Don't get me wrong...Al Barr is amazing...BUT...

If you want Al Barr, buy the Bruisers CDs, the Molotov EP shows the Bruisers at their best, while the live and rare album is great as well...the 2nd best live album I've ever heard (only behind social distortion's live album)

Dropkick Murphys were an above average perhaps great punk band with McColgan, and as soon as Mike stepped out, and Al came in they went from being a great punk band to being an average (at best) oi! band. Anyone who would call the McColgan era oi! is sadly mistaken...Then "sing loud" came out, and they became a far inferior "irish" band to Flogging Molly and The Tossers. It's funny...

I've seen both Al and Mike perform with the murphys, and I must say Mike put on a much better stage show (stop running your hands through your thinning hair Al), and was much more personable...maybe its cuz I saw dropkick before they exploded (pre- do or die release) but Mike, Matt, Rick, and Ken were going through the crowd, shaking hands...hell...they took an hour out of their schedules to talk with me and drink a beer in the back alley. Al Barr tends to shy away and not be as personable...before shows he is quite a recluse. Ken told me in 97 that the murphys were all about 4 guys having fun...4 guys...not 15 thousand up on stage. He also said 5 years later that he saw himself selling hotdogs in front of Fenway Park for a living...funny how things change.