6 worst things about seeing a Dropkick Murphys Show

Full disclosure: hyyyuge Dropkick Murphys fan. I've seen them in Boston on St. Paddys Day weekend 6 of the last 8 years. I've seen them rise from very good irish-punk band to a Boston icon. Anyways, without further ado, the 6 worst things about seeing the Dropkick Murphys, in no particular order:

1. Lowell, MA. Sure, they could've played any of the dozens of clubs in Boston and sold them out, but they played Tsongas Arena in Lowell, MA. (home to your Lowell Devils! Woohoo!) Not only were there very few signs telling me how to get there, but the GPS in my car refused to recognize the address or "Tsongas Arena." We had to stop at a convenience store and ask for directions, as the dude spoke to me through the bulletproof glass. We got there late and missed about 20 minutes of the show. And I'm not saying Lowell, birthplace of Jack Kerouac is a shitty area, but Tsongas Arena was on MLK Blvd. Take it away Chris Rock...

2. The awful smell from the moshpit. I'm not expecting a rose-scented mosh pit, but man, you walk in there, and if you're not trying to escape the 6'2 280 lb shirtless meathead who is rubbing up on you, you're trying not to puke after smelling the stench of dozens of dudes who need a shower. Now.

3. Crowdsurfers. New rule: Everyone is allowed to crowdsurf once in your life. It's a cool feeling, and frankly, everyone should be able to say they've done it before. But unless you're under 130 lbs, you don't get to do it again. Ever. By the end of the show, I had some big dudes asking me to pick them up. An unwritten rule of the pit is you always help them crowdsurf when they ask. Fuck that, I told them maybe later.

4. Mohawks. So not only am I dealing with a crazy moshpit, 180 lb mofos crowdsurfing to me from all directions, but now I gotta worry that some kid with a mohawk is going to poke my eyes out? Not cool. And here's my question: these kids with the mohawks, what do they do with their hair the other 350+ days each year when they're not at a punk show? Then they just become some dude with odd hair who, uh, isn't exactly getting a cushy job any time soon with that haircut. Damn, I'm old. And angry.

5. The "Yankees Suck" chants. Really? At a DKM show? You're going to focus on the Yanks and not the band? Oh and guys, one last thing for all of you, now that I'm not surrounded by crazed Massholes: 18-1. Boo ya!

6. The Murphys are now an icon, and not a punk band. The Murphys play some great punk music. They did this consistently for their first 4 albums. But over the course of their last two albums, they've become icons, known for representing the Boston area. As such, they've strayed from simply being a punk band to playing all sorts of odd pop songs, but in a quasi-punk manner. Need further proof?

Compare the New (Tessie)


with the old (The Gauntlet):

(And this doesn't even include DKM's early fans who think they started sucking once about 4-5 albums ago.)

PS:
The following is a text message exchange between me (in Cambridge) and Mahatma (maintaining the SUS empire in Manhattan)
Devo: I forgot how many white people there are in Cambridge.
Mahatma: So says the kettle.
Devo: Touche.