Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Youth Brigade, Street Dogs- Hometown Throwdown Night #2

After roughly four hours of sleep on the floor of the Hotel Buckminister, I was up and ready to go in the early hours of morning anticipating for what the rest of the day would bring.  There was much speculation as to what the special guest would be.  Of course, many people could not separate fantasy/who they would love to have, compared to what the realistic option was.  The Bosstones did a great job marketing the idea of the surprise guest by putting them on the first opening slot at 7PM.  This attracted a very solid crowd and low and behold, it began.  Around 7, the lights dimmed and a very country-western intro came on which was very labor related (Can you see where I am heading here?).  All of a sudden, out comes Lenny Lashley, Matt Pruitt of the Street Dogs with their friend Matt Charette for a special acoustic set.  The boys kicked into the 2003 title track, "Savin Hill" in which Mike McColgan followed them right on out for.  Their setlist included "Yesterday", "Stagger" which is rarely played live.  A few songs in, Street Dogs busted out "Free" which included a shout out to our good friend, Sean Tuohey, Jay, and myself.  Around the holidays, thoughts and prayers are given to those who serve our country and with that, the set included "Final transmission" and It was pleasant to hear "Two Angry Kids".  Mike McColgan noted that they have playfully called themselves, "The Street Illuminators" (hence Lenny Lashley joining the band) which lead Lenny Lashley to performing his original, "Anti-Xmas Song" which has become a staple.  The band finished off the night with "Oh, Father" which has never been performed live before.  This is a song that makes you appreciate your family and loved ones when they are all that you got.  After last weekends Wreck The Halls show the Street Dogs headlined, this may have been the tightest they have played and that performance before was incredible.

Up next was Youth Brigade from southern California.  Obviously this band has been around for awhile and was a staple in the rising of the California punk scene.  I for one have not listened to them much growing up but they truly played a phenomenal set.  I was pretty floored by how tight they sounded that night and how they just played straight through.  From my point of view, it was disappointing how the crowd essentially stood there that entire set and didn't move.  I cannot say I was expecting that considering their history in the punk rock community.  I have often found that bands who have played for a very long time such as Youth Brigade, they don't particularly sound as tight as they did back then but they really proved the lot of us wrong.  After watching them, I almost came to the conclusion that they may have sounded better now than perhaps some of the times I have briefly listened to them before.  As the saying goes, "Just like old whiskey, it gets better with age!" and there is something to be said for that.  After their set, their frontman made his way to the merchandise table to where I was standing near and made conversation with anybody who was willing.  It is amazing to see such veteran's of the punk rock community take time to do just that. If they come back around, I will certainly make it a point to see them again.

Night two was certainly a step up from night one.  The energy they displayed, the sound/acoustics, and the overall performance was that much better in my opinion.  The set list included plenty of gems which I will get to later.  After walking out on stage to "War" by Edwin Star, the band kicked right into "I'll Drink To That" which was unusual yet oddly perfect opener for the night.  The suspense and intro of the song was perfect.  Another gem was "I Wrote It" from "Pin Points and Gin Joints" which was amazing to hear live.  That is easily my favorite song off of that record and not to mention in general.  Classics such as "Old School Off The Bright", "The Rascal King", "Where'd You Go?" came out extremely early in the set which set the tone for the night.  Tunes off their more recent release, The

Magic Of Youth" was "The Daylights" which included James Lynch from Dropkick Murphys on guitar, the heartwarming "Sunday Afternoons on Wisdom Ave.", "Like A Shot Gun" and some more.  The crowd always is pleased to hear old fan favorites from the early days, such as "Hope I Never Lose My Wallet", "The Cave", and "Devil's Night Out".  I personally enjoyed seeing "Bad News and Bad Breaks", "Last Dead Mouse", and the ever so popular sing along, "Toxic Toast".  No song seems to unify the crowd though more than "Don't Worry Desmond Dekker" as Dicky always notes that the song is about "…Brotherhood, Loyalty, and Friendship" which is why we are all here at these shows anyway.

The main set ended with "You Gotta Go!" which resulted in an energetic applause from the crowd.  Within minutes, The boys in plaid walked right out and started three song encore with, "All Things Considered" from the "Pay Attention" era which I think was a different but still good way to open an encore.  As everybody knows, a Bosstones show isn't a Bosstones show with their commercial hit, The Impression That I Get" (from "Lets Face It") which always pleases the crowd and the final song of the night was "A Pretty Sad Excuse" which starts slow and ends fast. I must say, this was easily the best Mighty Mighty Bosstones show at that point in the weekend and in my time seeing them.  Of course, we had one more night to get through but this was by far one of the most enjoyable show going experiences thus far.