Live Review: Flogging Molly - Oberhausen 2011

Written by Daniela Vorndran & Ben Blaschke (http://the-spine.de/) Thursday, 24 November 2011 10:32

Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany
19th November 2011
Flogging Molly, The Mighty Stef & The Minutes

It’s been three years ago that FLOGGING MOLLY released their album ‘Float’, and now they’re back! But the surprising fact is that the new album not really sounds like its predecessors anymore. The typical guitar sound had to clear the field for “native” or “original” instruments. And of course there was the need to present the new album live on tour. This show in Oberhausen was pretty packed and people had a great night with FLOGGING MOLLY, THE MIGHTY STEF and fist band of the evening, THE MINUTES.

The Minutes

This Irish trio from Dublin released its debit album ‘Marcata’ in May 2011 after they already released some singles. Already formed in 2006, the band became a must-see live act in their home town and some kind of local stars. Furthermore, the band toured Ireland and UK extensively as support for i.e. THE STROKES or SUPERGRASS. THE MINUTES is Mark Austin (vocals, guitar), Tom Cosgrave (bass, vocals) and Shane Kinsella (drums, vocals). http://www.theminutesmusic.com / https://www.facebook.com/theminutes / http://www.myspace.com/theminutesireland

Music & Performance
Youngest shall be first ones. And so, the evening was opened by the Irish Trio THE MINUTES who were on their first big support tour through Germany currently. Not much was needed for a good Rock show, just a drum set, guitar, bass and some amps. In their minimalist stage set, THE MINUTES had a blast!



The three Irishmen presented straight-forward “Rock for Rebels”. No glamour, no frills, no unnecessary poses. The band just appears natural and honest. The music could also do as sound-track for a beach party, for a chase or even for a quickie on a club’s toilet. Mark, Tom and Shane competently controlled their instruments. After a short warm-up the had reached the audience and the contained whipping turned to extensive celebrating and dancing. Sadly, the sound was not always optimal, sometimes it was too dull and tinny. But those small edges did not disturb the concert experience at all. They just made it feel more authentic. On the climax of the mood, THE MINUTES already had to finish their short set to make room for the second band of the evening. Loud applause bet the band farewell. Seems people really liked it and we did too!

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 7
Light: 8
Total: 7.8 / 10




The Mighty Stef

THE MIGHTY STEF is the band of Stefan Murphy, who had first experiences in music business as singer of Punk band THE SUBTONICS. Dublin based Stefan first appeared with his new band in 2006 and the debut album ‘The Sins Of Sainte Catherine’. With this album, he toured Europe and USA as support for several bands. First only accompanied by a drummer, Stefan had a live bands with his second album ‘100 Midnights’ (2010) and because of that, the songs turned out much rockier than before. Third album ‘TMS And The Baptists’ was released beginning of 2011. According to their website, TMS consists of Stefan Murphy, Brian Callagher and Gary Lonergan. Live, there were more musicians supporting Stefan on stage. http://www.themightystef.com / https://www.facebook.com/themightystef / http://www.myspace.com/themightystefband



Music & Performance
When THE MINUTES had left the stage, a keyboard and more equipment had brought onto stage and soon it was time for the second gig of the evening. Also the second band, THE MIGHTY STEF, was from Ireland, to be exact from Dublin, end here to take care for more Irish touched folk. With a comfy song to sway, TMS welcomed their audience. ‘We Want Blood’ had a very special charm where the definitely not friendly message of the song flirts with the homelike melody. Already the first song touched the audience and raised people’s mood. What followed now was a mixture of cosy Rock with Folk influences combined with straight Hard Rock. The used keyboard brought some kind of 70ies THE DOORS touch into the songs. The music invited you to celebrate wildly, alcohol flowed like water.



All in all, MURPHY’s voice was firm and solid, just every now and then I had the impression of a slight carking. Compared to that, the backing vocals rather sounded wrong and should have been a little calmer. Furthermore, several times you could hear loud acoustic feedback maltreating the listeners’ ears. The setlist offered a mix of older songs, only the very first and already mentioned ‘We Want Blood’ was taken from the current album. All in all, THE MIGHTY STEF offered a solid show with only little stain.

