Concert Review: Flogging Molly – The Powerstation, April 12, 2019

Celebrating life in all its beauty and tragedy, Irish-American seven-piece Flogging Molly blended punk rock and Celtic folk into a set of hope, inspiration, and pure joy at The Powerstation last night.

Opening for Flogging Molly’s first-ever Auckland show, Dead Beat Boys played with the same impressive energy and enthusiasm as they did nearly a month before. Lead vocalist, James Fitz, has absolutely found his groove in performing live, jumping into the crowd during the band’s opener, Bland, to scream lyrics from his back on the floor, before returning later to layback a beer from a crowd member and invite them to join in on the mic during Shit Day.

As a supporting band, Dead Beat Boys are one of the best I’ve seen in recent years, capable of driving infectious energy into a crowd that’s still in the early stages of warming up for the main act. Balancing self-deprecating humour with a positive, entertaining vibe throughout their sets, last night was a perfect example of how well they’re continuing to grow and perform from gig to gig – an observation expressed by the Flogging Molly themselves part way through their own set.

Much of the crowd had clearly been anticipating Flogging Molly’s first Auckland show for the better part of two decades, and the pure power of their set from start to finish did absolutely nothing to disappoint. Opening to the rhythmically clapping crowd with the blazing-fast (No More) Paddy’s Lament, lead singer Dave King established an immediate and powerful stage presence, mixing consistently poetic lyrics with his growling vocals and contagious charisma.

King’s connection with the venue was just as instant, handing out a beer into the crowd, dedicating third song Drunken Lullabies to an audience member celebrating their birthday, then later opening up in a remarkably raw and positively nonchalant way about his personal life. From his love for his wife, the remarkable fiddle-and-tin-whistle musician, Bridget Regan, to the passing of his parents and their connection to each piece of music the band performed.

The musical talent of the band was a clear display of their history together, with Regan’s haunting fiddle on The Likes Of You Again and tin-whistle on Life In A Tenement Square matching the five-minute, stage-clearing electric guitar solo by Dennis Casey during Black Friday Rule.

But it was Crushed (Hostile Nations), from the band’s most recent album, Life Is Good, that proved the highlight of the night, weaving sections of Aretha Franklin’s Respect and Think with Queen’s We Will Rock You between the tune’s irresistibly catchy, foot-stopping chorus.

There’s no arguing that Flogging Molly’s entire set was incredibly fun and joyous, but it was those intimate, tender, and weighted moments that set the band apart from the common comparisons to Dropkick Murphys, The Pogues, and The Stiff Little Fingers. There was so much genuine, human soul in each song that it was impossible not to feel involved and included in the crowd as one whole, unified mass.

This celebratory feeling was most obvious in one of the closing numbers, If I Ever Leave This World Alive, announced as “a song dedicated to each and every one of you – a song about friendship” which saw much of the audience wrapping their arms around each other as they leapt in the air and chanted along with the band.

The set finished with a playing of Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life, a fitting tribute to the two hours of heart and soul the band delivered to their first Auckland crowd, and a reminder of the significance attached to the politically inspired and poetic lyrics buried just below the surface of their positive, Celtic punk-rock sound.

For everyone at last night’s concert, life most certainly was good.

Oxford Lamoureaux

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Floggy Molly Setlist:

(No More) Paddy’s Lament

The Hand Of John L. Sullivan

Drunken Lullabies

The Likes Of You Again

Swagger

The Days We’ve Yet To Meet

Requiem For A Dying Song

Life In A Tenement Square

Float

Black Friday Rule

Life Is Good

Rebels of the Sacred Heart

Devil’s Dance Floor

Crushed (Hostile Nations)

What’s Left Of The Flag

The Seven Deadly Sins

If I Ever Leave This World Alive

Salty Dog