Music Review | Flogging Molly :: Live Austin TX

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February - Flogging Molly

Flogging Molly :: Live Austin TX

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Written by Terisa Cortez

Stubb's Bar-B-Q - Austin, TX

February 1, 2008

When I was assigned to review the Flogging Molly concert at Stubb's Bar-B-Q, I really wasn't sure what I had signed on for. I’d heard things to expect from everyone: it was going to be wild, there was going to be lots of dancing, lots of crazy people, and buckets of beer. In a nut shell, it would be Irish. And so it was.

Flogging Molly has always been known for their completely unique sound and limitless boundaries to their music. They’re also notorious crowd pleasers when it comes to live performances and Friday’s show at Stubb’s was no exception.

Stubb’s Bar-B-Q is an outdoor venue with an indoor restaurant attached. There’s a full bar, a merchandise stand, and the rest is a big open space for all the head banging, crowd surfing, and general crowd craziness that one’s heart desires. I got to the venue about an hour before the first opener, Dusty Rhodes and the River Band, performed their set. Even this early in the game, some 3 hours or so before Flogging Molly would take center stage, the crowd was pumped. Everyone was prepared with a Guinness in hand and a jumpy demeanor. They knew this wasn’t going to be a show to sit and listen to, this was going to be an event with not just seven people performing on stage – it was going to take over the whole venue.

Dusty Rhodes and the River Band came out with a lot of energy and the crowd seemed to enjoy them. The band had a similar instrumental makeup to that of Flogging Molly; a banjo, violin, mandolin, accordion and then the usual guitars, drums and keyboard. For an opening act, they were great. The crowd was satisfied.

Next up was Revered Peyton’s Big Damn Band, and they were interesting to say the least. This band’s biggest gimmick was their use of a washboard and their hill country Blues style music. It was fun at first but after a few songs the crowd grew bored with the set and really antsy for the main event. I was in the same boat. You can only be amused by a woman playing the washboard and a man dressed like Jed from the Beverly Hillbillies for so long...

Finally, it was show time! The lights came up and there they were, all seven members of Flogging Molly took the stage and wasted no time in getting the show started. A banner fell down over the back of the stage reading, “Flogging Molly – Float” which is the title of their upcoming album and the source of a handful of songs from their set. It was definitely a sight to see, all seven band members dressed in business-casual meets punk rock attire with their wide range of instruments. Guitar, accordion, piano, tin whistle, mandolin, banjo, drums and other traditional Irish instruments like the Bodhrán all made up the diverse and incredible sound that is Flogging Molly.

The band opened with Drunken Lullabies, an old favorite from their 2002 album of the same name. It was incredible; right as the band began to play, the crowd went wild. They immediately started dancing jigs, crowd surfing, and the usual head bobbing and jumping, all while singing in unison with the band, “Cause we find ourselves in the same old mess, singin' drunken lullabies!” It really was the best song to open their show with.

The energy on stage was definitely on par with what I had hoped for; the band was all over the place. Lead vocalist, Dave King, was continually throwing his Irish fist high in the air, giving the peace sign, and generally just dancing all over the stage. After the fifth song, Selfish Man, King grabbed his beer and said, “Christ, it’s thirsty work!” throwing the crowd into a frenzy of laughter and “Hell yeah!”s. As a stage leader, King definitely aced the role – he was personable, he was lively, and he said “fuck” just enough times to get the crowd riled up without being cliché. The rest of the members of Flogging Molly held their own as well, never missing a beat and always running around on stage keeping the energy level high. When the band performed Devils Dance Floor, Bridget Regan, the only female member of Flogging Molly came to the forefront of the stage to play the tin whistle and the crowd ate it up. While Regan stood still playing beautifully and seemingly without effort, the rest of the band jumped and ran, dancing around the stage. It was like beauty in a sea of amazing chaos.

Flogging Molly completed the first show of their fourth annual Green 17 Tour with 17 songs and 2 encores. Four of the songs were from their upcoming album, Float, set to release in March. The full set list follows this review.

To me, this was less of a concert and more of a party. The people didn't come to simply watch live music, they came to be a part of the show. Almost every song featured a line or two to sing along to while dancing and double fisting two bottles of beer. The crowd really couldn’t have been more diverse either; old school punk rockers wearing black leather jackets with metal studs and green Mohawks, the 45 and up age group in jeans and button downs (and let’s not forget the one or two men in kilts), and the young hippies with big beards and shaggy hair all came together with a beer and some really great music. I’ve been to Stubb’s a number of times myself, and I can honestly say that Flogging Molly had one of the biggest crowds I’ve ever seen. The show was quite obviously sold out -- after seeing the show, I understood why!

All in all the performance was amazing, the energy was amazing, and the songs were amazing; Flogging Molly was amazing. A great band in an intimate setting... You really couldn't ask for a better concert experience!