Den Atelier, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg17th January 2019
Flogging Molly
Winter is still in full swing and finally the concert season has started again - what could be better? Drink something, dance like there’s no tomorrow and just let yourself be driven by the music. FLOGGING MOLLY was a guest, as the A could see, smell and hear. Those American Irish didn't leave any skin dry that night in the Atelier.
FLOGGING MOLLY is an Irish-American seven-piece Celtic Punk band from Los Angeles, California and led by Irish vocalist Dave King, formerly of the Hard Rock band FASTWAY. FLOGGING MOLLY’s music is influenced by various artists, such as THE DUBLINERS, THE POGUES, HORSLIPS, JOHNNY CASH, THE CLASH, and GREEN DAY. The album ‘Within a Mile of Home’ is dedicated to the memories of CASH and THE CLASH frontman Joe Strummer. Their music ranges from boisterous Celtic Punk to darker songs. Lyrics typically touch on subjects such as Ireland and its history, drinking, poverty, politics, love, and death and include several references to the Catholic Church.
Music & Performance
Even after more than 20 years FLOGGING MOLLY plays every concert as if it were her first and last. The band isn’t on stage yet, the first tone is already ringing and it seems as if someone has pressed the “Now freak out” button. The spark immediately jumps over, band and audience melt into a loud, rhythmic unity. The Atelier - a sold-out Irish Pub? Yes! A huge get-together full of singing ability and stability. Everybody was there with beer and spirit, roared lyrics towards the stage and drew a lot of joy on the faces of the band. FLOGGING MOLLY didn’t have much time to catch his breath during the evening. Which is no wonder with the energy of singer Dave King. At the age of 57 he sets an unbelievable speed and seldom gets out of breath. Like a bearded Rumpelstiltskin with glasses and guitar, he jumps around on stage. For over 20 years now FLOGGING MOLLY have been tingling around the world on their endless tours. And they have achieved something that only a few bands manage to do: they have never lost the fun and respect for music and manage to pass on this joy and joie de vivre to the audience.
They seem to know exactly which songs the audience really wants to hear, they don’t dare to experiment. ‘Drunken Lullabies’, ‘Swagger’, and ‘Devils Dance Floor’ read the setlist like a Best-of-FLOGGING-MOLLY-concert - which is quite appropriate for over 20 years of existence. In between they sprinkle a few new and a few slower songs… like ‘The Hand of John L. Sullivan’, one of the best and most danceable songs from their latest album, ‘Life Is Good’. It tells the story of the first Irish heavyweight boxing champion and is one of those songs that get into your head on first hearing and get stuck there. When it comes to sound, seven musicians with partly changing instruments... Of course you always find someone who is a little too loud or too quiet at the moment, but on the whole you have to take your hat off to the sound engineer on this evening. In the end it got really wild again. With ‘Salty Dog’ FLOGGING MOLLY introduced the last minutes of the concert. But they should have it in them again. Nobody stood still anymore that evening. FLOGGING MOLLY simply did an awesome and thrilling show. Go raibh maith agat!
Setlist
01. (No More) Paddy’s Lament
02. John L. Sullivan
03. Drunken Lullabies
04. Likes of you again
05. Swagger
06. The Days we’ve yet to meet
07. Requiem for a dying song
08. Tenement Square
09. Float
10. Black Friday Rule
11. Life is Good
12. Rebels
13. Devils Dance Floor
14. Crushed
15. What’s left of the flag
16. Seven Deadly Sins
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17. World alive
18. Salty Dog
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 7
Sound: 7
Light: 6
Total: 7 / 10
All pictures by Elena Arens
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