Setlist
01. We Want Blood
02. Stella
03. Baltimore
04. Dreamer
05. HardShip
06. Wine & Roses
07. Downtown
08. Magazine
09. Milk

Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 7
Light: 7
Total: 7 / 10




Flogging Molly

Irish-American Folk-Punk-Rock band from Los Angeles, USA, was founded back in 1997. Their music is a mix of Irish Folk and Punk music, where traditional folk-guitar, mandolin, banjo or fiddle perfectly melt with e-guitar or drums. The debut album ‘Alive Behind the Green Door’ was released in the same year. Remarkable is, that this first album was a live album. Over the years, several albums and singles followed, making the band well-known also in Europe. With the album ‘Float’ (2008), the band released an album based more on traditional Irish instruments. The latest album ‘Speed of Darkness’ was released earlier this year dealing with current economic crises and the fears of people based on it. FLOGGING MOLLY is Dave King (vocals, acoustic guitar), Bridget Regan (fiddle, tin whistle), Dennis Casey (electric guitar), Matt Hensley (accordion), Nathen Maxwell (bass), Bob Schmidt (mandolin, banjo) and George Schwindt (drums). http://www.floggingmolly.com / https://www.facebook.com/floggingmolly / http://www.myspace.com/floggingmolly



Music & Performance
Finally it was time for the evening’s highlight, tall and small, old and young have been waiting for. FLOGGING MOLLY instead took their time until the finally entered the stage. To make a virtue (out) of necessity, people used the time to settle all those human guilty pleasures… After about 30 minutes, waiting time was over. The back of stage was now covered by the wall of an old industrial building and during the intro of ‘Likes Of You Again‘ the band entered the stage starting the show we all came for. Already with the first sounds if this song, the audience went mad, anyone started jumping wildly in excitement. It turned out to be really tight in the front rows and people had to be pulled out by the security already. Dave King welcomed the fans telling them how pleased he was that so many people showed up. After his small speech, the set continued with classic ‘Swagger’ from the same titled album increasing the mood even further. People started crowd surfing or waving a welcome banner. First presented song from the current album was ‘Speed of Darkness’ followed by ‘Revolution’. Word-perfect, people sang along with all their given power.



Dave commanded the audience to dance because he is only able to do funny jumps how he demonstrated. People laughed and immediately followed his command. Nearly after every song, people were offered a little break to take a breath since Dave addressed some words to them. The sound was pretty good mixed from the very beginning and also the mood within the band was perfect. On stage, you saw them dancing, laughing and just spreading good mood. During ‘The Worst Day Since Yesterday’, which was used for one ‘Stargate’ episode, people were awestruck swaying and singing along. But also this short pause passed fast and following ‘Requiem For A Dying Song’ demanded everything from the sweating audience. ‘Drunken Lullabies’ saw several full beer cups flying though the air and the mosh-pit was growing to double size. With ‘Saints & Sinners’ and ‘The Heart Of The Sea’, two more songs out of the current album were presented. For ‘Rebels’, Dave’s wife joined the band with a Tin Whistle receiving excited applause. From the back where we were standing, you could spot devil’s horns, middle-fingers and beer cups reaching out off the masses.



The mood did not decrease in any second. With ‘Don’t Shut ’em Down’, ‘Salty Dog’ and ‘What’s Left Of The Flag’, the main set ended under blustering applause culminating in cascading “Encore” chants. Of course the fans were not disappointed and FLOGGING MOLLY excited the audience with three more songs: ‘So Sail On’ presented as a duet with Bridget Regan, ‘Tabacco Island’ and finally ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ that was celebrated extensively by band and audience. When the band had finished, they thanked the fans for a wonderful evening. For anyone, an evening with frolic mood and a high-class show had ended.

Setlist
01. Likes Of You Again
02. Swagger
03. Speed Of Darkness (Banjo)
04. Revolution
05. Worst Day Since Yesterday
06. Requiem For A Dying Song (Banjo)
07. Selfish Man
08. Drunken Lullabies (Banjo)
09. Saints And Sinners (Banjo)
10. The Heart Of The Sea
11. Black Friday
12. Oliver Boy
13. Float (Banjo)
14. Rebels (Whistle)
15. Devil's Dance Floor (Whistle)
16. World Alive
17. Don't Shut 'em Down (Mandochello)
18. Salty Dog
19. What's Left Of The Flag
---
20. So Sail On
21. Tobacco Island (Banjo)
22. Seven Deadly Sins (Banjo)

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 10
Sound: 9
Light: 8
Total: 9 / 10



All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com / http://www.black-cat-net.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/vorndranphotography / http://www.facebook.com/blackcatnet)