Beer will be flying today. This is crystal clear as I hear what is playing before the show. It is a hardcore punk Monday. Primitive three chord sloppy riffs recorded on Casio are blasting the venue so that we would be ready. 

Haywire, Boston hardcore punk, are setting the mood. It is 5150 amp right in front of me, which is puzzling. Ken Casey jumps onstage and announces the band demanding to give them a warm welcome. We do not need to be convinced, Haywire are LIT! It is the first time that I see the band sing along to someone else’s retro song used as an intro. Then the mainman jumps into the audience straight on the first song. Pushups, jumps, mosh and circle pit. 5150 sounds heavy af. It is quite typical hardcore punk and I cannot say that the music catches me, but the show is extremely engaging, I want them to be back. 10/10 interaction with the audience. Two guys in the front row know the lyrics, and get the mic from time to time. 

Frank Turner is up next, and it seems like the audience came to see him, - unexpectedly all the people around me know the lyrics and sing. The mix is beautiful, fantastic balance. It is softer than the opener, it even makes you want to dance. The setlist is closer to folk, but there also are plenty of punk moments, - Frank has gathered multiinstrumentalists. Speaking about the instruments. I like how the band uses them - making the setlist very diverse, while it is quite long. We even get an electric mandoline solo. Frank is a great singer, though, since he plays in most of the songs, he is attached to the mic.
 
I wonder how we survive such a long night that started with an insane slam, and Turner’s set is also triggering the grinder in the pit.  Ballads, rock and punk, funny stories and trolling of Dropkick, 12 songs, and in the end Frank finally jumps into the audience for stagediving. 

I stare at the audience and see a combination of mohawks and bank suits. The finance managers mixed with people in battle vests are queueing for the beer refill. It is probably close to being sold out, moving means you are crossing multiple comfort zones, if there are any left. Now these beers kick in and the slam pit sees white shirts rolling around. 

Dropkick are getting yoga mats and uses a lot of luminous tape. It is probably aimed at people, or rather, just Ken not falling off the stage, cause it may get really dark. The guys have a bigger production with nice lights, and the setlist starts with a bagpipe. Bagpipe. This is probably the best instrument to inject the first impression to get into the band -  hard to imagine, what would be a better start. 

Ken is on fire, knocks fists with the first rows. “This is not a VIP”, - Ken points at the center, - “This is where the action is!”, - shots fired, it is a demand.  

Banjo, harmonica, violin, bagpipe, three electric guitars, keys, medieval beer punk is open for any instrument. 

When there are so many musicians onstage, some instruments might be not very prolific, but every bit is needed, - this is what forms the sound, - so it is quite a crowd before us. Dropkick have played here recently, but the first time came ages ago and that very first response was already hot. They make you want to dance. To me, they do not have bad records and once again, after all these years, the most recent album “For the People” kicks major ass. Today it is a damn long set, 24 songs and all the usual suspects are in the set. 

Great to see such a turnout on Monday, and, since it is a proper hardcore gig, someone is taken by police for being drunk and acting like it is a punk gig.