Dropkick Murphys at Merriweather

Dropkick Murphys at Merriweather

Apparently Maryland has become synonymous with humidity because it's one of the first things that the Bosstones' Dicky Barrett commented on at Merriweather July 10. Despite the moisture, all of the bands managed to keep the crowd's attention. Louisiana-based Cowboy Mouth's interesting setup put the drummer/lead singer front and center; the perfect position to command audience participation and get people to continually sing lyrics like "the name of the band is Cowboy Mouth"...thanks, we didn't hear you the first 50 times. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones seemed as fit as they were 10 years ago when they made their big splash, and they were dressed to impress in their matching plaid suits. Not to be upstaged, the Dropkick Murphys' set started with a mysterious Irish folk song playing on the P.A. while the stage remained in darkness, right up until the band took the stage to start playing. With more members and instruments than most punk bands, the band proves that accordions and banjos are not your grandfather's instruments.—Rob Perry