Dropkick Murphys, The Bombpops, The Rumjacks and Jesse Ahern at Albany Capital Center 3/14/2022 -Photos and Story By: Rob Smittix

Here’s a fun fact in February of 2018 Dropkick Murphys christened The Albany Capital Center, being the first act to perform at the newly built facility. Ever since the place has opened I (Rob Smittix) have never stepped foot inside, until last night March 14th 2022.

It was a pleasant surprise that we got to hear the acoustic stylings of Jesse Ahern, for whom at least I didn’t realize he would be opening the show.  Jesse is a Boston based solo musician who was defiantly the perfect guy to get the crowd ready for what was next to come.

The Rumjacks took the stage next and  I have been playing these guys quite a bit on my radio show, so I was familiar with quite a few songs and I helped sing along, they just didn’t know it. My bass player Will turned me onto The Rumjacks as it has quickly become one of his favorite bands. Will lives in Montana now but actually bought tickets for this Albany show, he just couldn’t fly out because flights were too costly, so he was hating on me the whole night as I forwarded him photos of the great time I was having.  I didn’t meet the guys but I made sure to tell my bandmate that I did and that we hung out for hours after the show, I guess he’ll find out the truth after reading this.

Up next were The Bombpops in which I have been familiar with for years because I follow Fat Wreck Chords in a big way. The band was tight and they were a great diversion between the Irish punk sounds that we all expected from this show. It helped break it up and keep the show interesting.

Oh my then came The Dropkick Murphys. For personal reasons Al Barr couldn’t make this show but Ken Casey held it down for sure. Ken was front and center the entire night as you can clearly see from the photos. Last time I saw the Murphys Kenny was wielding his bass and Al was in the spotlight. All in all, this was a great show but that’s what you would expect from these professionals. It’s always great to see these guys play around St. Paddy’s Day because it really gets you in the festive spirit. I’ve included the Dropkick Murphys setlist for all to see in the photo section.

Thank you for coming to town and please come back again soon! -Rob Smittix