Presented by The Zone, 94.1 FM, Scion’s Bonzai at Main Street Armory in Rochester brought a great lineup of energetic and high intensity rockers, including acts such as 10 Years, Crash Kings, Diamond Youth, Dropkick Murphys, Family of the Year, IAmDynamite, Panic! At The Disco, Pepper, Sick Puppies and a surprise addition of ska band Reel Big Fish. This was an all ages show and had quite a mix of fans old and young that came to witness the madness of Bonzai.
During the Crash Kings set, a crowd surfer started some commotion with the security and got tossed out into the street; usually the security is pretty lenient at Main Street but surely this unruly fan had it coming. Hawaii natives, Pepper, were on stage next; they put on harder show than expected and are definitely worth a listen to. They said that the crowd should definitely “Be louder drunks and to make some f@%*ing noise!”, which made the crowd explode with an uproar. High energy ska band Reel Big Fish started their set with a cover of “Call Me Maybe” by singer Carly Rae Jepsen, which got all the youngsters jumping up and down, then flowed into “Beer”, which got everyone into skank mode as if their lives depended on it. A circle pit developed with irony during the song “In the Pit/Thank You for not Moshing”. They finished their set with cover of “Take on Me” by A-Ha.
Australian rock band Sick Puppies started their set with, “Your Goin Down”; this band filled the Armory and had everyone fist pumping and slam dancing. The end of their set brought chants of “SICK PUPPIES, SICK PUPPIES” and flying drumsticks, which caused two people to battle over a drumstick in the center of the auditorium. This group has quite a following in their 15 year career and had the place jammed packed, even with the seats in the balcony that were filled, creating a mini heat wave. Panic! at the Disco brought more people into the already filled auditorium, opening with “The Ballad of Mona Lisa” followed by “Time to Dance”, which brought a riot of dancing and jumping. Singer Brendon Urie decided at one point to do a back flip off the drum riser and totally landed it, which drove the crowd wild.
Last but not least, headliner Dropkick Murphys took the stage and scally cap clad fans rushed the stage from their smoke breaks, packing the auditorium to the gills. Dropkick Murphys started their set off with total darkness and played “Foggy Dew”, an Irish ballad which got everyone ready for battle of the musical persuasion. The lights flashed on and Dropkick struck the first chord of “Hang Em High”, followed by “The Fighting 69”. The crowd was dancing arm to arm with Guinness in hand, just like in a traditional Irish pub. Singer Al Barr and bassist/singer Ken Casey had the women in the audience on stage for an encore of “Kiss Me I’m Shitfaced” and “Skinhead on the MBTA” and closed with a cover of “T.N.T” by AC/DC. The stage was jam packed with die hard Murphy fans jumping up and down signing along. They’re truly a band who cares about their fans and make them feel like family.
The crowd endured the heat and sweatiness for a killer lineup at Main Street Armory and definitely will remember this show for years to come! This was one for the masses!
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