Mighty Mighty Bosstones Thrill Boston Fans at 'Hometown Throwdown'

On Sunday night, nine guys in matching red and white outfits thrilled fans on Boston's Landsdowne Street, inspiring chants and cathartic fist pumps. There was shoving and heavy drinking, and when it was all over, the crowd spilled out onto the sidewalk, where police were on hand, just in case.

This may sound like a familiar scene, but given that it's December, the action wasn't at Fenway Park, but rather across the street at the House of Blues, where the Mighty Mighty Bosstones proved they're still Beantown's second-favorite live draw.

"This is a very special thing," said lead singer Dickey Barrett, thanking fans for attending night two of this year's "Hometown Throwdown" holiday concert series. The Bosstones had just opened with a pair of songs from 'Pin Points and Gin Joints,' their first new album in seven years, and Barrett had to have been relieved -- though perhaps not surprised -- by what he heard: his own lyrics, shouted back at full volume.

Such is the relationship the Bosstones have with their fan base. Over the course of its two-hour performance, the seminal ska-core band mixed radio hits with deep cuts, chasing jaunty verses with meaty punk choruses. More than a decade past its commercial prime, the group remains as scrappy and loveable as ever -- a gang of knuckleheads partial to plaid blazers, heavy-metal guitars and saxophone solos.

Their popularity isn't limited to Boston and toward the end of the show, Barrett singled out one fan that had flown in from France. From there, the band segued into what Barrett called "a song about unity, a song about love," the 1997 smash 'The Impression That I Get.' The tune had folks dancing even on the club's second and third tiers, where assigned seating stifled the sort of frantic moshing and skanking that raged on the general-admission main floor.

During the encore, the band carted out a piano and offered up an impassioned 'Toxic Toast,' a tribute to the "mindless, endless nights and days" that characterized its boozy early years. "Toxic toast still makes me smile," Barrett screamed as the band plunged into the chorus. Sure enough, he wasn't the only one beaming.