Flogging Molly at Greek Theatre

Flogging Molly gave summer a fine send-off at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles this past weekend (September 12th), turning the venue into a massive outdoor pub.  All that was missing was a special pouring of Guinness and Harp at the bar areas, though the audience, imbibing or not, was up for a celebration, and the Los Angeles Irish punk favorites delivered in full.

The band’s generally boisterous and ramshackle sounds were friendly to mosh pit whirlwind (yup), bouncing up and down and, of course, jigging in any manner you wished. At this point, the back catalog of material is so solid, any set list mix works, as one can always count on fiddle (King’s wife), accordion and banjo, as well as a spirited frontman in lead singer Dave King, fast-strumming his left-handed acoustic guitar or grabbing the mic stand to issue forth commentary between songs.

In white shirtsleeves, loosened tie and a jacket to start, King always looks more the disheveled Irish lit or history professor than,say, the rock star type, and that’s part of the Molly magic.  Meanwhile, the band plays generally at a manic pace but never loses those tunes, which harken back in melody and themes to the emerald isle yet strike a universal chord around the world. And those original songs sound like they could be 100 years old though written in this decade. You don’t get that from…uh, Nickelcrack and the like.

Selections included plenty of material from the band’s 2008 release Float, such as “Requiem for a Dying Song,” the title number so appropriate for the worldwide economic debacle, and “(No More) Paddy’s Lament.”  There were a few acoustic moments (a few more would be excellent, by the way), including “The Son Never Shines (On Closed Doors)” for King’s 88-year-old mom back in Ireland, plus a cover of T. Rex’s “Children of the Revolution” was an inspired detour from Celtic-styled routes.

Racing numbers like the waltz-to-gallop “What’s Left of the Flag,” “Rebels of the Sacred Heart,” and the statement of purpose “Drunken Lullubies” led to lots of loud singalongs and, of course, the band, and its fans wouldn’t have it any other way.

It also seems the show was shot for an upcoming DVD and CD concert release. Even if part of the footage from this night is used, it’ll fit the bill quite well as Flogging Molly. Despite the growing studio craft of the lads and lass, it is ultimately a live experience of celebration in the face of life’s setbacks and true tragedies.  Long may they flog on too.

The night’s support artists were a fine a lot.  Reggae-ska vets Hepcat were very well-received — the horns bringing the right touch of teetering chaos over the bubbling rhythms, while on-the-rise Fitz and the Tantrums provided some slick but not over-thought retro soul style that’s definitely worth checking out again live and on record as well.