I Breathe the Underground

Punk in the City #3: The Tossers

Punk in the City is a biweekly feature introducing influential Chicago punk, hardcore, post-hardcore, pop-punk, indie, and rock bands that have had a big impact on my personal musical evolution (and the Chicago scene in general).

I can still vividly remember Tony Duggins' stark transitions between songs. He would sing a rousing Irish drinking tune, whether an old Gaelic spiritual or a Tossers' original, without a hitch. Then, the music would stop and the slurred words would run together into vague ramblings. I remember thinking, "Holy shit. This guy is sloshed."

On another occasion, my friend Brendan actually convinced Tony to ask a friend of ours (Katie), who was also attending the show, to prom for him. Tony obliged, and Brendan had a date.

The Tossers are a six-piece Celtic folk-punk band from Chicago that play Irish ditties similar to the likes of Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly. The group has gained notoriety since they signed with Victory Records in 2005. But what most don't realize is that the Tossers have been playing the Chicago scene since the early 90's.

Similar to DKM's relationship with the city of Boston, the Tossers exemplify the spirit of the Chicago Irish population, which is considerable. Drinking anthems, homeland culture, and brute working-class sincerity are all staples of the Tossers' sound. Ask anyone who is plugged into the Chicago scene: the Tossers are hometown heroes and tested veterans of the circuit. 

The Tossers are more vicious with acoustic guitar, fiddle, and tin whistle than most bands with a wall of amps and heavily distorted guitars. Check 'em out below.

Download 07-the_tossers-siobhan

Download 02-the_tossers-teehans

"I used to wonder where my da was at night / When him and ma would start to fight / Out soaked in 95th street beer / It was the strap I had to fear / As he would prowl around the Southside at night."
- Tony Duggins, "Teehans"

Chicago Gets A Little Taste of Boston

This is late in coming. And a happy belated St. Patrick's Day to all my Irish brethren.

Boston Irish-punkers Dropkick Murphys visited Chicago on March 12 and were greeted by the mayhem they've come to expect from "one of greatest cities in the country." And boy, did they keep the crowd happy.

The eight-piece Celtic kings have made it a routine over the past several years to stop in Chicago as close to St. Patty's day as they can. In fact, you can generally find DKM gracing some venue or festivity anytime the city holds one of its Irish heritage celebrations. I actually caught them several years back at the Southside Gaelic Festival, where they played in an overflowing tent to a ruckus crowd that had nothing but gravel and rocks as a cushion. You've got to believe there were a few gashes stitched up that night.

Flash forward to Warped Tour 2005. More gravel, more gruesome scars to show the kids. Chicago was ablaze; none of the bands could match the sheer awe-inspiring crowd-gathering power of the Murphys.

Flash back even farther to 2001. A month following September 11th, DKM renames its headlining tour "Together We Stand" and visits the Vic Theater in Chicago. Opening for DKM: Tiger Army and Sick of It All. If you've ever seen SOIA and DKM and been to the Vic, you can imagine the mayhem. If you haven't seen both of these bands, just imagine a monkey knife fight...in a box the size of maybe three houses...and instead of two monkeys, there are thousands. Intense, right? I should have been a television commercial writer.

Now just imagine little 16 year-old me watch in horror as a guardrail breaks on the second level and most of the people in front of me drop four feet into a blur of mohawks and randomly-placed body piercings. Reminiscing about this night actually helped me bring back a memory I'd repressed of the punker who's kilt flew up in the resulting melee, baring more than just his nose piercings.

Flash waaaaaaay forward to 23 year-old me. Standing towards the back of the audience, inching timidly forward in the crowd for fear of injury -- until the passion and the music take over and I'm crowd surfing my way to the huge Congress Theater stage.

Yeah. That's intense.

DKM played everything I wanted them to play. The crowd was non-stop mayhem. The stage rose and fell like an ocean tide as the band members oscillated from end to end. Stephanie Dougherty (of Deadly Sins) was even present to sing vocals for "The Dirty Glass." The encore, spurred on by chants of "Let's Go Murphys" (a staple of the DKM machine since I first saw them), began with "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" and finished with "Skinhead on the MTBA." And I woke up bruised and sore, both signs of an impressive showing by the headliner.

I'm sure St. Patrick was a great guy and all, but I've got a feeling twenty years from now we'll be celebrating Dropkick Murphys day.

"For Boston, for Boston / 'til the echoes ring again."
- Dropkick Murphys, "For Boston"