Last night was a busy concert night in Oslo. The two best venues in town, Rockefeller and Sentrum Scene, had audience friendly bands. I started out at Sentrum Scene, where Dropkick Murphys were the headliners, with Blood Or Whiskey and The Mahones as guests. (Picture above: Al Barr from Dropkick Murphys)

Dropkick Murphys are an Irish band from Boston. Irish, meaning that their music has an obvious Irish origin, combined with punk and rock in general. They have been together as a band since 1996, with bass player Ken Casey as the one founding member still in the band. Drummer Matt Kelly and singer Al Barr joined during the first two years, those three have played together for almost 20 years.

I like to see bands like Dropkick Murphys live. They have hard, not too long, but effective songs, and their Irish influences go down well in Norway. Singer Barr was out singing to the fans in front all the time, and the rest of the band is tight, with a good feeling for what works and what doesn’t. They got their so far best selling song with I’m Shipping Up To Boston from the movie The Departed.

The Mahones

Dorpkick Murphys had two bands as special guests and support. Bryan McPherson start out, but I didn’t see him. Then Blood Or Whiskey from Ireland and The Mahones from Canada and Ireland. Both bands had good and energetic live shows. The Mahones have an attraction in their accordion player, Katie “Kaboom” McConnell. She is the visual center of the band together with singer and founder Finny McConnell.

Blood Or Whiskey

Blood Or Whiskey were also good, with a hard working singer and front man, Barney Murrey working the crowd. All three bands were well received from a sold-out venue, and all of them didi a good job. Dropkick Murphys were the big stars, but I will check out the Mahones if I get another chance.

The Mahones’ audience

All pictures are © Per Ole Hagen and must not be used without written permission.