By Barry Levites

The Dropkick Murphys annual return to their native Boston each March has become so engrained in the city’s psyche that it belongs with corned beef, cabbage and green beer.

This year, the Murphys up the anty with six shows in Boston, up one from their five appearances last year and four in 2003. All shows have already sold out.

“It’s going to be a crazy concert,” said Noah Garguilo, a sophomore civil engineering major. “[Dropkick Murphys] have a history with Boston that the crowd loves to feed off of.”

Garguilo, who has seen the Murphys before, including the St. Patrick’s concert last year, has tickets again for one of the 2005 shows.

On the band’s Web site, www.-dropkickmurphys.com, there is a section set apart for fan support. The section is divided up by flags, fan tattoos and concert photos.

“[Dropkick Murphys] have a lot of care for the audience,” said Jess Kornfeld, a sophomore civil engineering major who saw the Murphys during one of their “Benefit for Boston” shows in 2004. “They bring people up on stage, take notice of fan-made banners and tell the cops to push back and let the fans through.”

Toward the end of the St. Patrick’s Day show, Garguilo said it’s customary for the band to play “Skinhead on the MBTA,” an adaptation of the Kingston Trio’s “M.T.A.,” a campaign song during a mayoral race in Boston. At the end of the song, the crowd rushes the stage.

The concert will coincide with the March 8 release of the group’s latest CD, “Dropkick Murphys Single Collection Volume 2,” a compilation CD that brings a list of unreleased tracks, early singles, retooled songs and covers the Murphys did during the years 1998 to 2004.

The CD case features a line of all the cover art done for the Murphys during their eight-year career as punk-rockers, as well as an announcement of a new CD set to be releasde in June.

“Single Collection Volume 2” begins with a slew of covers from artists from AC/DC to Cock Sparrer.

“Fortunate Son” also made an appearance on the CD. A throwback from the ’70s, “Fortunate Son” is a song by Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), supposedly about the sons of the rich who didn’t have to go to war in Vietnam. The Murphys covered the CCR classic with such furor most would think they had just been drafted into the army. They also modify the song to fit an amazing guitar solo in the middle.

The second half of “Single Collection Volume 2” is more of their original work, remastered and redone for sound quality.

Songs such as “We Got The Power” and “The Wild Rover” show the Irish bonds the Murphys hold.