Flogging Molly’s summer tour invaded the National Grove of Anaheim and it was a night of high-energy, eclectic punk rock.
I first saw Flogging Molly at the San Diego Street Fair over 20 years ago when they opened for Social Distortion and Bad Religion. Their Celtic instrumentation and explosive energy won me over and I’ve been a fan ever since. The band exudes a sense of camaraderie and contagious energy, as do the bands they take on the road as support. This tour is no exception.
The Vandoliers got things started with their fun and lively, mariachi-infused country punk sound. Horns, fiddle, and cowboys, oh my! They got the crowd moving on the dance floor and singing along to songs like “Troublemaker” and “Bless Your Drunken Heart.” They put on an impressive performance and I look forward to seeing more of them in the future.
Next up was Flogging Molly’s long-time tour buddies, The Bronx. The Los Angeles-based punk rock staple never disappoints; they bring the angst and energy from start to finish, and they ripped it up!
Front-man Matt Caughthran never stops moving – even heading into the crowd – and when he’s not singing, he’s sharing fun anecdotes. They played some of their greatest hits; opening with “White Shadows,” building with “Shitty Future” and “Knifeman,” and the finishing up with “Around the Horn.”
With the crowd well warmed up, Flogging Molly entered the stage intent on keeping the shenanigans going. They started it off with a fan favorite, “Drunken Lullabies.”
Front-man Dave King is the quintessential storyteller, singing stories of Ireland, love, rebellion, heartache, family and friendship. The stories resonated with the crowd as they sang and danced along all night.
Between songs, King interjected historical references about Mother Ireland, told stories about coming to California, and the band’s start at Molly Malones.
He also spent time complimenting his talented bandmates, especially his “beautiful and amazingly talented wife Bridget on the tin whistle and fiddle.”
This extremely talented band has such an amazing stage presence, with an incredibly joyful, upbeat energy.
One thing I really enjoyed seeing was the families (including mine as FM is always a family event for us), and the next generation of young punks with their mohawks, colored hair, and the especially young ones (with ear protection!). One youngster even floated the crowd all the way up to the front of the stage, where the security guards helped him down and got him safely back to his family with an ear to ear grin across his face.
After an energetic set of much dancing, stomping, and singing, the band bid us goodnight, but as is customary, the crowd chanted “Ole, ole, ole ole, ole, ole,” and after a few minutes, King returned to the stage – guitar in hand – to entertain us with “Black Friday Rule.” He started out solo, but slowly the band joined in to rock the end and bring it home.
Flogging Molly closed out the night with “Salty Dog” and lots of good, happy feelings – which is pretty much required by law at a FM show.
