirit's alive," has the bouncy, sing-along quality that would make it perfect for an old-fashioned Irish wake if it were played at one-third the speed. "Farewell, my brother," Al Barr sings over the raucous beat, "you're off to the big rink in the sky." The song was inspired by a funeral where the DKMs played for Greg "Chickenman" Riley, a longtime friend and fellow hockey fanatic who died in a motorcycle accident. The song is Your Spirit's Alive, and if you listen to the lyrics, you understand why the tune opened with funereal pipes.
But the bagpipes aren't chased away they join right in with the faster, fiercer music. After 20 seconds of that, however, a punk band barges into the track with galloping drums, staccato bass notes and an onslaught of guitars. The latest Dropkick Murphys album, The Warrior's Code, opens with bagpipes blowing a melancholy melody, the sound you often hear in a cemetery whenever an Irish cop is laid to rest.
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