Photos and a review of Dropkick Murphys and The Pogues at Ottawa CityFolk Festival

[More coverage from Ross MacDonald and Zachary Resnick. – AC]

It was a little cloudier, the skies a bit greyer for day 4 of City Folk 2025, but the crowds were out in force for another day of live music.

Catbite, a ska-punk band from the city of brotherly love, kicked off the evening with MONSTER energy. I’m going to be using the word energy a lot in this part of the review, because there’s simply no better way to describe them.

‘Die In Denver’ started out the set at a breakneck pace. ‘Asinine Aesthetic ‘, ‘Not Ur Baby,’ and ‘Amphetamine Delight’ all followed in suit, without so much as a breath between them. 

After four balls-to-the-wall numbers, the band finally slowed enough to tell us it’s their first time playing Ottawa, and how stoked they were to be sharing the stage with the night’s following acts. 

Catbite then launched into ‘Tired of Talk,’ a slower, sexy little groove. 

They brought the energy back up with ‘Put ‘em Away,’ and ‘Scratch Me Up,’ a pure ska delight complete with some cat paw crowd participation.

Next up was ‘Bad Influence’ which featured keys so slick it took me a moment to notice that this ska outfit doesn’t have any horns – and you know what? They don’t need ‘em. The energy was ramped back up to 11 for ‘Call Your Bluff,’ and ‘Creepin’ made me want to KICK HIGHER.

Finally, a couple of slower numbers so the crowd could catch their breath. ‘Stay’ was sweet and sentimental, really showing off a different side of Brittany Luna’s voice. ‘Deteriorate’ was another slower number, starting out with just guitar and vocals until the rest of the band returned to the stage. It erupted directly into ‘Remediate,’ pumping everyone back up. 

To close out their set, Catbite finished with a cover of Amy Winehouse’s ‘Valerie,’ and ‘Excuse Me Miss.’ I am now an ardent Catbite fan. 

Anyone with eyes could see that a good chunk of the crowd was here for Dropkick Murphys. There were a TON of Dropkick t-shirts floating around. 

As the “For the People” logo lit up the on-stage screen, a hush fell over the audience, only to be replaced with a monstrous pop when the Boston boys took the stage. Dropkick opened with ‘The Boys Are Back,’ the crowd chanting right along with them. 

They next launched into ‘Skinhead on the MBTA,’ reaffirming that they’ve indeed been punching nazis since 1996 (and probably before that.) 

Ken Casey was down at the edge of the stage for this number and the following ‘Who’ll Stand with Us?’ He shared the mic, as he often does, with a fan to sing along. 

The lucky fan this time was 15-year-old Connor Hannon, in town from West Massachusetts with his father Sean. Both huge fans of Dropkick and The Pogues, they drove six hours to be in Ottawa to catch both bands in one night. Kick ass job, Connor! 

Before going any further, Casey thanked us for 30 years of support from the north, then promptly exploded into ‘Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya,’ featuring flashing purple lights, pennywhistle, and Casey’s signature Boston broque. 

‘Boys On the Dock’ hyped everyone up even further, if you can believe it. ‘Chesterfields and Aftershave’ was a solemn tribute to Ken Casey’s late grandfather. 

‘School Days Over’ is about union and fighting back against the establishment that’s trying to take our rights away, a recent song that most can relate to. Dropkick then performed ‘The Green Fields of France.’ Recorded in 2004, this was only their second time ever performing this song about the fruitlessness of war live.

‘Rose Tattoo’ got another huge pop from the fans and lit the band up in crimson light. They then rolled into ‘Worker’s Song’ (a personal favourite of mine.)As their time began to run down, Dropkick treated us to ‘One Last Goodbye (Tribute to Shane)’ an ode to the late Pogues member Shane MacGowan.

They closed their set with the one-two punch of ‘I’m Shipping Up to Boston,’ which had the whole audience singing along, and then ‘The Big Man,’ which whipped the crowd into a rabid frenzy, complete with Casey running across the stage holding a Canadian flag. 

The night sky overhead seemed the perfect backdrop for legendary King’s Cross rockers The Pogues. A blaze of red lights signaled their arrival. 

The band was playing their 1985 smash album Rum, Sodomy & The Lash almost completely in full, and to a roar from the crowd they began with ‘The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn.’ 

Due to an orchestra of on-stage instrumentalists, these older tunes sounded rich and revitalized in a way I’ve never heard before. 

The all-instrumental ‘Wild Cats of Kilkenny’ followed, with Spider Stacy’s signature tin whistle and Cait O’Riordan’s bass and grumbly wails delightfully piercing the night air. 

Next up was ‘A Pair of Brown Eyes,’ followed by ‘Billy Bones.’ Both were well received, especially by the not-insignificant number of kilt wearers in the crowd. 

Highlights included ‘The Gentleman Soldier,’ covers of Bently Ball’s ‘Jesse James’ and Ewan McColl’s ‘Dirty Old Town,’ and ‘A Rainy Night in Soho.’ 

As the night went on, I found myself thinking back on all the incredible musicians that have at one time or another contributed to the rich tapestry that is The Pogues today. 

There’s no Pogues set that feels complete without their cover of Eric Bogle’s ‘And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda,’ which set the audience alight with glee.

Closing their set to the wistful ‘London Girl,’ I stood in awe at these musical marvels, hoping that when I hit 66 years of age, I hope I’m half as cool as Spider Stacy.