Bosstones bring ska, rock, mayhem to St. Andrew's

By Joyce Lee

For the Daily

What do The Mighty Mighty Bosstones have over the MSU/Michigan game? An awesome, high energy punk/ska show Saturday at St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit. The Bosstones caused frenzy among their adoring fans; many were decked out in plaid, following the signature style of lead singer DickyBarrett. The Bosstones also brought along Sum41 and Flogging Molly for the ride.

Sum41 was a good choice for an opening band. From its catchy punk songs to mimicry of hair bands to mini-rap sessions on stage, Sum41 rocked the house and got the crowd pumped up. They opened their set with "What I Believe" and continued with songs from their album Half Hour of Power, including the first single "Makes No Difference." Sum41 knows how to put on a good set.

Flogging Molly, though an interesting mix of punk and traditional Irish sounds, didn't score as highly as Sum41. And after all, the crowd wasn't there to hear punk rock renditions of "Lord of the Dance." They'd paid to see Dicky Barrett and company make them dance.

Finally, the Bosstones took the stage and put on a great 70-minute set, demonstrating both their musical talent and excellent stage presence. The atmosphere was pure fun and really wraps the crowd up in the show. Bosstone Ben Carr, along with vocalist Dicky Barrett, skanked all over the stage to get the crowd going. There was not a still body at the show.

The Bosstones' set consisted of a mixture of old favorites like "Cowboy Coffee," "Where'd You Go," "Devil's Night Out" and newer songs like "Let Me Be" and "She Just Happened" from their recently released record, Pay Attention.

Along with the music came a fair amount of banter. Several times throughout the set, The Bosstones, in true rock-show fashion, thanked Detroit. Towards the end of the set Barrett joked, "We're not a new band, although people think we are, we've been coming here for 11 years. So this next song goes out to Detroit."

The crowd eagerly anticipated it, and out came "The Impression that I Get." Everyone went crazy, moving faster and singing louder than Barrett. It seemed like the pinnacle of the evening, but more adventure followed. Barrett introduced Deryck, lead singer/guitarist of Sum41, as his son. Barrett told him "you're handsome now, but look at me, I'm your future. But it's good to see you're following in my footsteps."

Before the show, Barrett mentioned that the Bosstones had taken Sum41 under their wing. "We met the guys and we liked them, we think they are a good band, young kids from Canada. They are fun to have around," Barrett said.

Deryck and guitarist Dave of Sum41 gave the Michigan Daily their impressions of touring with the Bosstones before the show as well. "Awesome. It's really fun because we hang out with them a lot. We have a good time with them. They are kind of like the father figure," they both said.

Like the crowd chanted all night, "Bosstones Fight Right."

JOYCE LEE/Daily

Dicky Barrett works the crowd into a plaid frenzy on Saturday night.