Alexander Koerner/RedfernsIt's St. Patrick's Day, and Dropkick Murphys are celebrating with their annual multi-night run in Boston. The Celtic punks have played quite a few shows in their hometown and around the U.S., but bassist/vocalist Ken Casey says you can expect a different experience every time.
"I spend a lot of time on the setlists, making sure it's different from the last time we were there," Casey tells ABC Radio.
"We're not gonna do anything different to the point of props and crazy stuff, but we're always trying to change the set," he adds. "We're always trying to change how we approach delivering the set, whether it's acoustic [at] some points, things like that."
While props aren't Dropkick Murphys' thing, they're always ready for some audience participation.
"Sometimes we let the fans come up and do a little karaoke, which is always interesting," says Casey. "Sometimes there's someone like, 'Whoa! Why aren't you in a band bigger than we are?' And then there's some more like, 'Ooh, get off the stage!" But it's all good fun."
Of course, the Dropkick's signature song, "I'm Shipping Up to Boston," is a staple of their set.
"Someone said, 'Do you ever get sick of that song?' And I said, 'No, the beauty of it is it's two minutes and 10 seconds long,'" says Casey. "A lot of times we don't we sing it when we play it live, we let the crowd sing it, so we just play it."
After the St. Patrick's Day show, Dropkick Murphys will play two more shows in Boston on March 18 and 19. They'll team up with Rancid for a co-headlining tour this summer starting July 27 in Bangor, Maine.
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