If there’s a more energetic band on planet Earth than Flogging Molly, it has yet to be found. By combining traditional Celtic arrangements with a frantic modern-day punk attitude, Flogging Molly has developed a rabid fan base, and it appears that every single one of those fans was front-and-center for the recording of “Live At The Greek Theater” last September.
Songs like “Swagger,” “Devil’s Dance Floor” and “Drunken Lullabies” pretty much sum up the band’s raw and rowdy attitude on the live stage, and this kind of musical mayhem is often encouraged wherever it plays. So it should come as no surprise that showing up at Flogging Molly concert wearing a Black Eyed Peas T-shirt or trying to order a cosmopolitan at the venue’s bar will probably get your ass kicked.
After two verses of traditional Irish melancholy, the 7-piece unit explodes into the boot-stomping verses of “The Likes Of You Again.” The energy level never lets up until the final crashing chords of “The Seven Deadly Sins,” and by this time, both band and audience are out of breath and completely satisfied. You have to pity drummer George Schwindt, who has the unenviable task of keeping time for this merry band of lunatics for 90 minutes. The double-time rhythms of “Every Dog Has Its Day” and “Requiem For A Dying Song” require a boatload of stamina, and Schwindt meets the task head on.
The revelry slows down just long enough to deliver the ballads “The Story So Far” and “The Son Never Shines (On Closed Doors),” but the songs become anthems to Molly’s two favorite topics: drinking and lost loves. There’s no such thing as a mood-killer in the Mollys’ world, and the tempo revs back up with “(No More) Paddy’s Lament” and “Float.”
In a welcome more-bang-for-your-buck move, the 2-CD set also includes a DVD of the entire show. Watching the interaction between the group and the crowd is at times mesmerizing. Whether it’s on stage at the Warped Tour or down at the corner pub, the band’s motto has always been “set up, plug in, tune up, and have fun,” and “Live At The Greek” delivers on Flogging Molly’s promise of uncompromising music and a helluva good time.
Rating: W W W W
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