Song of the Day 3/12: Dropkick Murphys, “Where the Trouble’s At”
If you’re only dimly aware of the Dropkick Murphys, chances are you think of the Celtic punk band as a bunch of white working-class louts, and probably sympathetic to Trump and the MAGA movement that caters to that demographic. But you’d be wrong. The Dropkicks are from Boston, where even working-class louts spurn Republicans, particularly in their current fascist incarnation.
They demonstrated it emphatically with their most recent album, 2022’s “This Machine Still Kills Fascists,” which features lyrics by Woody Guthrie set to tunes written by the band. Singer Ken Casey said he knew their stand would cost them fans, but “it makes what we’re doing all that more important because you can’t cower from it. You got to speak up against it and you got to be ready to be there and tell it like it is.”
That’s just what he did at a show in Clearwater, Fla., a few nights ago. Casey was plugging band merch, telling the crowd they sold “proudly made-in-America merchandise only,” when he noticed a guy in the front row was wearing a MAGA t-shirt. As a now-viral video shows, he challenged the man with a wager. If the shirt was made in the U.S., Casey would give him a Dropkick Murphys tee and $100. If it wasn’t, the man would have to trade in his shirt for the band’s.
It was a no-lose proposition for the concert-goer, who was going to get a t-shirt either way. Sure enough, a roadie checked the label and found it was made in Nicarauga, and the guy doffed it. “He’s being a good sport, he’s taking the shirt off!” Casey shouted. “We’re taking crap off the street!”
This wasn’t the first time Casey has challenged MAGAts. At a 2022 show he admonished the crowd,
If you’re out there buying those fuckin’ hats that these swindlers are selling at that fuckin’ fair … then you’re part of the problem. And I’ll tell you why: because you’re being duped by the greatest swindler in the history of the world.
You’re being duped by a bunch of grifters and billionaires who don’t give a shit about you or your family. They care about their fuckin’ tax breaks and the money they can put in their pocket. If you consider yourself a patriot and you’re spouting out that election-denying shit, I will fight your ass outside if you want to. Wake the fuck up. We’re working-class people. These people are the fucking rich, the billionaires, and they don’t give a shit.
I’d take him seriously. This video of the Guthrie-penned “Where the Trouble’s At” shows Casey pacing the makeshift stage like a caged lion just before feeding time, promising to be ready for a confrontation wherever trouble’s at. Their current tour took them to Wilkes-Barre, Pa., last night. Maybe they can arrange to play a gig for the Democrats in Congress, who might be shamed into growing some courage.
